Schnackenberg to join Luna Rossa?
by Richard Gladwell on 4 Jul 2005
Happier days - Tom Schnackenberg, flanked by Ross Blackman (left) and Dean Barker at the announcement of the resurrected Team New Zealand in mid-2000. Richard Gladwell
www.photosport.co.nz
It is being reported in New Zealand that former head of Team New Zealand, Tom Schnackenberg, is set to join the Italian America's Cup syndicate Luna Rossa for the 2007 event in Valencia, Spain.
The move is reported as being as a result of an agreement between Schnackenberg and Team NZ that TNZ will agree to the release, and Schnackenberg will cover all TNZ's legal costs associated with the transfer/release. The announcement brings to an end the legal hostilities between the two parties.
At this stage, it is not known to Sail-World whether any move to another campaign will be sanctioned by the America's Cup authorities. Having been with Team NZ for part of the 2007 campaign, Schnackenberg may still subject to the America's Cup Protocol provisions governing transfer between syndicates and in particular, those with design knowledge of one Challenger moving to another.
Schnackenberg and TNZ 2007 parted company after he was only offered a position on the design team with Andy Claughton taking over the Design Team Co-ordinator's role. Then it was announced that Schnackenberg was to leave the team altogether.
A highly regarded America's Cup commentator, Schnackenberg was in Valencia for Acts 4 and 5.
The New Zealander's involvement with the America's Cup extends back prior to 1977, but he first really came to prominence in 1983 as the Sail Program Co-ordinator for Australia II, staying with Alan Bond in the first, and only, Australian Defender series.
He then joined Team New Zealand in late 1992 and was both head of the design program and navigator with Team NZ through 1995. He specialised in design co-ordination in 2000 and then stayed with and rebuilt the Team in 2003, after many of those involved in the 2000 campaign left to take up lucrative offers with other Challengers.
Schnackenberg was head of Team NZ through the difficult years leading to the unsuccessful 2003 Defence, and although not specifically blamed, was marginalised in the post-mortems that followed that campaign.
Source: www.kiwispy.com and http://www.tvnz.co.nz
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