Yachting: Dalton looking to expand Pacific Series

Team NZ boss Grant Dalton is hopeful America's Cup-class yacht racing will return to NZ next year. Photo / Richard Robinson

PORTIMAO - Emirates Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton is hopeful America's Cup-class yacht racing will make a return to New Zealand this summer.

Team NZ were one of the movers behind the successful Louis Vuitton Pacific Series in Auckland in January and February, when they went on to win the final against archrivals Alinghi.

That series was organised in response to the lack of America's Cup action because of the ongoing court wrangle between American syndicate Oracle and cup holders Alinghi.

The pair are set to do battle in a one-on-one duel in giant multihulls in the Persian Gulf next February, with both sides saying the cup regatta after that would revert to the mult-challenger format.

Dalton said today that the feedback from the Pacific Series had been such that there were plans for a repeat.

But rather than being a stand-alone event, it would be part of a new circuit that would include three other stops around the world.

"Initially, we were trying to put something together for this year, but it just got too late to get something ready," he said.

"We hope that it will commence in Auckland next year, probably a little later than February to get away from the cup, but still in summer."

Dalton, who is sailing with Team NZ at the southern Portuguese city of Portimao in the latest round of the Audi MedCup, said the venues after Auckland had not yet been decided and would depend on negotiations with interested ports.

Ten teams competed in the inaugural Pacific Series in a two-week match-racing regatta run like a shortened version of the America's Cup.

They sailed in boats provided by Team NZ and Oracle from the 2007 campaign in Valencia.

There was plenty of praise from participants, including Alinghi skipper Brad Butterworth, whose assessment immediately after the final was that "it's just been fantastic".

Dalton said the feedback had been "100 per cent positive" and he was continuing to get reaction in Portimao.

"I was getting my room key rebooted at reception and I got tackled by three guys saying, `What's going to happen, are you going to do it?'

"It was a really big success in yachting terms."

Dalton was expecting even greater interest if a second Pacific Series regatta were to go ahead in Auckland, but entries were unlikely to be increased from 10.

If numbers were greater, more time would be needed because of the match-racing format, and that in turn would result in an event that went on for too long.

- NZPA