Emirates Team NZ TP52 expected to sail this week

by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World on 19 Feb 2009
The new TP 52 for Emirates Team NZ is undergoing finals stages of fit-out at the professional racing team's Auckland base, prior to starting sailing trials later this week.

The plan is for full sea-trialling to start in early March, with the TP52 being shipped to Europe to compete on the MedCup 2009 circuit, with 15 New Zealand crew - two short of a full America's Cup complement.

Emirates Team NZ CEO, Grant Dalton, told Sail-World that they had bought forward the delivery date to keep up the momentum from the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series. No doubt the builder Cookson Boats will appreciate the additional shed space with another TP52 and and 80fter currently under construction. Sources close to Cookson Boats told Sail-World that their staffing levels were at the highest ever, and they were negotiating further orders.

Discussions over the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series with international sailing media revealed that while the production boat market has been hit hard, custom boat building is holding up well for the time being at least.

The ongoing appetite of the professional sailing teams for new builds should help sustain the custom market.

Emirates Team NZ, will campaign on the TP52 circuit under that name, and they will be the first of the America's Cup teams to run a parallel campaign on the prestigious TP52 circuit. The exercise is a move to keep all parts of the core team working together, following the highly successful Louis Vuitton Pacific Series - where Emirates Team NZ were winners of the inaugural regatta beating nine other international racing teams from eight countries. The event also attracted over 100 international media to Auckland.

The TP52 has been an in-house project of Emirates Team NZ, using their design team and the usual external suppliers, www.cooksonboats.co.nz!Cookson_Boats for the build, www.southernspars.com!Southern_Spars for mast, boom and rigging and www.northsails.co.nz!North_Sails for the sail inventory.

A decision in the Appeal Court of New York in the America's Cup case, expected in late March, will resolve, either way, the future of the professional sailing teams. If Alinghi prevail then there will be a multi-challenger event in 2010 or 2011.

If BMW Oracle Racing are confirmed as the Challenger of Record, then, as oft-stated by the Defender, Alinghi, there will be a Deed of Gift Challenge for the 33rd Match for the America's Cup.

That will free all teams of their obligations under the entry and Protocol for what was the original 33rd Match (the next multi challenger regatta being the 34th Match), and these teams will be free to oganise and enter whatever regattas they wish of the America's Cup type without requiring prior authorisation from America's Cup Management, as is currently the case.

This situation would pave the way for further regattas of the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series type, and run independently of the current America's Cup controlling authorities.

Either way the shackles should be off the professional racing teams already entered in the America's Cup, and a lift in the custom boat build activity will be a likely outcome.

For 2009, the Audi MedCup Circuit, now in its fifth year, will travel to five different venues from May through to September on the following dates: .

May 12th to 17th Alicante, Spain
June 9th to 14th Marseille, France
July 20th to 25th Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy
August 18th to 23rd, Portimão, Portugal
September 14th to 19th, Carthagena, Spain

In 2008 a total of 21 teams competed on the MedCup circuit