America’s Cup: Team New Zealand in impressive early form as second boat close to racing

Emirates Team New Zealand out on the Hauraki Gulf. Photo / Adam Mustill - America's Cup

Team New Zealand look to have the edge on their America’s Cup rivals as they move closer to racing a second boat on the Hauraki Gulf.

According to the America’s Cup website, Team New Zealand had their AC40 up to 45 knots in an impressive display of sailing yesterday as the rookie members of the team got a chance to shine.

The newer AC40-3 was also towed out onto the water as the team look ready to race the two boats against each other.

Liv Mackay, Leonard Takahashi, Sam Meech and Marcus Hansen all got a chance on board the AC40 with Peter Burling, Nathan Outteridge and Josh Junior sharing the helm.

“They put in an astonishing 48 tacks and 26 gybes with a success rate of some 96 per cent foil-to-foil and had the AC40 rocketing at speeds estimated at up to 45 knots. The rest of the [America’s Cup] world will be sitting up at numbers like that,” the report on the America’s Cup website said. “All eyes on Emirates Team New Zealand now.”

Two-time America’s Cup winner Blair Tuke was observing from a coaching role in the chase boat.

“We had 44-45 knots when we were reaching downwind but with everything else going, it was hard to tell,” Takahashi said.

“But we’ve got some really good teachers in Pete (Burling) and Nathan (Outteridge) who have both been sailing on the boat with us and then at the end we were slowly just trying to take them out and put the other crew on and that’s been really good and probably the best teachers you could ask for.”

For now, racing against themselves is the closest live practice the team can get. However, during this year and early 2024, there is potential for up to three preliminary America’s Cup events, which will be contested by all teams. The first two of those will be races in the AC40s, with the final in the full-scale AC75s.

No dates or locations for these events have been confirmed yet.