GBR director heiress to white throne in the stern

By JULIE ASH

Julia Harrison Lee admits she was a little nervous boarding GBR70 as 17th person for their second round matches against Oracle BMW Racing and Alinghi in the Louis Vuitton challenger series.

Managing to pry the position off her father, GBR founder Peter Harrison - who with his plastic chair has become one of the more colourful 17th men - Harrison Lee says it was an experience she will never forget.

"I knew he would offer me the spot at some stage," she laughs.

"It was amazing, I really, really enjoyed it.

"The guys are brilliant at putting the car on two wheels going around the corner, they are pretty confident and I trust their driving. It was nice to see the team competing together."

GBR Challenge finished sixth in the double round robin - not a bad effort for a team who haven't competed in the event since 1987.

"The objective of GBR Challenge was to get Britain back into the America's Cup," says Harrison Lee, the challenge's director.

"That objective was set by my father when he set up GBR Challenge."

Now the Brits, with a budget of $65 million, find themselves up against Conner's syndicate in the do-or-die quarter-finals, where the loser faces elimination.

"If you look at a team like Dennis' they have 20 years of experience. Most of our guys were in school when the last British challenge competed and that really tells you how far we have come. I feel really proud of what we have achieved."

A lawyer by profession, Harrison Lee says she was not surprised when her father, who sold his business, Chernikeeff Networks, for £300 million ($965 million), decided to challenge for the America's Cup.

"He knows what he wants to do and is a really determined person.

"As my six-year-old says, it was the start of an awfully big adventure."

The first thing Harrison did was secure the services of Aucklander David Barnes, an America's Cup veteran, as syndicate manager.

"His experience of being able to put together an America's Cup campaign was invaluable. He told us where all the pieces for the jigsaw were and then it was a matter of quickly turning that piece over and putting it into play and off to the next one."

Harrison also acquired the assets of Nippon Challenge early on, which is where his daughter came in.

"He asked me to do contracts to acquire that and to set up our tank testing sessions at Southampton and we then went through a whole period of contracts.

"Within about four and a half months we put all the key people into play and had the base here. It was a massive exercise," says Harrison Lee, who is also a board member of CORM (Challenger of Record Management Committee) which deals with issues that involve all of the challengers.

Harrison Lee says rather than being overwhelmed by the bigger teams, GBR Challenge approached the event with their eyes wide open.

"What counts is the performance on the water not how big your base is. Obviously being here and competing is a benchmark and exercise for us as well. It is fascinating to see where the other teams have gone, what kind of designs they have.

"We want to learn, and learn as much as we can. But we want to be as competitive as possible.

"Our No 1 priority is to go out there and meet Dennis on the line and do the very best we can."

And the future for GBR Challenge?

"Whether we do another cup is very much up to Peter.

"It is very important after climbing such a mountain to get back into this game that we are able, with the help of corporate sponsors, to stay in it."

nzherald.co.nz/americascup

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