Yachting: Team NZ may join Spain in Volvo bid

Team NZ spokesman Warren Douglas. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Team New Zealand have struck a deal to compete in the 2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race under the Spanish flag, according to reports in Spain.

The report on Spanish sailing website valenciasailing.com claims Emirates Team New Zealand have joined forces with Real Club Nautico Palma to enter the next edition of the round-the-world race.

The website said the deal was signed in Spain on Wednesday and the joint New Zealand-Spanish project will be announced in Palma next Monday.

The joint project will be bankrolled by Spanish footwear company Camper, also based in Palma, to the tune of €20 million ($37.6 million).

However, Team NZ spokesman Warren Douglas denies an official agreement has been signed and said the syndicate is still in talks with a number of parties.

"It is on the agenda, we've been talking to a number of people and Spain are part of that," said Douglas. "We hope something might happen."

Douglas said any announcement is still some way off.

Speculation Team New Zealand will compete in the event has intensified over the last couple of weeks following the announcement last month that Auckland will host a stopover for the gruelling round-the-world race.

Auckland has a rich history in the event dating back to the late 80s and early 90s when it was known as the Whitbread round-the-world yacht race.

Some of the closest finishes in the event have occurred on the New Zealand leg, which has traditionally attracted huge local interest.

In the past thousands of spectators have lined the Viaduct in the early hours of the morning to welcome back into port the yachts and local heroes Grant Dalton, Chris Dickson and the late Sir Peter Blake.

Dalton, the Team NZ boss, said at the time of the announcement of the Auckland hosting agreement that if we are to see this level of hysteria again, a Kiwi entrant is needed.

He also admitted it made sense for Team New Zealand to enter.

New Zealand's influence in offshore sailing has reduced significantly over the past 10 years.

Given the size of the country and the limited sponsorship dollars on offer, any funding for sailing events has been directed at the America's Cup and associated projects.

The next Volvo Ocean Race will start in the Spanish port of Alicante late next year and finish in Galway, Ireland, during the northern summer of 2012.

The Auckland stopover would see teams stay for 16 days in March 2012.