Protocol done: Now to sort out the crew
Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton expects his star crew will sign up to defend the America’s Cup, but is still open-minded about who will skipper the 2021 defence.
With the logistics of the protocol out of the way and the fine points of the boat design to be used nearing completion, Emirates Team New Zealand must now look at the logistics of its defence.
Retaining the core of the crew that won the Cup in such emphatic fashion in Bermuda in June is paramount.
Skipper Glenn Ashby, helmsman Peter Burling and Blair Tuke top the list with the Kiwi syndicate desperate to keep them and others away from the big money of potential opponents.
The new 75-foot monohulls will have crews of around ‘‘10 to 12’’, meaning a large sailing squad will be required.
‘‘We have every intention of moving forward primarily with our same guys. We have moved to sign most of our guys up,’’ Dalton said, adding that some had already been signed. He refused to say who.
Dalton said Burling was ‘‘involved in the process’’. Burling told he was still finalising his future, but he all but ruled out sailing for any other syndicate in 2021.
‘‘I’ve said all along that I really want to sail for New Zealand. I’m really proud of being from this country and love spending as much time as I can here so that’s my intention.’’
Dalton wouldn’t confirm if Ashby, who headed the sailing team in Bermuda, and was captain, would continue to be skipper, saying that important role would depend on the boat that was eventually chosen.
But he made it clear that he
‘‘absolutely’’ wants the Australian in the team. ‘‘He easily meets our requirement under nationality, he lives here most of the time,’’ Dalton said.
‘‘We don’t know yet [about the skipper]. We have to decide what the boat is first and the way the boat gets crewed in a monohull is potentially quite different in a catamaran.’’
With a team from across the Tasman in the pipeline, Ashby made no secret that it has always been his dream to take part in an Aussie challenge. He could have a very tough decision on his hands.
‘‘It would be fantastic for an Australian campaign to get off the ground,’’ he said.
‘‘For myself, that’s a thought that has been with me since I was six years old watching Australia win the America’s Cup in 1983.
‘‘Having said that, we’re very comfortable here and New Zealand’s been a fantastic home for us the past six or seven years.’’
Dalton believed the nationality rule would help cap salaries and that would be a poaching prevention for the Team NZ talent.