America's Cup: Team NZ boats return to home of Auld Mug

LONDON - Team New Zealand's all-conquering yacht NZL32 has sailed into Cowes for this month's America's Cup Jubilee regatta.

Black Magic, which won the cup in 1995, took up a mooring in front of the original home of the America's Cup, on England's Isle of Wight.

It was the second of five America's Cup winners, after Australia 2, to arrive in the Solent for the 150th anniversary regatta, which starts on August 18.

Born on the Isle of Wight, the America's Cup will return there for the first time since 1851 for the regatta.

A special ceremony, including a Maori challenge, will be held for the historic return of the world's oldest sporting trophy to Cowes.

KZ7, before NZL32 New Zealand's most famous America's Cup yacht, will also be present for the jubilee event.

Both boats will sailed by Team New Zealand, and the cup will be on display throughout the event.

NZL32 was shipped earlier this year from New Zealand to Lorient in France, where she has been chartered to the French America's Cup Challenge.

The French syndicate, who had been using it for training and tuning, handed it back to Team New Zealand last week.

It will return to France after the jubilee.

Black Magic was fitted with fundamental safety equipment such as navigation lights, a liferaft, flares and torches for its trip across the English Channel.

It left Lorient at 4 am to start the 270-nautical mile trip to Cowes, a journey Cowes Week regatta organisers said was possibly the longest voyage ever sailed by an America's Cup Class (ACC) boat.

ACC yachts usually race and train in protected coastal waters.

Team New Zealand boss Tom Schnackenberg skippered the black boat with eight support crew on board and three in the support boat.

It made the passage partly under tow and partly under sail with a cut-down delivery mainsail, organisers said.

New Zealand cup skipper Dean Barker is due to arrive in England this week to head the racing team for the jubilee.

NZL32 will be based in Portsmouth, on the English mainland, before the regatta, where she will be prepared for the classic event.

The first America's Cup race was a round Isle of Wight competition, won by the schooner America.

The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron has been guardian of the America's Cup since 1995, when Team New Zealand took it from the United States.

New Zealand defended the cup in Auckland in March 2000.

The jubilee regatta will be held from August 18-25.

- NZPA