Home is the sailor ... now for the rugged bit

By JULIE ASH

Midway through the last round-the-world yacht race, Grant Dalton already had his next project planned.

And it had nothing to do with sailing.

The 45-year-old father of three decided he wanted to contest this year's Taupo Ironman.

So while most of the sailors who competed in the 2001/02 Volvo Ocean Race took time out to recover from the ordeal, Dalton returned to Auckland and hit the pavements.

Nine months after guiding his Amer Sports One team to third place in the gruelling 32,700-nautical-mile race, Dalton completed his first ironman in a creditable 11h 34m.

To those who know him, Dalton's eagerness to compete in two gruelling events back to back was no surprise.

But yesterday the fiercely competitive and forthright Dalton was handed what could be his toughest challenge yet.

Appointed managing director of Team New Zealand, Dalton is taking a break from offshore racing and devoting all his time to trying to put together a challenge for the next America's Cup.

"Grant's appointment signals a fresh start for this team," said Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker, who has also committed to the team.

"I am very supportive of him in that role and I am looking forward to working with him."

While Team New Zealand trustee Peter Menzies would not comment on how many others were in the running for the job, he said the choice of Dalton was unanimous.

"He is clearly a strong leader and has a great passion for sailing," Menzies said.

"He has got huge experience in the whole area, including sponsorship, dealing with sailors, tough competition. He comes with a great desire to be part of Team New Zealand."

Dalton's sailing career started as an 8-year-old with P-class boats.

"I was competitive but was never brilliant. I went to university and did accountancy, but I always wanted to do the round-the-world race," said Dalton, who can now reflect on seven circumnavigations.

He first competed in the then Whitbread round-the-world race in 1981-82. He skippered Endeavour to success in 1993-94 and won The Race in 2001 on the maxi catamaran Club Med.

Dalton's only America's Cup experience was in 1986-87 in New Zealand's first challenge in Fremantle, but he was not in the KZ7 crew skippered by Chris Dickson.

"When Sir Peter Blake started after 1992 he didn't have a lot of America's Cup experience either," said Yachting New Zealand's high performance manager Peter Lester.

"But it built up and they won the cup and defended the cup.

"Grant demonstrates a different style, slightly abrasive.

"He has the ability to smile, he knows where he wants to go and I think he is going to bring his own flavour to Team New Zealand."

Further reading: nzherald.co.nz/americascup