Team Alinghi: Rolf Vrolijk
Rolf Vrolijk, Alinghi principal designer, couldn't be happier with the way the Swiss team and their race boat are going.
Of the 28 races sailed in the Louis Vuitton challenger series, Alinghi lost just three - two against Oracle and one against OneWorld.
"The boat has 100 per cent
lived up to our expectations," says Vrolijk.
Born in the Netherlands, Vrolijk has always been a keen sailor. He worked in sails lofts before studying mechanical engineering, then naval architecture.
"Since then I have designed hundreds of sail boats," he says.
In the 2000 cup, Vrolijk was the man behind the fast Spanish boat Bravo Espana.
Vrolijk says SUI64 is well over a minute faster around the track than Team New Zealand's 2000 winning yacht, NZL60.
But how it will compare with Team New Zealand's new black boats is anyone's guess.
"Now we are not under pressure any more, Team New Zealand are under pressure."
Team NZ: Clay Oliver
Clay Oliver knows that, after three years producing the fastest-possible America's Cup yacht, just minutes into its first race he'll see if he's succeeded.
"When I look at the boats I see not only the hopes and dreams of everybody in New Zealand, but every single person in the team and their spirit is represented in those boats," Oliver says. "We come to this day with a strength of character which should be unstoppable."
American-born Oliver helped design Dennis Conner's winning boat in 1987 and the famous catamaran before joining the New Zealand Challenge in 1992.
Then Tom Schnackenberg invited him to join Team New Zealand as a principal designer for the 2000 defence.
Oliver said Team New Zealand has done everything it could to ensure it has a boat which is faster than anyone else.
"So when the day comes there is no feeling in our heart or stomach that we didn't do the best for ourselves and for New Zealand."
nzherald.co.nz/americascup
Racing schedule and results
