NZL82 - high and dry but down yet again

By JULIE ASH

Sitting in Marseille, battered, bruised and broken, the wretched life of NZL82 continues.

In a sport where superstition is common, it is safe to assume Emirates Team New Zealand's race yacht is cursed.

After several promising races against Alinghi and BMW Oracle racing in the first cup pre-regatta in Marseille, things were looking up for NZL82, which broke down twice during the last cup.

But then Mother Nature hurled down one of her worst storms, knocking the 25-tonne yacht off its cradle and into one of the team's shipping containers, causing severe damage to the yacht's left side.

The storm also knocked the Alinghi and BMW Oracle yachts off their cradles, causing significant damaged but less than that suffered by NZL82.

The damage to the yacht is so extensive that it cannot be repaired in time for the second and third regattas in Valencia next month.

So for NZL82 it is back to the boatshed, a place it knows well.

The yacht was a problem from day one. Its entrance into the world was delayed after boat builders questioned design features of sister yacht NZL81, which meant NZL82 was at least a month behind schedule.

With its revolutionary hula, NZL82's christening and maiden voyage went without a hitch, but a near-sinking by NZL81 in December saw NZL82 rushed back into the boatshed and strengthened.

All appeared to be going well until race one of the America's Cup, where several tonnes of water poured on board, nearly causing the yacht to sink. Add in a broken boom and ripped headsail and the team had no choice but to withdraw from the race.

After such a disastrous start, many thought all the demons had been banished. Wrong.

NZL82 dropped its mast in race four, ending what little chance New Zealand had of retaining the America's Cup.

An anonymous crew-member summed up the feelings of a nation when he bellowed "This f***** boat", after the mast collapsed 57 minutes into the race.

To rub it in, the spinnaker pole broke in race five.

But it appears the Marseille regatta is the last the fans will see of NZL82. It was planned the boat would be retired after the Valencia regatta.