KEY POINTS:
Of the America's Cup, Sir Peter Blake once said "in the past it has been full of mystique and dirty tricks, of political manoeuvring and espionage. But peel away the cloak and dagger stuff and it is just another yacht race".
This week in Valencia very similar words
came from Team New Zealand's managing director Grant Dalton.
"One of the things about it now is it is just yacht racing in its purest sense," he said.
Come race one of the America's Cup on Sunday, the gentle jibes which have come out of the Swiss camp will go by the wayside, both crews will head to the start line well rehearsed on every boat handling move, both yachts will have had every ounce of speed eked out of them.
For the 17 men on board Team New Zealand, it is their chance to not only take on and beat the best yachting team in the world, but to make amends for their disappointing performance in Auckland four years ago.
Whether they will be good enough, only time will tell.
It is hard to think of a cup without thinking of the late Sir Peter.
But what would he think of the new Grant Dalton-led Team New Zealand?
He'd probably be honoured that Dalton, a talented yachtsman in his own right, has brought back some of his philosophies.
Like Blake's teams, this Team New Zealand have a clear leader in Dalton.
His personality is different to that of the charismatic Blake but he is in every sense a true leader. Every member of his team looks up to him.
Like Blake's teams this Team New Zealand is sailor rather than designer-led and operates like a family where everyone is encouraged to contribute.
Their budget is significantly bigger than what Blake had to work with, but he would have approved of their fancy-free set up.
Their Valencia base is nowhere near as extravagant as most teams'. It is probably best described as simple but efficient.
Blake would also be pleased that Dalton is sailing on the boat. He knew that was the best place to truly understand what is going on.
And he'd also approve of the way that Dalton has kept the team very "Kiwi".
"I really do believe in New Zealand's yachting industry and expertise," Blake once said.
In 1995 Team New Zealand had a speed edge over their opponents. When testing NZL32 on the Hauraki Gulf then-skipper Russell Coutts said: "Within half an hour we knew we had something special."
While Team New Zealand haven't enjoyed such an edge over their rivals, they do appear happy with their artillery.
Skipper Dean Barker recalls the first time NZL84 lined up against the syndicate's 2003-generation boat NZL81.
"It was a pretty cool feeling ... we knew straight away we had made a big jump," Barker said.
From the outside, Team New Zealand appear to share a similar bond to those who went to San Diego and achieved the unimaginable.
If the boats are even on Sunday morning Team New Zealand have a strong chance of winning back yachting's greatest prize.
If one team has a slight speed edge it is likely to be game over.
BLAKE'S thoughts on what it takes to succeed in this regatta are contained in a letter he sent to Italian challengers Prada, who succumbed to his team in 2000.
"The America's Cup is what it is because it is so difficult to win. It is not a game for armchair admirals. It is not a game for the faint-hearted. It is a game for those who are not scared of pitting themselves against the best that the world has to offer. It's a game where winning is almost impossible, almost, but not impossible. And this is why it is worth fighting for."