The recent departures of Team New Zealand sailors Winston Macfarlane and Derek Saward, as revealed in the Herald today, leave just four members of the 2013 crew remaining at the syndicate.
Only wing trimmer Glenn Ashby, who has been promoted to sailing director, tactician Ray Davies, pitman Jeremy Lomas, and Richard Meacham, the team's bowman, are still with the team after a tumultuous 18 months since Team NZ returned from San Francisco.
So what has happened to the rest of them?
Dean Barker (skipper) - Left the syndicate in February following a messy and very public employment dispute. Barker was a casualty of a major restructure at the end of last year, which was prompted by the selection of Bermuda as the venue for the next America's Cup. The team's long-serving skipper was ousted from an on-board role with the team, and was instead offered a coaching/performance analyst position, which he turned down. Barker has landed on his feet, last month joining new challenger Team Japan as the syndicate's skipper and chief executive.
Derek Saward (floater/grinder) - Resigned from the team last month, although the circumstances around his departure are unclear. A former member of Team New Zealand said Saward was one of the outstanding performers in San Francisco and a big loss for the team. "He was one of our real stars last time. That guy came in as a first-time grinder and he was by far our best grinder, he's just an amazing yachtsman. He made the first-choice crew in his first America's Cup campaign, which is pretty rare."
