Please select your home edition
Edition
Henri-Lloyd Dynamic Range

America's Cup- One week of sailing left in New Zealand

by ETNZblog.com on 26 Mar 2013
Passing close to a reef marker - Emirates Team NZ - March 2013 Richard Gladwell www.photosport.co.nz

After 19 days of sailing their second AC72, Emirates Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker says the designers and boat builders had delivered all the sailing crew had hoped.

'In some ways,' he says, 'they delivered more than we expected.'

'We learned a lot from our 30 days with the first boat and the second boat seems to be tracking in the right direction.'

Barker said: 'We are mindful of the good sailing going on in San Francisco. Oracle’s back in the water and looking formidable so we have a lot of work ahead to make sure we are competitive right through the Louis Vuitton challenger series.'

Little more than a week’s sailing in Auckland remains before the team packs up the base and heads for San Francisco. With a long list of items on the 'to-do' list, the pressure is on.

The relocation to San Francisco takes place April-May and the team aims to be sailing there towards the end of May, giving themselves a month on the water to become reacquainted with the nuances of the Bay’s breeze and currents.

With the team’s experience at relocating its operations and well used to life on the road he’s expecting an easy transition to life in America. 'San Francisco’s a great city to be based in and it will be an easy transition to American culture.

That aspect easy to deal with – the hard thing is to get comfortable in the surroundings, understand how the day works get used to the traffic and re-establish all the routines.'

In Auckland the sailing team has spent a lot of time simulating race conditions by running virtual boundaries. 'Restraints of the course area force us to do a lot more manoeuvres – tacks and gybes every two to three minutes – than we would normally do in this type of boat.

'We know the difficulties of in San Francisco Bay’s currents and the breeze need to focus very hard on the course area, understanding how to best manage that.

'The team have spent a lot of time on venue development but until we get there and experience sailing the AC72 on the course area its all theoretical.'
V-DRY-XHenri-Lloyd Dynamic RangeSea Sure 2025

Related Articles

Django Team to represent Italy at Admiral's Cup
Yacht Club Costa Smeralda launches two-boat campaign in historic return of the elite offshore race After a 20-year hiatus, the Admiral's Cup is back - and Italy is ready to make a bold return to one of offshore sailing's most legendary stages.
Posted today at 10:23 am
Noakes Sydney GC Yacht Race: Don't stop me now
Corinthian sailor Elizabeth Tucker takes on the world Elizabeth Tucker had barely stepped on board a yacht before 2021. Fast forward four years to 2025 and the English-born, Sydney-based sailor has sailed her Class40 yacht, First Light, from Spain to Australia.
Posted today at 9:52 am
29er Europeans at Lake Garda overall
Record-breaking event closes in style More than 250 teams, 29 nations, six days of varied racing, and a fleet of young athletes pushing high-performance sailing to the next level. The 2025 29er European Championship, hosted by Fraglia Vela Riva, has officially wrapped.
Posted today at 8:14 am
Meet the CYCA's Admiral's Cup Team
Meet the skippers and sailors, get to know their roles and discover what makes their programs unique Meet the skippers and sailors, get to know their roles and discover what makes their programs unique.
Posted today at 6:59 am
2025 Sail Paradise - Last call for early bird!
You're invited to test your crew in Australia's spectacular offshore sailing regatta You're invited to test your crew in Australia's spectacular offshore sailing regatta, The Yacht Sales Co Sail Paradise 2025!
Posted today at 6:24 am
Who made the right call to get to the breeze?
And how technology is changing the Transpac Race to Hawaii Boats racing in the 2025 Transpac continue to reel in the offshore miles toward the finish line off Honolulu, Hawaii, in the 53rd edition of this historic 2,225-nautical-mile race.
Posted today at 12:54 am
OK Dinghy Europeans at Warnemünde day 3
Nick Craig fights back Canada's Ben Flower and Britain's Charlie Cumbley will go into Wednesday's final day at the 2025 OK Dinghy European Championship in Warnemünde, Germany, on equal points with two more races to sail.
Posted on 8 Jul
British Classic Week Day 2
An early start for Classes 1-3 as they prepared to race around the Isle of Wight It was an early start for the British Classic Week fleet on day two, as Classes 1-3 prepared to race around the Isle of Wight.
Posted on 8 Jul
iQFOiL Worlds a Aarhus day 3
The leaderboard tightens at the halfway mark after today's racing in a building breeze After a frustrating day of waiting ashore on Monday, Day 3 brought back the action in Aarhus Bay with spectacular foiling conditions and a full day of intense racing.
Posted on 8 Jul
Fleet advances to the last half of the AEGEAN 600
In contrast to yesterday's slow pace, the rate of progress has been much improved Most of the fleet of 59 Monohulls and Multihulls who are sailing in this year's AEGEAN 600 have either already entered the second half of the race at the island of Rhodes or are well on their way to reaching this important milestone.
Posted on 8 Jul