The New Zealanders are keeping up the pressure. They were the first team to start training on an AC-72 catamaran. And while the Cup defenders, Oracle Team USA, were repairing their first cat, which is only due to be put back into service today, the Kiwis, again as the first team, completed the second authorised boat. "New Zealand Aotearoa", "NZL5" for short, was christened yesterday by Mandy Barker, wife of helmsman Dean Barker. According to the regulations, the first possible day for launching the boat would have been last Friday. The new cat was supposed to be launched yesterday, but gusty winds prevented this.
With "NZL5", Emirates Team New Zealand will start the round robins of the Louis Vuitton Cup, the elimination of the challengers, from 9 August. If everything goes according to plan, the team will be confirmed as challengers by 30 August at the latest, the last possible final day of the elimination, and will sail against Oracle Team USA from 7 September. "We will be training off San Francisco from the end of May," said team boss Grant Dalton.
The differences between the new catalytic converter and its predecessor have not yet been commented on. However, the stern area has obviously changed. The transverse connection between the two aft hulls, formerly a kind of bar with a slight streamlined panelling, is now, as on the American boat, apparently a fixed component that has been harmoniously moulded to the hull.
The first load tests are planned for today, with the maiden voyage to follow immediately.
Christening of the New Zealanders' Cup Cat
