America's Cup: Public getting too close to the action

The arrival of Emirates Team New Zealand in Bermuda has added to the congestion on the Great Sound. Photo: Hamish Hooper/ETNZ.

Boaties in Bermuda have been warned to get away from America's Cup teams on the water.

The Bermuda Water Safety Council have appealed to local boaties to give the America's Cup boats some decent space as the event looms.

With just 31 days to go until the first race of the Louis Vuitton America's Cup Qualifiers the urgency for continued development looms large and the team will be making the most of each day, the varying conditions as well as new equipment coming on line.

"It's been noted the Bermuda boating public are getting too close for safety both to themselves and the America's Cup teams," the council said according to the Royal Gazette.

"Please give the AC boats as much room as you are able and try to stay near the shorelines when out on the water. The consequences of a collision with one of these foiling boats could be catastrophic. We are all in this together. This is our America's Cup".

Meanwhile, Emirates Team New Zealand were back out on the water once again today, after hitting the Great Sound first time on Sunday.

Team NZ, flying a poppy on their sail to mark Anzac Day in Bermuda, had their first real engagement with another team, lining up against British team Land Rover BAR.

The action was caught by MyislandhomeBDA, who have provided a wealth of video footage of the action on the water in Bermuda over the past couple of months.

The British have struggled in the early rounds of practice racing, but did not appear short on speed when they lined up against Team NZ today. While the short engagement was not a real race, BAR appeared to have a speed advantage over their Kiwi rivals in the gusty conditions.

Those on the ground put the wind strength at around 20 knots, with gusts up up to 25 knots.

It is not known if Team NZ were training with their old daggerboards cannibalised from their AC45 test boat, or the new set of racing foils that the team have been waiting on. But on today's action suggests the America's Cup racing will be closer than some New Zealand fans would have liked.

Team NZ are expected to take to the water for their first official practice racing session on Friday.