Monday 21 October 2013

America's Cup update, Emirates Team New Zealand surprised by strength of support after unsuccessful 34th America's Cup challenge

From the following nzherald.co.nz article by Paul Lewis:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11143157

In a strange way, Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison and archrival and Oracle Team USA chief executive Sir Russell Coutts have played key roles in the reviving fortunes of Emirates Team New Zealand.

The syndicate's skipper, Dean Barker, says he, boss Grant Dalton and most other ETNZ people thought they were "done" as a team after OTUSA pulled off that spectacular, gutting comeback to defend the America's Cup.

Ironically, says Barker, the "amazing" support in New Zealand for a beaten team at least partly came about because of Ellison's and Coutts' much maligned vision of 'a summer of sailing' in the compelling AC72 catamarans. The well-publicised capsizes, the death of Andrew Simpson, the much-criticised danger and on-the-edge nature of the boats (with Dalton doing some of the most vociferous criticising) saw only three challengers turn up and, of them, only ETNZ were able to foot it with Oracle.

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