As far as Bob Peterson is concerned, Matariki or Maori New Year is ruling the 32nd America's Cup and he is predicting a 5-2 victory for Emirates Team New Zealand on the back of a rather mystical dream.
Peterson, known as VIP Bob, is the man who greets
and organises all the VIP guests for Team New Zealand with his trademark smile, efficiency and flourishes, honed from years doing the same thing at TVNZ headquarters in Auckland.
Peterson, head-hunted from Brisbane by Grant Dalton for the Valencia campaign - "Grant said he'd never seen a man work a door like I did and he wanted me on board for Valencia; we settled it with a handshake" - had a dream involving seven stars.
He immediately associated it with Matariki (celebrated on June 15 this year, when the seven-star constellation Pleiades rises) and with his presence in Valencia.
"It is a time of growth, fertility, of plenty and of good fortune," he said. "So that's why I am picking there will only be seven races and a 5-2 scoreline to Team New Zealand."
Peterson had been in Brisbane for two years and was settling into life as an Aussie Maori when Dalton's call came.
"I didn't realise until later what Grant already knew - that I had a kind of a brand going on. I know Helen Clark, captains of industry, just about anyone and everyone from New Zealand and it is important to have someone who knows people and knows what they are doing for VIPs."
He has also known Dalton and Sir Peter Blake for 25 years or more, through all their fundraising and through the channels associated with previous cup campaigns.
One of Peterson's other tasks is to keep the black-tinted windows and Team NZ's base clean.
"Oh, I do that because I am a tidy Kiwi and I want the best windows of all the bases."
