Team NZ boat – ‘It’s out there!’
‘‘It’s out there!’’ declares Kiwi yachting guru Peter Lester as he eyes Team New Zealand’s new America’s Cup boat.
And he doesn’t mean it’s finally out in the public eye, ‘‘it’s out there’’ in terms of pushing the boundaries beyond anything that’s been seen for a large-scale monohull.
Emirates Team New Zealand officially launched the 75-foot foiling monster at their Auckland base yesterday and now the analysis begins – by the Cup defenders themselves, by their four challengers and by yachting enthusiasts around the country and the world.
No-one will be disappointed, according to Lester, a three-time America’s Cup sailor, former OK Dinghy world champion and twotime New Zealand sailor of the year, who now commentates on the sport.
Lester has been fortunate enough to have an in-depth look at Team New Zealand’s first of two boats to be used for the defence of the Auld Mug at Auckland 2021 and he shakes his head in wonder.
‘‘The level of craftsmanship, and it’s reflected in the boatbuilding, engineering and design . . . look, I thought the last catamaran was phenomenally engineered and innovative with the use of AI and simulation . . . this thing is at another level,’’ he told Stuff.
‘‘I think they have done a superb job in putting it together. The workmanship and attention to detail, it’s phenomenal. It’s out there!’’
Lester believes the new class of boats introduced by Team New Zealand for this 36th edition of the Cup will impact on racing.
He expects differences in designs that will be reflected in performances, as history had shown.
‘‘I don’t think necessarily the America’s Cup will be close,’’ he said.
‘‘Each time there is a new class, they say: here’s the rule, you go and find a solution and off they go and the sailing scientists go and do their thing.
‘‘As we saw with the 72-foot cats [in San Francisco], the reality was Oracle had a faster boat when you stripped it all back. It was the same in Bermuda with the 50-footers . . . even though it was technically a one-design boat, Team New Zealand was superior.
‘‘This is even more radical. Some team will have it right, some will have it wrong. And it’s really hard once you have played your hand to catch up.
‘‘Conceptionally, this is where the Kiwis are at. We wait to see the other boats, but it’s quite hard to change the big components.’’
The dart-like outline has aerodynamic highlights given it could spend most of the races in the air rather than the water. The design team has worked hard to minimise the effect the crew have on air flow, putting in two deep cockpits rather than a single, open one. The hull is also a compromise between air and water.
Lester said that historically Team New Zealand had always pushed the envelope.
He felt that was down to New Zealand’s isolation, its strong maritime industry and a belief in ‘‘doing it our way’’.
‘‘Sometimes it has worked, sometimes it hasn’t. In ’92 with the bowsprit boat and 2003 with the hula, it didn’t really work.
‘‘But because of who we are and where we are, they [Team New Zealand] are always going to do it their way.’’
He had enough confidence in Team New Zealand’s design team, headed by Dan Bernasconi and including foiling genius Guillaume Verdier who has masterminded the foiling monohulls for the next edition of the round the world race, to suggest the Kiwis were still at the forefront of this new generation of America’s Cup racing.
‘‘When you look at Dan Bernasconi . . . you wouldn’t want better if you are going to have a go,’’ Lester said.
‘‘I think we should all have a lot of faith in our design and technical ability. Based on all their Verdier foil design and the foiling, he’s it, he’s the guru.’’
Italian Challenger of Record Luna Rossa are expected to be the next syndicate to launch, due to happen early next week.
INEOS Team UK, American Magic and struggling Stars + Stripes Team USA haven’t confirmed their launch dates.