The business and benefits of building next generation racing yachts in Aotearoa

The America’s Cup races will be sailed close to Auckland City making viewing possible from land.

The 36th America’s Cup may still be two years away but Emirates Team New Zealand’s campaign is already near top gear and Kiwi industry is winning.

Imagine having to raise northwards of $100 million within four years just to run your business, and not being entirely sure how you’re going to do it. It’s not a challenge most Kiwi enterprises face, and yet this is how Emirates Team New Zealand operates day-to-day.

The countdown is on for the team, with two years to run until it defends the America’s Cup on the waters of Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour.

Chief operating officer Kevin Shoebridge says they are in a good position to do so due to support from cornerstone sponsors such as Emirates, on board since 2004, and its 26-year partnership with Omega.

As defender Emirates Team New Zealand sets the boat design rules, and it may surprise many to know it has taken the needs of the local marine industry into account in coming up with the impressive AC75 monohulls, Shoebridge says: “It’s a whole new boat, a whole new class.

“When we came up with that rule (the AC75s) we were looking for a boat that would have a trickle-down effect to the industry, whether that’s mast design, sail design, boat construction, foils. Something that would have a future and could be used in other areas of the industry.

“That was one of the things that spurred us on to move away from the catamarans we used in Bermuda. Although they’re amazing boats they didn’t really have an association with the normal yachtsman. A fixed wing like those boats had, a solid wing that required 30 or 40 people to launch them every day, just wasn’t that practical.

“We’re trying to come up with, for example, a semi-soft wing on this new boat that is something that could eventually be seen on cruising boats.”

Maria Slade’s full article: thespinoff.co.nz