Burling joins Team Brunel

Peter Burling will face long-term sailing partner Blair Tuke at the Volvo Ocean Race after the America’s Cup winner confirmed he will compete for Dutch entry Team Brunel.

The Volvo fleet has just completed the famous Fastnet race as the second part of a three-pronged sea trial ahead of the round the world extravaganza that starts in October.

They leave Portsmouth on Friday (NZ time) in a dash to St Malo in France and Burling will be on board.

Burling has been open to the possibility of following Tuke into the Volvo. Tuke has signed with Spanish entry Mapfre.

‘‘It’s going to be awesome racing against Tukey! We have huge respect for each other’s skill and talent and we are each other’s biggest supporters,’’ Burling said.

‘‘We are both in a position to gain amazing experience to bring to our future sailing goals. I look forward to sharing a few stories and beers with him in port.’’

Fresh off his second placing at the world Moth championships in Italy, Burling headed to Britain and was spotted on board Team Brunel before the start of the Fastnet race.

Team Brunel is skippered by Volvo veteran Bouwe Bekking who is still completing his crew for the round the world race. Bekking, 54, is starting his eighth round the world race but is yet to win it.

‘‘I see Peter as an exponent of the new talented generation. The great thing is that he has proven himself in spite of his young age,’’ Bekking said.

‘‘I’m glad that we can add him to the team, especially with his experience in Olympic sailing and the America’s Cup. With these three: Peter, Carlo and Kyle we have a strong representation of under 30 sailors in our team.’’