Yachting: Team NZ's radical new boat gets step closer

Team New Zealand is in Barcelona to compete in the TP52 circuit. Photo / Dean Purcell

Team New Zealand's Volvo Ocean Race campaign will mark another big milestone next month with the construction of their VO70 yacht to begin the first week of August.

The team, and their key backer - Spanish footwear giant Camper - held a press conference in Barcelona yesterday to unveil the details of the project.

The build is due to start at Auckland's Cookson Yard on August 9.

The design process has been under way for some time, well before April this year when Emirates Team New Zealand and Camper confirmed their entry in the round the world event.

Once the funding was found, the design team - led by principal designer Marcelino Botin - were able to hit the ground running.

Over the past few months a team of about 20 naval architects, structural and mechanical engineers, sail and mast designers and software developers have built scale models, which have undergone more than 300 tests as they try to perfect the design.

With the yacht build scheduled to start in two weeks, the design team will come together in the coming days to make some final decisions.

The yacht is expected to be delivered to the Team New Zealand base in early April next year, where the keel, bulb and rudders will be fitted before the yacht is rigged.

Three months of sea trials off New Zealand will follow, with the team looking for strong winds and big seas to test handling and reliability before shipping the yacht to Europe in July.

Crew selection for the 39,000 nautical mile race is also well-advanced, with Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton yesterday announcing that experienced Spanish round-the-world yachtsman Roberto Bermudez de Castro has signed on.

It will be his fifth round-the-world race, most recently as skipper of Team Delta Lloyd in 2008-09.

He was a watch captain on Brazil 1 in 2004-05 and raced the southern ocean legs on board Assa Abloy in 2001-02.

Known as Chuny in the sailing world, de Castro adds further experience to the crew which includes long-time campaigners skipper Chris Nicholson and watch captain Stuart Bannatyne.