Heads will roll at Team NZ - Dalton

by Sail-World on 7 May 2003 Team New Zealand managing director Grant Dalton expects there will be changes to the sailing crew if the syndicate challenges for the next America's Cup.

Dalton says there are members of the sailing team who will not be there should a challenge go ahead in Europe.

'There is no doubt the afterguard going forward will change,' Dalton said in an interview on NewstalkZB yesterday.

Asked if Dean Barker would be the skipper, Dalton replied that he was at the moment.

He also said the directors, Peter Menzies, Ralph Norris, Kevin Roberts and John Risley, would need to consider their futures.

The report of the disastrous defence, released on Monday, stopped short of blaming any individual for the 5-0 loss to Alinghi.

But it said the management structure adopted failed because there was not enough co-ordination between the functions of designer Tom Schnackenberg, skipper Barker and chief executive Ross Blackman.

Dalton said nothing in the report really surprised him. 'Apart from NZL81 breaking, I didn't know much about that - everything else I could see with my own eyes.

'I think they were spooked by the consistent winning of Alinghi and they froze. They didn't have enough time; I agree with that, but the scenario wasn't different to 2000.'

The report, however, has been criticised for not being harsh enough - particularly on the performance of individual crew members.

Dalton believes the report was brutal but fair. 'How much more brutal do you expect it to be,' he said.

'There is not much left. There has been calls for an independent review, but I am an independent and I will be doing my own review. I will just keep it to myself.'

Dalton is signing key personnel and trying to raise the $120 million needed to fund a challenge in Europe. A decision on whether a challenge will go ahead will be made this year.