Yachting: Ten-year-old and his crew give cup racers a push

Ten-year-old Peter Burling almost got the better of Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker yesterday.

Several times, Burling and his older crewmates found themselves leading Barker and his America's Cup team-mates in the battle of the Etchell keelboats on the Tauranga Harbour.

But the sharper skills of the cup men eventually came to the fore, giving them two wins from two in Team New Zealand's first on-the-road regatta against the best of the country's weekend sailors.

The Tauranga Yacht Club put up their top three crews to wrestle against Barker, tactician Hamish Pepper and trimmer Chris Salthouse in Team NZ's travelling Etchell fleet.

Burling, a Welcome Bay Primary pupil who usually sails a tiny Optimist dinghy, helped to lift the weight in the boat skippered by Bay of Plenty veteran Ross Currie.

In the first race of the day, sailed in front of 3000 spectators, the Currie crew led the America's Cup champions around the first mark, but Barker fought back for the winning points.

Team NZ had the better of the second race, before it was abandoned when the fickle breeze dropped below three knots.

Late in the afternoon, when the wind finally lifted again, Team NZ was last at the first mark, with the fleet led around by Gary Smith's crew.

But Barker manoeuvred his way back into the reckoning, for a neck-and-neck battle on the final run. Smith's crew lost their spinnaker metres from the finish line, allowing Team NZ to cross first by 2s.

The bantamweight Burling was awarded crew member of the day for his efforts.

His father, Richard, said the opportunity was "like a dream" for Peter.

"He told his mates at school and they just couldn't comprehend it.

"It's a bit like the All Blacks coming to play the Bay of Plenty Steamers."

Smith's crew won the battle of the local teams, to go towards a nationwide contest to find the top crew - their prize will be a day on the water with the full Team NZ camp.

Next weekend, Team NZ will take their race boats to Rotorua and Taupo, moving to the Bay of Islands and Whangarei the following weekend.