Team New Zealand has announced that they’re planning a new IACC regatta next February. The fleet and match-racing event, sailed in IACC-class boats, will include entries from Team New Zealand, GBR Challenge, Victory Challenge (SWE), and OneWorld. Team New Zealand will be sailing NZL-60, the boat that successfully defended the Cup in 2000. Oracle, Prada and Alinghi haven’t accepted invitations
“The regatta will combine of the open waters of the Hauraki Gulf with the confines of the inner Waitemata Harbour,” said Team New Zealand executive director Tony Thomas. “If we get the right conditions, we could get a spectacular spinnaker run in front of the City and under the Harbour Bridge.”
Itll be interesting to see what boats are sailed and who ends up sailing. One doubts that any of the very latest generation of IACC boats will be involved but itll still be fun to watch these delicate behemoths in a fleet race. Even though theyll probably end up sailing the second-string boats, the teams will probably all use their first-string sailors; the bragging rights earned from winning this event will be priceless.
Spectators and sailors alike enjoyed the spectacle of a fleet of IACC boats racing in the Solent during the Jubilee last summer, this is a good way for Team NZ to showcase the Cup and entertain sailing aficionados.
Source: nzoom
http://onesport.nzoom.com/
