37th America's Cup: Defender yacht christened in Auckland - three years of work for "Taihoro"

The New Zealand Cup defenders had already shown off their new pride and joy last week. Now their third, but first and only new AC75 foiler for the 37th America's Cup has been officially christened "Taihoro" in Auckland by former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark. The godmother is also the patron of Emirates Team New Zealand. Taihoro" is the culmination of three years of design, innovation and construction work by the entire team.

Marama Royal, chairman of team partner Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust, explained the meaning of the name: it was inspired by Taihoro-Nukurangi and means "to move swiftly like the sea between heaven and earth". The naming ceremony took place at the New Zealanders' team camp at Wynyard Point. "Taihoro", it was said, symbolises the evolutionary journey of the boat. It symbolises the overcoming of traditional boundaries and creates a connection between the sea and the sky.

85,000 hours of boat building for "Taihoro"

Geoff Senior served up the facts for philosophical consideration. The head of Emirates Team New Zealand's design department oversaw the construction of the boat, which began over 10 months ago in Emirates Team New Zealand's purpose-built shipyard following a great deal of design and preparatory work. 45 boatbuilders worked a total of over 85,000 hours to complete the project. Geoff Senior said: "It's the most complicated boat we've ever built. It has taken many more hours to build this boat. And that's not because we've got slower. The details are just getting more complicated."

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Geoff Senior continued: "The design team certainly pushed the boundaries with the design of the 'Taihoro', which put our build team to the test. But we are fortunate that our boat building team has so much experience and is one of the best in the industry. This is probably the 14th Emirates Team New Zealand boat that some of them have built. On the other hand, we are very proud that we also have ten boatbuilding apprentices in our ranks who have been trained throughout the construction phase." Who can say that they built a high-tech foiler for the America's Cup during their apprenticeship?

Kiwi yacht fulfils initial expectations

"Taihoro" had already been transported to the Emirates Team New Zealand base weeks ago under the cover of darkness. Since then, the latest New Zealand Cup pride and joy has been equipped with thousands of components and systems by the technical teams in the areas of hydraulics, mechatronics, electronics and by the rest of the shore crew before being handed over to the sailing team. The crew around skipper Peter Burling has already put the boat into operation and subjected it to initial tests in Auckland harbour and the Hauraki Gulf. Naturally, Burling was initially unable to elicit much more than "The boat fulfils initial expectations, we are looking forward to the data".

The Kiwis' busy CEO also commented on the official occasion: "These moments are always particularly proud occasions for everyone in the team." Grant Dalton is preparing for New Zealand's first overseas Cup defence with Emirates Team New Zealand. Dalton told the New Zealand Herald on the day of the naming ceremony: "Much of what the team does has to be kept secret from friends and family for obvious reasons. The work requires an enormous amount of dedication, commitment and time. So it is always special to share the result of these endeavours with them at home camp by christening and presenting 'Taihoro' in partnership with Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, who have once again given our boat a very special and meaningful identity," said Dalton.

The 37th America's Cup duel, which New Zealand has won four times since 1995, will take place in Barcelona in October because a defence on home soil did not appear financially viable.

The "Taihoro" building - insights into the creation of the America's Cup defender:

"Taihoro" in action - the Kiwis have already tested their new cup rocket in its element for a few days: