Better by far
TEAM NZ WINS AMERICA’S CUP
Step forward Grant Dalton, this is your time for the spotlight.
The dynamo of Team New Zealand has been content to lurk in the shadows of the business end of this America’s Cup. With the business done through a 7-3 win over Luna Rossa in Auckland yesterday, it’s time for Dalton to get his deserved dues.
Winning the Auld Mug is one thing, defending it is another dimension.
The off-the-water organisational responsibilities can clutter the crucial on the water demands. Both were handled with aplomb in a Cup cycle that saw Covid-19 devastate both of those areas.
But it’s the giant silver trophy that matters the most and its continued presence in the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron is a tribute to Dalton’s drive and dedication, having been in this game since he rescued a sinking Kiwi syndicate in 2003 and took it to the brink of success at the 2007 and 2013 Cups.
His breakthrough came in 2017 and if Bermuda was a victory for perseverance, Auckland was a victory for precision.
The team has gone next-level, transitioning from a yachting outfit into a technology company that has taken the sport’s showpiece event to new extremes with these incredible AC75S.
Dalton is a polarising figure, forthright in his views. He’s slowly learned to keep most of them to himself, or within the confines of the Team New Zealand compound.
There have been, and will continue to be, inevitable comparisons with his esteemed predecessor Sir Peter Blake, the man who masterminded New Zealand’s 1995 breakthrough win and the successful defence at Auckland 2000. Both were also legends in the round-the-world scene.
In some people’s eyes, Dalton fell short of Blake.
No longer. This triumph ranks him shoulder to shoulder in terms of Cup results, and he has the chance to step ahead should he wish to remain in this toughest of games.
Dalton is never afraid of making tough decisions.
The cleanout of crew and other personnel after the San Francisco heartache was swift and ruthless but instantly laid the foundations for the success that has run through the last two Cup cycles where a new breed of champion emerged and stability was restored.
In a billionaire’s game, he brings a blue collar ethic. Dalton is a workaholic, among the first to arrive and the last to leave at the team base. He’s as interested in the data off the boat as he is in the details of the budgets.
His enthusiasm and dedication is infectious.
From his able lieutenant Kevin Shoebridge to the youngsters who sweep the floor of the boat shed, there is a roll-your- sleeves-up attitude that doesn’t exclude the rock star sailors from getting involved in areas far away from the sea spray coming over the bow of Te Rehutai.
Dalton’s next move, personally and with this team in the Cup’s always intriguing landscape, will surely draw wide debate.
But it’s about the present and the past where Dalton deserves current consideration.
In a country never shy to honour its influential sporting heroes, a knighthood surely beckons.
Arise, Sir Grant, a job well done.
‘‘Dalton is a polarising figure, forthright in his views. He’s slowly learned to keep most of them to himself.’’