2021 America's Cup: Images emerge from first Team New Zealand session on Waitemata Harbour

Name: ANZ Sports Scene: Team NZ name new boat Te Aihe
Uploaded: 2019-09-06T08:45:09+12:00
Duration: 98 s
Description: Team New Zealand christened their new yacht "Te Aihe."

NZ Herald

9 Sep, 2019 07:40 AM2 mins to read

Team New Zealand christened their new yacht "Te Aihe."

The first images of Team New Zealand's America's Cup boat foiling on Waitemata Harbour have emerged.

The boat, named Te Aihe, was unveiled on Friday, with fans getting their first chance to see the vessel that Team New Zealand hope can defend the America's Cup.

The crew then took the boat for a tow on the harbour, but were more secretive about their first foiling session. However, that didn't stop intrepid followers from managing to spot the crew in action.

The first picture of Te Aihe foiling. Photo / Costro, Sailing Anarchy Forums

The Kiwi outfit were the first syndicate to launch a full-scale AC75, however a number of others are expected to do so in the coming days.

Team New Zealand sailor Peter Burling said he expected to see the other teams run with similar designs for their vessels, at least in the first race boat.

"Keeping the guys out of the wind and providing the power the boat needs to sail we felt was a big attribute and I'm sure we'll see other teams running similar programs when they launch their boats over the next few days."

Emirates Team New Zealand take their new AC75 Te Aihe for a tow on the Waitemata Harbour. Photo / Weta27, Sailing Anarchy Forums

With the first event of the America's Cup World Series scheduled for late April next year in Sardinia, the time pressure doesn't let up after launching their first race boat.

With a second boat in the works, the crew will need to find a balance between finding their footing on the water with the AC75 in preparation for the regatta in Sardinia and working on any changes needed for the second boat.

Team New Zealand designer Dan Bernasconi said the team only had a short window to learn what they needed to from this vessel before diving into the build of the second boat, which will likely be the one raced in 2021.

"I think the hard bit, and it will be a really hard boat to sail, will actually be disconnecting from the chase boat, veering away and accelerating from say five knots to 15 knots before you take off," he said.

"We've being sailing in our simulator with this boat and we've already learned a lot from going through the motions of that. It's always going to be a little bit different on the water; it is definitely going to be a challenging boat to sail. We'll definitely make some mistakes in the early days; it's a steep learning curve but I think we'll get there."