Yachting: British recruit Kiwi skill to realise design

By Suzanne McFadden

A Northland farmer is building Britain's first yacht for the America's Cup in 13 years.

Boatbuilder Tony Smith, a former world sailing champion, has taken a gang of fellow New Zealanders to Dorset to start constructing the boat for the Spirit of Britain challenge.

The Brits' campaign has been an on-again, off-again affair. The latest rumour around the Viaduct Harbour is that they are as dead as dodos.

But project director Angus Melrose says they have scraped together enough cash to build a boat, and construction has begun.

Smith lives on Lemon Farm in Warkworth, north of Auckland, with his English wife, but he moved to England three months ago.

He had ties to the last British syndicate back in 1986.

"He was involved in the Crusader programme as a boatbuilder and a full-timer on the boat. That's when we got to know him," says Melrose.

Smith ran their shore base in San Diego.

He is no slouch in a boat either. He is a former world champion in the Contender class and has been a New Zealand 49er skiff champ.

Melrose says construction of the boat has just begun in a helicopter shed at an old Royal Navy base in Portland, Dorset.

The yacht has been drawn up by Ian Howlett, who designed British cup boats Lionheart in 1980, Victory in 1983 and Crusader in 1986.

Despite the latest burst of energy, the Spirit of Britain team are in no way certain of making it to New Zealand. Funding has been a huge obstacle and it still stands in their way.

"We're not there financially, but we're plugging on," Melrose says. "We're hoping it will be touchy, feely along the way and sponsors will join in. At the moment we'll be able to finish the boat.

"The whole campaign is going to be pretty lean and mean. We're building for the future - just getting our toe back in the water after not being involved for 13 years. The Brits need to get started again, that's our sell."

But it has not been an easy sell because "it doesn't involve a little round leather ball."

"The issues on TV rights dragged on, and the timing of live footage isn't wonderful - it will come across at 2 am here [in Britain]," Melrose says.

The Brits have pulled together a crew led by round-the-world skipper Lawrie Smith.

But they have yet to find somewhere to base themselves in Auckland should they turn up before the October 18 start of the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger series.

"We're coming down in July to sort that out," Melrose says.

"We're still trying to work an arrangement to share a base with the Swiss. If that fails we have an offer of a facility at Babcocks across the harbour."


A United Kingdom team have scraped together money for a yacht but their campaign still faces huge financial hurdles.