Te Kahu and the much bigger Defiant in the Rangitoto Channel on Tuesday. Photo / Brian McConnell, supplied
Te Kahu and the much bigger Defiant in the Rangitoto Channel on Tuesday. Photo / Brian McConnell, supplied
It's on!
After months of disruption due to Covid-19 and the recent controversy around allegations of a "reclassified" $3 million loan, Team New Zealand had its first unofficial race against a challenger ahead of next year's defence of the 36th America's Cup.
Aucklander Brian McConnell captured the "drag race" between Team New Zealand's 38-foot test boat Te Kāhu and American Magic's Defiant in the Rangitoto Channel on Tuesday afternoon.
"So I can confirm, the big boat is faster," McConnell posted on Facebook. "But not much faster."
The New York Yacht Club syndicate on Monday became the first challenger to sail on New Zealand waters ahead of the America's Cup in March next year, with the 75-foot monohull sailing for nearly seven hours on Waitemata Harbour.
It was the first time the crew had sailed the boat since March 3 in Pensacola, Florida.
"We had a great day. It was nice to go sailing," skipper and executive director Terry Hutchinson said. "I've got no complaints. It was really good."
Team New Zealand launched their test boat Te Kahu in January. Photo / Photosport
Team New Zealand and the three challengers were set to sail their radical sloops for the first time in two America's Cup World Series preliminary regattas in Italy and England in April and June, but they were cancelled due to the pandemic.
American Magic had been within days of shipping Defiant to Europe before the regattas were cancelled. While it didn't sail the boat again in Florida, the team was able to make improvements to the yacht before shipping it to New Zealand. It arrived late last month.
The crew — including helmsman Kiwi Dean Barker — arrived in stages, and went through mandatory quarantine.
Earlier this month, Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton said the Defender has been the victim of a "highly orchestrated" attack on the integrity and credibility of the sailing syndicate - with the attack coming from people with "questionable motives".
Dalton's comments came with Team New Zealand and America's Cup organisers at the centre of an inquiry commissioned by the Crown over the spending of public money, including allegations of a "reclassified" $3 million loan and revelations the team was scammed into paying funds into a Hungarian bank account.
The Government has since stopped any further payments to America's Cup organisers as it investigates claims over the spending of public money.
Team New Zealand CEO Grant Dalton with the Auld Mug in 2017. Photo /Photosport
The other two challengers, Ineos Team UK and Italy's Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team, are scheduled to relocate to Auckland later this year.
American Magic's second boat, which is under construction in Rhode Island, is scheduled to be flown to Auckland in September.
A final World Series regatta is scheduled for Auckland just before Christmas. The Prada Cup for challengers is scheduled for January 15-22, with the winner to meet Team New Zealand in the America's Cup match from March 6-21. - with AP
