Sailing: Team NZ back in the water

Peter Burling (right) is at the helm for Team New Zealand this weekend. Photo / File

Peter Burling will lead a new-look Team New Zealand sailing team for the first Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series in Portsmouth beginning this weekend.

Burling will have with him a mix of invaluable experience in Glenn Ashby and Ray Davies, and new faces in Guy Endean, Harry Thurston and Blair Tuke.

But as usual, nothing is fazing Burling about being at the helm of Team NZ.

Before leaving for Portsmouth, the 24-year-old told the Bay of Plenty Times of his desire to get out on the water against the best sailors in the world.

"All the other skippers will be there like Ben Ainslie, Jimmy Spithill and Dean Barker, who are all really good guys in their own right and have done massive amounts in the sailing world. To be able to line up against those boys is pretty cool. I am really looking forward to that challenge.

"But Team New Zealand has probably done the least amount of sailing in the AC45f so we are going to have a massive learning curve to try and get used to sailing these type of small foiling boats.

"(This) first world series event is in Portsmouth, which is Ben Ainslie's base. With all the changes going on, we still have a really strong, good group of guys really dedicated to bringing the cup back."

The regatta will be contested in AC45f boats with a hydrofoil which Burling says "makes the boat really fly. The last America's Cup, the boat was a 72-footer, now it is going to be a 49-foot boat. There are only going to be six people on it. It is a pretty small boat and it is definitely a lot different to last time round.

"The boats are a lot more one-design now so much of what you would have had to design is done for you, like significant portions of the wing and the hulls. It also means the sailing side of things will be important."

The Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series events are only four races long and count towards the eventual Louis Vuitton cup qualification rankings in 2017. After Portsmouth, the two final regattas will be in Sweden and Bermuda.

Australian multihull specialist Glenn Ashby was originally named co-captain with Burling but has stepped back to let Burling gain more experience.

"For us this regatta is definitely a development exercise. A podium finish will be a pretty good result for us," Ashby said. "This event will not make or break an America's Cup campaign, but making sure we take a big step up as a team and continue this momentum towards 2017 will."