The defender of the America’s Cup made the most of their opportunities to race in the round-robins of the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger series. However, they were forced behind the scenes again as the knockout stages took to the spotlight; coming to a crescendo with Ineos Britannia’s 7-4 win over Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli in the final.
But while the challengers have been busy battling on the bumpy Barcelona waters, the Kiwi crew have been evolving so that when they return to racing next weekend, they will do so as a freshly oiled machine.
“We’ve been really careful how we’ve used this period of time,” Team NZ chief operating officer Kevin Shoebridge told the Herald.
“There’s a month between us finishing around round-robins and when we’re going to start the match, so we wanted to be careful that we kept the intensity and kept the focus in the right area.
“We’ve been trying to get quicker, and we’ve also been trying to hone in on our race craft so that we’re ready to race, with our starting and course management and all those things.”
When Team NZ launched their new AC75 Taihoro back in Auckland in April, port helmsman Nathan Outteridge told the Heraldwe would not see the vessel at its best until October as the package would be upgraded as they drew closer to the Cup match.
Those upgrades have been part of their evolution over the last month, with new sails and some tweaks to their foils among the work they have carried out.
Emirates Team New Zealand have been dutifully preparing for the Cup match. Photo / Ian Roman, America's Cup
“There’s been lots of little things, there’s no major thing,” Shoebridge said.
“We’ve been looking at a lot of new sails, we’ve done some small tweaks to our underwater appendages, but that’s all within the law allowance that you’re allowed, which is not huge. Some of that stuff is not visible.
“There’s a lot to be gained by knowing how to sail the boat accurately with your modes and what sails you have up, all that kind of thing.
“We feel as though we’ve made a good step since the round-robins, but I’m sure everyone else has as well so it’s going to be pretty interesting next Saturday when we line up.”
Lining up against the British when the Cup match begins on October 13 (NZ time), Team NZ meet the biggest improvers of the regatta so far.
Ineos Britannia have been impressive in their rise through the regatta; going from a team somewhat off the pace in the first round-robin to ending the double round-robin phase as the top-ranked challenger.
They lived up to that tag in the knockout stages, showing they have a fast package equipped to handle the array of conditions Barcelona can offer, as well as a sailing team capable of getting it around the course smartly. They also enter the Cup match battle-hardened, after a tense series against the Italians.
Although Team NZ haven’t been doing any proper racing since the round-robins ended, they have had access to the racecourse before and between races in the challenger series final, and Shoebridge said the team were heading into next week’s match feeling good about their form.
“It’s hard to quantify and say you’re going this much quicker. We just know that we’re going better,” Shoebridge said.
“We have a lot of data and a lot of analysis, and we also have a lot of data and analysis of the other teams. Everyone’s improving, it’s just who improves at a faster rate.
“As you’ve seen in these races, all the boats are quick enough to win races. If you end up with a poor start or you get on the wrong side of the course or you have a touchdown, it’s hard to recover from. But on the plus side, if you are behind and you can keep close enough, there are plenty of opportunities.
“It’ll take all the things to align to win the Cup. We’re going to have to be quick, we’re going to have to sail well and we’re going to have to have a bit of luck on our side.”
37th America’s Cup match
Emirates Team New Zealand v Ineos Britannia
The best-of-13 series is scheduled to run between October 13-22 (NZ time), with October 23-28 available as reserve days if required.
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.
