Born in Waiuku, Chris Ward's sailing career took off after he joined the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron in 1987.
He is now in his fourth America's Cup campaign.
"It's the best job you could possibly have," he says.
After completing the youth programme at the squadron, Ward landed a job with the
New Zealand challenge in the 1992 America's Cup.
He has stayed with New Zealand since and was part of the team who won the cup in San Diego in 1995 and successfully defended it in 2000.
"There have been lots of changes, especially with the boats, obviously," he says.
But it is not just the America's Cup where Ward has made his mark. He has also competed on the international match racing circuit for several years with Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker and sailed a leg of the Whitbread round-the-race on Dennis Conner's Toshiba.
His job at Team New Zealand has him switching between grinder and mastman. He is also part of the winch team, working on maintenance and development.
Away from the water, Ward is into golf and a bit of running.
nzherald.co.nz/americascup
Racing schedule, results and standings
