Team New Zealand

Veil of secrecy surrounds NZL 81 (08/28/02) (source : NZ Herald)
A black shroud encased Team New Zealand's new boat NZL81 for her maiden sail on the Hauraki Gulf. NZL81, with skipper Dean Barker at the helm, slipped out of Auckland's Viaduct Harbour late in the afternoon for the crew's first sail, returning in the dark. She was towed out to the race-course in her full-length skirt, with crew on support vessels keeping a close eye on challengers' bases as they slipped past. What NZL81 is hiding under her skirts, if anything, could not be seen but the defenders say they will keep both their boats covered each time they are towed past the challengers. Most other syndicates keep the hulls and keels of their boats covered as they are lifted into and out of the water, but no others tow their boats to the Hauraki Gulf in skirts. Team spokesman Murray Taylor said the skirts on NZL81 and training partner NZL60, which won the cup in 2000, were a logical precaution. "We don't want people to see the boat, it's as simple as that," he said. "There's no sinister implications in what we're doing. It's just we want to keep whatever it is we've got to ourselves." While other syndicates can watch Team NZ's boats from a distance, America's Cup rules ban aerial surveillance. Most teams wanting to test a secret sail or design tend to train some distance out in the Gulf, and spying rules prevent other teams watching them outside the race area. As NZL81 was towed past yesterday, a number of the Alinghi Challenge, Oracle Racing and Prada crew could be seen watching with interest.

Lady Blake christens the first new TNZ yacht (08/26/02) *(source*s : *CNN*** & NZ Herald**)
Lady Pippa Blake, widow of murdered former syndicate head Sir Peter Blake, christened NZL81 in a public ceremony in Viaduct Harbour, tonight officially christened the first of Team NZ's two boats "New Zealand". "I name this boat New Zealand," Lady Pippa said. "May God bless her and all who sail on her." But even she had no idea what was under the bow to stern-length skirts. Team NZ kept the design of the new yacht closely guarded during the launching ceremony with the hull shrouded from the deck down. The America's Cup defender says it will take special measures to protect their design secrets from prying eyes. Most syndicates hide the underbody of their boats with skirts when they lift them in and out of the water. Team NZ designer Clay Oliver said they would take the extreme measure with NZL81 of keeping the skirts on during the tow out to the Hauraki Gulf for the first sail on Tuesday, dropping them only when they start sailing. Oliver said the extra precautions were in response to the growing atmosphere of secrecy and spying surrounding the America's Cup. "The spying this time I would say is worse than ever. The stakes are higher and because of that people are doing more accurate intelligence gathering. So we look at it as a responsibility to protect the ideas that we have." Team NZ has already been the target of spying. One of the challenging syndicates, OneWorld from Seattle, was penalised one point two weeks ago for possessing drawings, photographs and construction information on its 2000 winning design NZL60. Oliver added: "We are running with a lot of secrecy and that is really going to be the theme with Team New Zealand. "There are two sides to it. We can say there is something specifically to conceal, or there may be nothing to conceal, it is a mystery. We'll just let that mystery float." Millions of dollars in design time, tank testing and computer modelling has been spent on new 2003 designs by the 10 syndicates contesting the America's Cup. Larry Ellison's Oracle BMW Racing syndicate alone is believed to have spent more than $25 million on its two new Bruce Farr designs. All but one of the syndicates, Italian challenger Mascalzone Latino, have built the maximum allowance of two new generation boats for the 2003 series and these will be sailing for the first time in the coming weeks. The America's Cup has clear rules for spying. Syndicates are not allowed within 250 metres of other teams when they are training, they are not allowed to shadow them and they are not allowed to take aerial photographs. "We've got a big responsibility to the country and we have got a lot of good ideas," said Oliver. "We are going to try and keep those protected as long as we can." .
TV ONE's coverage

NZ will lose America's Cup says Jobson (08/23/02)
(Source : NZ Herald)

Top United States yachting commentator Gary Jobson says Team New Zealand will lose the America's Cup next year because they are struggling to overcome the death of Sir Peter Blake and loss of key crew to other syndicates.

Jobson, a former America's Cup tactician who commentates for television broadcaster ESPN, said Team NZ were also hampered by a lack of money.

He has predicted the cup will be won either by Russell Coutts' new syndicate Alinghi Challenge of Switzerland, Team Dennis Conner sailing for the New York Yacht Club or Oracle BMW Racing of San Francisco. "

New Zealand is going to lose for a number of reasons," he told the Providence Journal of Rhode Island.

"They don't have the resources.

"I think the loss of Peter Blake, a visionary and a leader and a sailor, affects the team.

