Camper to sponsor Emirates Team NZ in America's Cup bid
by Rocío Gutiérrez Micó on 26 Feb 2013
Emirates Team New Zealand, NZL5 sailing for the third day of testing. 15/2/2013 Chris Cameron/ETNZ
http://www.chriscameron.co.nz
Back on 6 February, under the attentive gaze of New Zealand’s most important sailing personalities, designers and engineers, the team led by the incombustible Grant Dalton and skippered by Dean Barker—the Emirates Team New Zealand—presented the second and definitive version of the AC72, dubbed the MKII, with which the Kiwis will compete in the final leg of the America’s Cup.
The second catamaran went for her first sail this week in the waters off Auckland, New Zealand. The team members expressed their satisfaction with the improvements made and will continue their training programme, both at sea and in the gym.
The Emirates Team New Zealand has two months to prepare, during which the team will have to become acquainted with the catamaran’s new features in order to make the most of this unique boat’s performance potential.
Once the testing period is over, the new AC72 will be sent to San Francisco where she will be reunited with the crew to compete for the Louis Vuitton Cup, which will kick off on 4 July under the Golden Gate Bridge in the legendary San Francisco Bay.
Following the new boat’s unveiling ceremony, Grant Dalton, CEO of the Emirates Team New Zealand, remarked, 'Now the reality is we have only five months before we start racing in the Louis Vuitton Cup.
Before that we will do two months of intensive training in Auckland. We suspend the test programme in early April and pack [up everything] for the move to San Francisco.
The last America’s Cup World Series regatta will take place on April 16-21 in Naples, Italy.
Following the successful partnership forged during the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12, Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand (which took second in this multi-leg race around the world), the Spanish footwear brand Camper has once again decided to sponsor and support the Emirates Team New Zealand in their bid to win the America’s Cup, reaffirming the company’s commitment to world-class competitive sailing.
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