Yachting: Back to the scene of the crime for Team NZ

As the team's yachts race each other yesterday, NZL81 leads around the top mark ahead of NZL68. Picture / Richard Robinson

The Hauraki Gulf was reacquainted with America's Cup racing yesterday when NZL81 took on German stablemate NZL68 in the first of Team New Zealand's inhouse races.

With the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron providing race officials, the Emirates-sponsored team will spend the next two days simulating races.

Yesterday, skipper Dean Barker was at the wheel of NZL68 and double Olympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie at the helm of NZL81.

The racing gives the crews a chance to brush up on their skills before the first of this year's pre-regattas in June but its main purpose is to gauge the boats' performance.

"We are testing hulls, bulbs, keels, rudders, rigs, big ticket items, before we start to fine down, which won't really happen till next year," said managing director Grant Dalton.

"We are still testing the hull shape of the German boat [NZL68] against the hull shape of NZL81.

"They are similar boats in some ways but you get nothing for nothing. Which is quite good because now we have checked in there and we can start switching bulb, rudders and so on."

Team New Zealand's summer training began last month when they launched the former illbruck boat, now NZL68, which is a similar shape to the Alinghi and Oracle boats.

Since then it has been put through vigorous testing against NZL81, the training boat from the last cup.

"Structurally both boats have been fine," Dalton said.

"We have given them absolute hell, we have had no breakages."

While last year's pre-regattas counted for nothing, from this year they will help to seed challengers for the 2007 Louis Vuitton challenger series.

Team New Zealand announced yesterday that Vodafone New Zealand would supply the team's global telecommunications needs.

The syndicate will now be able to transfer data instantaneously from its yachts to its shore crew for analysis. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

It is the first time Vodafone has been involved with Team New Zealand, whose previous sponsors have included rival Telecom.

Dalton said the syndicate still had one major sponsor to sign up.