By Greg Pearson
Team New Zealand will get their first chance to measure themselves against their America’s Cup rivals in August as the new World Series gets underway in Portugal.
That means they are taking their Auckland base on the road, bags and boat.
Emirates Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker says this is the first time we've been able to put a boat into a container”.
“Normally it's just deck cargo, but this is a different concept.”
The AC45 were designed with ease of transport in mind, which means with a few modifications, a 45-foot boat does fit into a 40-foot shipping container.
Once the boat is unloaded at the other end, the custom fitted containers will turn into the crew's base, converting to workshops and offices.
Tactician Ray Davies says “it’s more Formula One style”.
“We've got to pack up, everything fits into containers and the whole shooting match goes onto a ship. I think all up if there are ten teams there's going to be 150 containers and the whole lot move from venue to venue.”
And the Kiwis are more than comfortable living out of a shipping container.
“We like the style it brings; we'll enjoy the way we're going to be operating,” says Barker. “In a lot of ways it suit's our style compared to some of the other glamorous bases some of the other teams had in the past.”
The next unenviable task will be putting the boat back together at the other end.
Barker says the team does not want to be finding a couple of extra bolts when they put it back together.
“When we pull it apart that’s someone else's fault, but putting it together won't be so good.”
If all the pieces fit, it should be smooth sailing on the World Series.
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