Rachel Smalley: America's Cup nationality clause hurts Kiwi sailors

Grant Dalton has suggested that a percentage of the team should be from the country they're sailing for. Photo / AP

We've held the America's cup for just one day but already Team New Zealand is looking to the defence of the Cup and what rule changes they may introduce.

The campaign to defend the Cup started the moment the big cat crossed the line and the champagne corks erupted on the chase boats.

And front and centre so far is the nationality clause.

Grant Dalton has suggested that a percentage of the team should be from the country they're sailing for.

In Bermuda, only one of the six crew was required to be from the team's country of origin, and Kiwi and Aussie sailors dominated Oracle and Japan. Artemis had an Australian skipper.

The issue is that if we were to introduce a nationality clause -- and it may be that 50% of the crew have to be from the country they're representing, it could be higher -- then that would only really impact New Zealand and Australian sailors.

Yachting and marine life is a big part of New Zealand life because we're an island nation. We produce a lot of sailors, a lot of men and women who craft their careers out on the water.

And now with the advances of technology, we don't need as many people to sail a boat.

Crews are getting smaller. Look back to the big monohulls when the likes of Dennis Connor and Chris Dickson were at the helm....they had crews of a dozen men on board.

Now, it's less than half that. If you bring in a nationality clause, there will be fewer options for Kiwi and Aussie sailors.

I had no issue watching Dean Barker sailing for Team Japan. They had eleven crew, three were Japanese. I still saw it as the Japanese challenge.

Likewise, Sir Russell Coutts' career went beyond New Zealand and Team New Zealand when he skippered Alinghi, and later become CEO of Oracle.

I know his exit from Team New Zealand almost caused the country to implode, but he's a career sailor. Yachting and the America's Cup is a different beast to, say, an Olympic game. The public support the boat and the flag they fly, don't they? As opposed to the nationality of the sailors on board?

Maybe you disagree with me. Maybe I'm wrong on this. But I don't think we should place too much emphasis on the nationality of the sailors.

What I am really interested in is the boats.

Rachel Smalley hosts Early Edition on Newstalk ZB