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An emotional Dean Barker heaped praise on his Emirates Team New Zealand crew today for earning the chance to reclaim the America's Cup.
Team New Zealand secured the Louis Vuitton Cup by beating Luna Rossa in race five of the final series by 22 seconds to claim a 5-0 clean sweep. The win means The New Zealanders go on to race Alinghi for yachting's biggest prize in a best of nine series, beginning June 23.
Today's effort would have been extra sweet for Barker, who was at the helm when the Swiss handed out their own 5-0 drubbing on the black boat to claim the Auld Mug in Auckland in 2003.
Looking back over last 6-8 weeks, Barker said the team has developed "brilliantly".
"The team is sailing very well. I think the team has got progressively better and better and I think that is what you need to do over these sorts of series to win.
"You don't want to sail your best in the first round robin and hopefully we haven't left our best in the finals.
"We know there is a lot of areas where we can still do better. We'll need to see how we stack up against Alinghi."
Team New Zealand became the first team to go undefeated in the 24-year history of the Louis Vuitton Cup final - winning 5-0 - and Barker now has the chance to avenge Team New Zealand's loss of the America's Cup to Alinghi in 2003.
Prime Minister Helen Clark - whose Government has contributed $33.75m to Team New Zealand - toasted the victory over Luna Rossa.
"It's a thrilling result and I'm really proud of the team, and all the support crew and backers who made it possible," she said.
As NZL92 crossed the finish line, jubilation erupted on board and on shore. Barker and his crew embraced, as watching crowds of New Zealanders cheered and hugged.
While there were some Italian fans cheering their team, they were far outnumbered by Kiwis who had travelled to Spain to be part of the historic day.
Barker said: "We are absolutely thrilled. It has been a very tough series. "We are just enjoying the moment right now."
The whitewash came after racing was postponed for 30 minutes due to light and shifty winds.
Luna Rossa threw everything at Team New Zealand, pushing them hard and trying every yachting trick it could to get in front.
Twenty seconds separated the rivals round each marker but Luna Rossa just could not claw back Barker's advantage.
Neither side made team changes ahead of the race although Luna Rossa had made some modifications to ITA-94.
Europe is getting a taste for the America's Cup - hosting the series for the first time in its long history - and the continent is getting behind our rival, Swiss-based Alinghi, in a bid to keep the prized contest in the Northern Hemisphere.
Alinghi, run by the billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli, raided New Zealand's talent, including Brad Butterworth, for the 2003 regatta in Auckland and took the America's Cup off to Europe.
Butterworth's clutch of New Zealand sailors include Warwick Fleury, Simon Daubney and Murray Jones.
Alinghi continued her America's Cup title defence preparations with a private trial yesterday against beaten challenger Desafio Espanol.
The Spaniards, knocked out of the Louis Vuitton Cup by New Zealand 5-2 in the semi-finals, have stated they are willing to help the Swiss fine-tune their bid to retain the cup.
When racing starts in two weeks, New Zealand is arguably more of the little guy than ever.
With the staggering numbers associated with the event, it's little wonder the Europeans are going out of their way to keep it.
Official figures showed almost 2 million visitors have flocked to Valencia's Port America's Cup since April 1.
The busiest day, May 1, attracted almost 70,000. More than 500 boats docked in Port America's Cup in April and May.
Cup History
The Louis Vuitton Cup dates from 1983 and remains one of the most prestigious trophies in the yachting world. The cup itself is an original creation by a Parisian goldsmith, inspired by a draft sketch from the 1920s.
New Zealand last won the Louis Vuitton series in 1995 in Black Magic when the late Peter Blake was in charge with Russell Coutts at the helm. Blake was knighted that year for services to yachting.
The champion team continued on to its historic America's Cup victory, destroying Dennis Conner's Stars & Stripes 5-0.
Five years later in Auckland, New Zealand eventually became the first nation outside the United States to successfully defend the America's Cup.
Full coverage of the America's Cup from nzherald.co.nz/americascup and desktoptv.co.nz
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