"When you lose 12 of your 16 starters - you can't have that kind of attrition and still expect to perform."

Jobson said the defection of former skipper Coutts was a serious blow for the defenders, because he had the ability to integrate the design and sailing teams.

He said Team NZ would suffer from losing half of its 2000 design team, who had joined other syndicates with bigger budgets. Team NZ's home water advantage had been diluted because challenging syndicates had spent the past two seasons training on the Hauraki Gulf.

Team NZ said they did not want to comment on Jobson's predictions.

He also dismissed the chances of Italian challengers Prada, saying they would "go up in a cloud of dust".

OneWorld withdraws application against TNZ (08/20/02)
(source : NZ Herald)

The OneWorld Challenge America's Cup team has withdrawn an application to the America's Cup Arbitration Panel (ACAP) against Team New Zealand, filed on August 11.

The challenge syndicate says outstanding issues between the teams were resolved at a meeting yesterday. The meeting resulted in a further filing, signed by both parties, requesting that the panel return three canisters of OneWorld's plans, currently being held by the ACAP Registrar, to OneWorld's Seattle legal counsel.

OneWorld says if needs the cannisters as part of court action it is taking in the United States against a former syndicate employee, Sean Reeves.

OneWorld said it was satisfied that the actions taken by Team New Zealand to deal with the unsolicited delivery of the OneWorld Challenge plans was entirely appropriate under the circumstances, and that no further action was required.

"I first met the men at Team New Zealand when Craig McCaw assisted with their funding during America's Cup XXX," said One World chief executive Gary Wright. "I have always felt that we could be honourable and sportsmanlike with one another.

"I believe we have settled any potential issues that have been or could possibly come between our teams and my hope now is that the next time we meet, it is on the waters of the Hauraki Gulf."

Second Team NZ boat receives sail number (08/19/02)
(source : NZ Herald)

The last of the 2003-generation America's Cup Class yachts to be built, NZL82, has been given her first stamp of approval.

Team New Zealand's second yacht for the 2003 defence has been issued her sail number by the class technical director Ken McAlpine. But she is still a little way off making her sailing debut.

Construction of NZL82's hull is progressing well, and the boat is expected out of the Cookson Boats shed in the next six weeks.

An IACC sail number is issued by McAlpine when work first starts on laying up the hull of a new America's Cup boat. But it is not officially recognised as an IACC yacht until it has been checked by measurers and issued with a certificate of compliance.

That doesn't happen until the hull is mated with the deck and appendages, and the boat is measured, weighed and float tested.

Team New Zealand's first boat, NZL81, is almost complete. The hull was trucked to Team New Zealand's base and is now receiving the finishing touches from team members.

NZL81 will be officially launched at a christening ceremony off the island in the American Express Viaduct Harbour on August 26. Lady Blake will name the boat "New Zealand". .

Updated list of IACC

Team NZ replie to OneWorld (08/14/02) (source : Telegraph)
Team New Zealand have reacted strongly to the latest claims by the Seattle-based OneWorld Challenge. OneWorld's former employee, Sean Reeves, allegedly sent hull drawings to the Kiwi team. At the weekend, OneWorld's Bob Ratcliffe said these were of OneWorld's boat, but they now appear to have included TNZ design material as well. "We received the package unsolicited, and the contents were under a notary's seal," said TNZ's rules adviser, Russell Green. "We immediately delivered them, unopened, to an independent professional and later instructed their transfer to the registrar of the America's Cup arbitration panel."

Team NZ back from winter break (08/13/02)
(source : NZoom)

The Team New Zealand base is a hive of activity since the arrival of their first new-generation Cup boat, NZL81, last Wednesday.

The 32-strong sailing crew last week returned from a two-month break from Cup training, during which some of the crew competed in offshore regattas, but it is all go now.

Only one crew is out sailing each day in the older NZL60, while the others take turns at staying indoors tending to the many needs of their newest baby.

NZL81 will be officially launched and christened "New Zealand" by Lady Blake later this month at a public ceremony down at the Viaduct.She also christened the first boat of the 2000 cup defence, NZL57, accompanied by her husband, the late Sir Peter Blake - who was then the head of Team New Zealand.

The naming ceremony will be held off the island in the American Express America's Cup Harbour in the early evening of Monday, August 26.

Once the boat is launched, it will embark on an intense five-month build-up to the America's Cup match in February next year.

Team New Zealand's second boat, NZL82, is still under construction, but it will not be welcomed into the water with the same degree of ceremony. Because of the campaign's heavy schedule, the second yacht will have a more informal launch at the team base in Halsey St.