By JULIE ASH
It seems a number of visiting America's Cup sailors have stumbled across some of New Zealand's best-kept secrets.
Not Team New Zealand's design plans but our beaches - home to some of the world's best surfing.
Victory Challenge crew members Oscar Angervall and Oskar Ljung have taken a liking to Maori Bay, near Muriwai.
"We get quite beaten up by the waves. They are strong," said Ljung.
For professional sailors, time off is a rarity and surfing is quite a new experience for the Swedish pair.
Their interest in surfing started after a trip to Morocco a year ago. Before that, Ljung had surfed one day in the West Indies and Angervall one day in Argentina.
In terms of ability Ljung and Angervall say they are pretty much equal - a conclusion they came to after counting how long each one managed to stand up on the board: approximately 20 seconds.
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As the defender and challenger of record, Team New Zealand and Prada have slightly modified the cup protocol.
The protocol, the document that governs the rules, format and timing of the challenger selection series and the cup, was too specific about the number of boats that would compete in the Louis Vuitton Cup semifinals.
It had also specified two semifinal rounds, resulting in some confusion.
The new paragraph reads: "Following the round robins there will be quarter-finals and thereafter semifinals. The participants in the quarter-finals will be the eight top scorers as a result of the round robins.
"The quarter-finals and semifinals shall be conducted on a seeded ladder basis, which may include repechages, to be determined by the challengers and approved by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron."
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Victory Challenge have confirmed the construction of their second cup boat is under way.
Their first boat, Orn, which they have sailed in this week's America's Cup International Regatta, has sail number SWE 63; their new boat will be SWE 73.
"When we built Orn, we followed a more traditional design from America's Cup 2000," said project manager Mats Johansson. "For the boat that we now have started to build there is a whole new concept."
On sail matters, Prada have been assigned No 74.
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GBR Challenge gave visiting English tenor Russell Watson a taste of America's Cup racing while he was in Auckland.
GBR took him on a tour of the base and a spin in their boat which coincided with an inhouse race against Prada.
At Watson's concert in the Auckland Domain, they presented him with a gold record for the number of his sales in New Zealand.
Watson also visited the America's Cup at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and, as much as he wanted it for his own mantelpiece, he just couldn't figure out how to get around its tight security. A video clip was shown at the Domain of Watson trying to get his hands on the cup.
Another visitor to the GBR base this week was Princess Anne.
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The Women's Sports Foundation has announced world-class sailor Dawn Riley as its new president. Riley, chief executive and captain of America True from the last cup, will begin her two-year term next January.
Riley became the first woman in the world to captain a cup team, and at the same time managed an entire America's Cup racing syndicate.
Founded in 1974 by Billie Jean King, the Women's Sports Foundation is a charitable educational organisation dedicated to ensuring equal access and leadership opportunities for all girls and women in sports and fitness.
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<i>Sips from the cup:</i> Surf's up for visitors when sails are down
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