Cool, the Kiwis! Emirates Team New Zealand was the last team to launch its AC50 catamaran off Hamilton and immediately completed a few confident laps. "It was a great day for us, this first day of sailing off Bermuda. It's the culmination of years of work," said Team Manager Kevin Shoebridge. And the competition and Cup fans also wanted to see this result. The Kiwis were accompanied like a rare zoo animal by a large number of boats and probably an even larger number of cameras during their little muscle show in the Great Sound.
"It was a strong performance from our guys who completed a series of foiling tacks just ten minutes after casting off," said skipper Glenn Ashby, "I take my hat off to the whole team. As for us, we are very happy!" Just under three weeks after the last sailing mission off Auckland, the subsequent trip to Bermuda and the camp set-up, things went smoothly for the New Zealanders at the start, who themselves reported an "armada" of support and observation boats.
Surprisingly, on Saturday evening local time, the boat and crew had cast off in ideal 10 to 12 knots and put the boat and systems through their first test. The maiden voyage off Hamilton, before which Glenn Ashby was probably not the only one who felt "like a cat on a hot tin roof", went according to plan. "It was really fantastic to get out there and get a first taste of the race course. It's already pretty clear that this is going to be a really great regatta. The team initially sent their boat out onto the water with replacement foils, as the regatta foils are still being repaired after being damaged in New Zealand.
"We would have preferred to launch the boat with the race foils," said Ashby, "but we need to be sure that the repairs are 100 per cent successful and we don't want to rush things. Hopefully we'll get her back soon." Describing his impressions of the other teams, Ashby said: "They all look like they have strengths as well as some weaknesses. It will be no different for us. So the race is on: who will make the most of the next five weeks to generate maximum speed in preparation for the start on 26 May?"
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
