Yachting: Oliver's baby gets her bottom wet

By Suzanne McFadden

Clay Oliver beamed like a proud father as his new baby was dunked in the water yesterday.

The Team New Zealand designer watched the latest black America's Cup boat being launched into the sea to test for leaks before her maiden sail.

"It's just like the birth of a baby," Oliver said.

"We weighed her, measured her and we'll check out her reflexes.

"She's a big, strong girl who's going to grow up fast."

The winds were a little too brisk to introduce NZL57 to the world of sailing yesterday. However, she could be given her first outing today before she is christened at sunset in the cup village in Auckland's Viaduct Basin.

The Team New Zealand crew passed around a bottle of champagne to mark the moment when New Zealand's first cup defence yacht touched the water.

The new boat was still swaddled in covers as she took a dip for the first time outside the Team New Zealand base.

Her paint job remains a secret.

Said veteran New Zealand cup designer Laurie Davidson: "I don't know if she looks pretty. But when she's out in front, she will be very pretty. This one could make history."

Oliver, Team New Zealand's principal designer, is confident that this is a "lean and mean" yacht.

An American, Oliver has worked for both sides. He helped design Dennis Conner's winning boat in 1987 and the infamous catamaran the following year.

He switched allegiances in 1992 working for the New Zealand challenge, and helped draw up Chris Dickson's NZL39 last time.

But watching a new cup boat being launched never loses its thrill.

"We've looked at the drawings and the shape of the boat, but there's still an amount of mystery in boat design.

"That makes watching in the water very exciting," Oliver said. "The first couple of sails we'll be testing out the systems. We'll be listening for any little groans. It won't be until we get the second boat here with her older sister that we'll know just how fast they are."

The younger boat, NZL60, is still being built at the Cookson boatyard in Glenfield on the North Shore - and her designers promise she has not been neglected while the sailors have put in overtime to get NZL57 ready.

Oliver said: "She's coming along fine. She will be good because she will have the benefit of having an older sister that we can learn from."

NZL57 will be officially christened by Lady Pippa Blake just after 6 pm today.

The public can watch from the Waitemata Plaza in the Viaduct Basin.