By HELEN TUNNAH
A black shroud encased Team New Zealand's new boat as she left the Viaduct Harbour for her maiden sail on the Hauraki Gulf yesterday.
NZL81, with skipper Dean Barker at the helm, slipped out of the harbour late in the afternoon for the crew's first sail, returning in the
dark.
She was towed out to the race-course in her full-length skirt, with crew on support vessels keeping a close eye on challengers' bases as they slipped past.
What NZL81 is hiding under her skirts, if anything, could not be seen but the defenders say they will keep both their boats covered each time they are towed past the challengers.
Most other syndicates keep the hulls and keels of their boats covered as they are lifted into and out of the water, but no others tow their boats to the Hauraki Gulf in skirts.
Team spokesman Murray Taylor said the skirts on NZL81 and training partner NZL60, which won the cup in 2000, were a logical precaution.
"We don't want people to see the boat, it's as simple as that," he said.
"There's no sinister implications in what we're doing. It's just we want to keep whatever it is we've got to ourselves."
While other syndicates can watch Team NZ's boats from a distance, America's Cup rules ban aerial surveillance.
Most teams wanting to test a secret sail or design tend to train some distance out in the Gulf, and spying rules prevent other teams watching them outside the race area.
As NZL81 was towed past yesterday, a number of the Alinghi Challenge, Oracle Racing and Prada crew could be seen watching with interest.
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