Sailing: Nathan Outteridge to join Swiss SailGP team between America's Cup commitments with Team New Zealand

Nathan Outteridge has joined the Swiss SailGP team as an advisor and coach. Photo: Ricardo Pinto/SailGP

Team New Zealand sailor Nathan Outteridge will again be splitting his time between America's Cup and SailGP duties, taking a new opportunity in the global foiling series.

Outteridge was the helmsman for the Japanese team in the first two seasons of SailGP, leading them to a third and second place finish in the two campaigns. This year, however, he found himself without a team.

With two new teams, Canada and Switzerland, joining SailGP this season, there was a higher demand on boats and only nine were ready for the start of the campaign. Japan were the team to miss out, and were ultimately ruled out indefinitely.

With his team now out of the campaign, Outteridge was snapped up by the Swiss team and has joined the newcomers as an advisor and coach. He began this role at the event in Plymouth late last month - won by the New Zealand SailGP team.

While primarily recruited to help guide the young sailors, Outteridge will be back in the driver's seat in place of young helmsman Sebastian Schneiter on race days at next week's event in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Speaking on the SailGP Deep Dive podcast, Outteridge clarified his role with the team.

"I'm just coming in to help as much as I can and really give Seb a platform to work with moving forward - it's not like I'm going to take over the program and make it the 'Nathan Outteridge Swiss team', it's still Seb's team and it's still his crew," he said.

The 36-year-old will juggle his new role with his America's Cup testing and training commitments as a member of Team New Zealand, which will be his priority on the occasions where the two overlap.

Outteridge, who served in the commentary booth for the 36th America's Cup in Auckland last year, was quickly snapped up at the start of the new cycle by the defender.

The Herald understands Team New Zealand saw the opportunity as beneficial for all parties involved, as it gives Outteridge an opportunity to stay sharp in a competitive racing environment when he is not required for America's Cup duties, while his knowledge will allow the Swiss SailGP outfit to develop at a faster rate.

It's not the first time Team New Zealand have linked up with the Swiss sailing outfit. The two have had a strong relationship since 2016 when the Kiwi outfit helped to develop the foiling skills of several young Swiss sailors including SailGP driver Schneiter. That partnership was focused around the 2016 GC32 Racing tour, in which Team Tilt finished second, and on towards the Youth America's Cup in 2017 where they finished third.

"Swiss SailGP Team have raced at three events now and the team is continuing to make improvements. We've already seen great racing and good progress," Swiss SailGP Team chief executive Tanguy Cariou said.

"Now we see a big opportunity by utilising Nathan's experience to help accelerate the development of the crew in their respective positions and help us build on our performance throughout season three."