Yachting: Team NZ yet to confirm challenge

Team New Zealand in action. Photo / Chris Cameron

Team New Zealand expect to mount a challenge at the next America's Cup, but will make a final decision after studying the details of the changes announced today to the yachting regatta.

New holders Oracle Racing of the United States and an Italian syndicate representing the challengers confirmed that the next event would be in 2013 and be sailed in AC72s, a new class of 72-foot catamaran with a wing sail.

The venue will be decided later this year.

Team NZ managing director Grant Dalton said his syndicate were encouraged by the 2013 date rather than the other suggested possibility of 2014.

The last multi-team event was in 2007, before a bitter court battle between Oracle and then-holders Alinghi of Switzerland led to a head-to-head battle in giant multihulls this year from which other challengers were locked out.

As to where Team NZ stood at the moment, Dalton said they would need time to consider the protocol unveiled today and consult with other challengers to see if it created a fair playing field.

"We are in there now in the America's Cup," he said.

"We need to consider where we sit in terms of our ability to win."

Dalton said the budget was a consideration, but he had no doubts in Team NZ's ability to design, build and sail an AC72.

If the decision was made to challenge, Team NZ would have to start work on a campaign within the next month.

The America's Cup has traditionally been sailed in monohulls, and Oracle chief executive Russell Coutts said the change to a fast catamaran would lead to "racing that meets the expectations of the Facebook generation, not the Flintstones generation".

"We need to have the best sailors in the world racing the coolest and fastest boats in the world."

New Zealander Coutts said the AC72 would be a boat that young sailors would look at and get excited about.

"When you look at the state of the America's Cup before today, you really had quite a few sailors that were in their 40s and 50s," he said.

"It really had the appearance of a senior tour more than a pinnacle event. I think this will bring a lot more of the sailors that have been brought up sailing skiffs and high performance boats, people who like speed and also like to race."

Among other details in the protocol, a neutral, independent race management would be set up.

When a switch to catamarans was mooted, the idea wasn't universally well received, with Britain's Team Origin saying it might not compete if that were the case.

Coutts believed a lot of concerns and questions had been answered.

"No doubt some of the existing monohull teams prefer we stay in monohulls, but it's our belief that good monohull teams can become good multihull teams if they wish."

The key to Oracle's victory over Alinghi was the wing sail, which resembled an aeroplane wing, on its giant trimaran.

The AC72s will have crews of 11, compared with 17 on the previous ACC sloops, and are expected to be able to be sailed in a wide wind range of three to 33 knots.

- NZPA