French refused to help ETNZ

According to a story in today’s Scuttlebutt Europe, the French turned their backs on Team New Zealand hours after the team’s dramatic capsize.

Then they tried to charge $468,500 for any help, before abruptly withdrawing the offer altogether, claims Team NZ’s billionaire backer.

In an exclusive interview with the Weekend Herald this week, Emirates Team New Zealand principal, Matteo de Nora revealed what he says was Groupama Team France’s response to ETNZ’s request for help after the pitch-pole that left the Kiwi boat in tatters moments before the start of race two in the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger series.

Within two hours of Aotearoa being lifted out of the water, CEO Grant Dalton asked the French for equipment and spare parts to get the boat fixed in time for the next day’s race.

Team France had already been eliminated from the challenger semifinals and were therefore out of the America’s Cup.

De Nora says the French refused almost immediately. Then came a request for a payment of 300,000 Euros ($468,500) if the French were to consider helping.

Before TNZ had time to consider the payment, and search for funding, the offer was abruptly withdrawn. De Nora wonders if Oracle heard about the deal and intervened.

Neither Groupama nor Oracle responded to requests for comment.

In hindsight, de Nora said, the rejection made Team New Zealand stronger.

“After the French said ‘no’, the team was united. I can tell you the secretaries were using hair dryers to dry the boat, the cooks, security, everybody was working round the clock.”

The more people who turned up to help, the stronger the determination became.

And that’s just ONE of the reasons why ETNZ tossed the Louis Vuitton Bags
Remember this?

…In the most Kiwi bloke display ever, our Team New Zealand boys have tossed their $3000 prize Louis Vuitton bags into a crowd of eager fans.

After winning the America’s Cup, the team were presented with limited edition Louis Vuitton Sac Polochon bags, that appeared to be full of Louis Vuitton goodies.

Before the sponsors’ photo could even be taken, members of the team began hurling their bags into the crowd, who grappled for the pricey pieces of history…

www.nzherald.co.nz

… Our friend Laszlo Toth in Bermuda reveals that while all other teams were given full invitations to the Louis Vuitton Ball, Team New Zealand only got one ticket for a single team member plus a partner. That, and the French refusal to help as noted above, put anything French as unwanted in the Kiwi camp.

Comment: I wonder what might have happened had Ben asked for help from the French… Marine Industry News.