Dean Barker, who skippered the New Zealand winning yacht in the last race of the last Cup final and is also scheduled to be at the wheel in the 2003 final, lamented to the "New Zealand Herald"
He could not concentrate fully on sailing as the team was still struggling to find funding for the defence. Although he did not want to put an exact figure on the missing amount, he said: "We still have a lot of money to find.
We are making good progress, but it is always difficult to get the last part of the budget together," said Barker. He admitted that his role as skipper involved more duties as a manager than he had expected. It was now important to sort out the financial issue as quickly as possible so that he could get back to the task of making the boat fast. When asked if he was confident of getting the budget together, he said: "That's not an option ... it has to happen. We will turn over every stone for it if we have to".
Lars Bolle
Chief Editor Digital
