Team NZ members speak about the launch of their 2024 America's Cup boat the Taihoro. Video / Alyse Wright
Honing their craft as they prepare to defend the America’s Cup in Barcelona, Team New Zealand’s initial commissioning phase of their new race boat has been short and sweet.
Putting their new AC75 Taihoro on the water for the first time in mid-April, the team had about a month-long windowin which they had to put the vessel through what starboard helmsman Peter Burling called a “pretty long” testing list before packing it back up and preparing to send the boat north.
“There’s so many areas of improvement you can have on something this complicated,” Burling told the Herald when the boat was launched in April.
“Everyone is really trying to balance the workload across the organisation to pick off the right areas, and we’re really excited by the direction we’re going.”
With that on-water testing period ending earlier this month, Team NZ have now put Taihoro on a ship and sent it on the weeks-long journey to Barcelona.
With a travel period of up to six weeks ahead, Team NZ will continue refining their playbook on their AC40s before moving their operation north to meet Taihoro.
Team NZ have indicated Taihoro will make its first sail in Barcelona in just over a month’s time.
The AC40s will eventually be shipped to Barcelona as well, but the teams - America’s Cup, Women’s America’s Cup and Youth America’s Cup - still have plenty of training still to do before that moment comes.
Team New Zealand sail their AC40 Te Kakahi. Photo / Emirates Team NZ
The current period has seen the Women’s and Youth America’s Cup teams get out on the water for the first time in an AC40 as they prepare for their own regattas in Barcelona, which will be raced on the scaled-down vessel.
Team NZ coach Ray Davies said they had gotten a lot out of this period, maximising daylight hours as it ticks towards the New Zealand winter.
“We have had a great spell on the water over the past couple of weeks with the AC40s.” Davies said.
“We have had some highly competitive match-race training for our sailing team, Nathan [Outteridge], Pete [Burling], Andy [Maloney] and Blair [Tuke] have been locking horns with Josh Junior and Sam Meech with Marcus Hansen and Gemma Jones in the trimming positions.
“It is prestart and race scenarios that are always a huge step up in intensity from what can be achieved in the simulators, so the team have been getting a lot out of it.”
“Our women and youth sailors have been putting in some really long days out on the water maximising every minute onboard the AC40 they can and working through the different combinations of positions on the boat.
“It has been a bit of a baptism of fire for the women and youth in a way, as we have thrown them into the cauldron a bit.
“So, they have not only had to get to grips with learning the ropes of the AC40s, but they have also very quickly found themselves in some very aggressive and competitive training scenarios which will be invaluable for them. It’s been really encouraging to see the sailing teams working together to progress the level across everyone.”
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.
