‘Safe bet’ Barker due a win
Dean Barker’s new team has described him as ‘‘a safe bet’’ and reckon he’s due to win the America’s Cup.
Kiwi Barker, 45, is with his third syndicate in as many cups, having joined American Magic from Team Japan after being jettisoned by Team New Zealand.
He steered the Kiwi boat in the final race of their successful defence of the Auld Mug in Auckland in 2000 but is probably better remembered for his near misses with Team New Zealand in the
2007 match against Alinghi in Valencia and against Oracle Team USA in San Francisco in
2013.
The New York Yacht Club was quick to sign up Barker once it confirmed its challenge for Auckland 2021, believing his abilities in large monohulls and foiling experience from the last two Cups made him ideal to take on the task of handling the 75-foot foiling monohulls that are the new boat for yachting’s biggest event.
‘‘There’s very few people in the world who possess big-boat monohull experience and also have experience of the 2013 and 2017 programmes,’’ American Magic’s skipper and executive director Terry Hutchinson said of Barker.
‘‘And I can’t think of another person who is more due to win the regatta than him so it seems like a safe bet.’’
Being a new syndicate, Hutchinson said time was its greatest enemy as it eyed the longevity of cup holders Team New Zealand and the experience of the other two confirmed challengers, Italy’s Luna Rossa and Sir Ben Ainslie’s INEOS Team UK.
‘‘Very quickly we had to have a sailing team that could understand the challenges we’ll face,’’ Hutchinson said, which gave added appeal to Barker’s lengthy time in the cup and the experienced multinational crew they have assembled, made up of Americans, Kiwis, Australians and Brits.
While they won’t get anywhere without a fast America’s Cup boat that is still on the design table, American Magic are already proving highly competitive in other racing they are using to mould their team.
The well-funded US outfit finished second in the prestigious Congressional Cup match racing event and have been the dominant force in the TP52 Super Series being sailed in Europe which use state-of-the-art, conventional monohulls.
With Barker on the helm or sailing as strategist on board their surrogate boat Quantum Racing, they have won three of the four regattas, including the world championships.