Buzz returns at Team NZ

By JULIE ASH

Team New Zealand have signed some top people who will make the syndicate a potent weapon, says managing director Grant Dalton.

After just seven months in the job, it appears the veteran round-the-world sailor is on track to get Team New Zealand on the start-line in 2007.

"In recent weeks we have had some serious success on the people front," Dalton said yesterday.

"I'm really excited. Our design team, our engineers, our statistical analysts, our new mast design team, new sail design team and our new crew are a potent weapon.

"Everything is under control, the back of the boat - everywhere. It is a real step up."

Dalton does not wish to announce his latest signings just yet, and as he has travelled to every corner of the earth in the hunt for sponsorship, it is difficult to hazard a guess as to which sailors and designers he has secured.

"I think it is a mix of what we recognised as the best of the old with a whole lot of new ... which includes some grey hair as well."

But who he has nabbed could be revealed next week when a design meeting is held in Auckland.

"There are people arriving from all over the world for that," Dalton said, which suggests the new Team New Zealand will be more multinational.

"We'll have about 20 guys in town. We will set the parameters of when we sail, when we don't sail, when we start going to the tank, how we are going to run our testing, the weather - everything."

With most of the key people now secured, the challenge for Dalton remains to find the $150 million or so needed to get to the startline.

"Money-wise I am starting to feel reasonably good," Dalton said. "We are going better on-shore than I expected, which is cool."

While he is reluctant to say exactly how close he is to reaching that $150 million mark, Dalton did say if Team New Zealand were a Morris Minor trying to get to the top of a very steep hill - "peoplewise I think we are near the top. Money wise I would say we are about halfway.

"It is a lot of money, but if you think the next America's Cup is four months before the next rugby World Cup - that seems like forever away."

But while things seem to be on track for Team New Zealand, a quick glance next door at Larry Ellison's Oracle BMW Racing, who are training in Auckland over the summer, with their star-studded sailing crew and Bruce Farr-led design team, is a big enough reminder of how competitive the game is, and that is before you even get to the America's Cup match.

"Everything about Oracle says strength. Of the challengers, Oracle is obviously the yardstick we have to get to," Dalton said

The venue of the next America's Cup will be announced on Wednesday. Valencia, Lisbon, Marseille and Naples are still in the running.

"Venue wise, we don't really have a preference," Dalton said. "It isn't affecting us from a sponsorship point of view."

Also revealed will be the draft America's Cup-class rules, which are revised after each regatta.

It has been speculated changes may lean towards lighter boats with more sail area.

"Our biggest crusade is that they get a handle on the costs and that the rules they introduce, at a minimum, maintain costs but hopefully reduce them," Dalton said

A series of seeding regattas leading up to the next cup have been planned - it is understood the first "major" one is in September next year.

Dalton had originally planned for Team New Zealand to be sailing in February, but has reviewed that decision.

He said an independent review on why the black boats failed in the last cup had been completed, but would not be made public.

"We have modifications to do to the boats and by the time that process is over we'll be into the winter.

"The guys are doing other things [competing overseas] so I don't see any benefit of us sailing in February."


Further reading: nzherald.co.nz/americascup