Olympic medallist Peter Burling will go from a skiff dinghy to helming an AC45 catamaran in the latest round of the America's Cup World Series.
The 21-year-old Tauranga yachtsman will join Team Korea for the regatta in San Francisco in October, becoming the youngest skipper competing in the circuit.
In August, in tandem with Blair Tuke, Burling won silver in the 49er class at the London Olympics regatta venue of Weymouth.
Yachting New Zealand Olympic programme manager Jez Fanstone says Burling's achievement in securing the spot with Team Korea is an inspiration to any junior sailor.
It proves youth and Olympic classes are a great training ground for those aspiring to the professional ranks, he says.
"For Peter, this is a great chance to try something else and it's a great reward following on from his silver medal."
The AC45, which has five crew, is the stepping stone to the bigger AC72s that will be used when the America's Cup is put up for grabs off San Francisco next September. Both boats feature a wingsail.
London was Burling's second Olympics. In 2008, he and Carl Evans, then both 17, competed in the double-handed 470 dinghy event at the Beijing Games.
NZN