1:19 AM Tue 13 Apr 2010 GMT
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'Kevin Shoebridge, Grant Dalton and Matteo de Nora at the Media Conference announcing the Emirates Team NZ involvement in the 2011/12 Volvo Ocean Race'
Richard Gladwell
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Today's joint announcement, in New Zealand and Spain, is maybe the first of several from established America's Cup teams entering the 2011/12 Volvo Ocean Race.
Two things have caused substantial America's Cup teams to jump the Volvo fence.
Firstly from announcements, a couple of years ago, that the 34th America's Cup would be sailed in 2011, the dates have now slid to 2013 and probably 2014 - for reasons not yet explained, but presumed to be the amount of time that it takes the new Defender to get a venue established, a boat selected and through all the process that seems to go with that scenario.
Golden Gate Yacht Club have protected themselves against a 'rogue' challenge, like that of Mercury Bay BC in 1987, after a similar hiatus occurred following Dennis Conner, winning back the Cup he had lost in 1983.
While the 33rd America's Cup is fresh in US minds (and maybe fast erased in that of the Swiss), the fact remains that only two teams participated in the 33rd America's Cup and that seven years (2007 to 2014) is long, long time to be trying to sustain an America's Cup racing team.
For the longest established America's Cup team, Emirates Team New Zealand, it is impossible to live that long on a diet of TP52 racing and the Louis Vuitton Trophy series, which is yet to really find its feet.
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Grant Dalton's 120ft Club Med finishes her Round the World Record and Race win. There is plenty of Round the World experience in Emirates Team NZ - Event Media
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The proposed seven year hiatus between multi-challenger America's Cups does work to a limited extend for the new teams, who lack track record, team infrastructure in terms of design and support crews, and remain light on their feet as they compete on the various circuits, in someone's boats - but not their own.
For the bigger more substantial teams they have the option of finding new events that can support reasonable sponsorship and therefore bring in revenue. Or they allow themselves to wither away to the sizes and substance of the new teams - yet to sail in an America's Cup.
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Alinghi 33rd America's Cup - Carlo Borlenghi/ Alinghi
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In the middle of the America's Cup legal hiatus, Team New Zealand CEO was questioned heavily by the New Zealand media about how long the team could sustain itself, with its financial reserves given that there was no America's Cup in sight, at that stage. His response what that they could live through to 2011, at that stage. That is well short of the 2014 date now being bandied about, but still unconfirmed for the 34th America's Cup.
Secondly, in the Volvo Ocean Race, we are now seeing the phenomenon of sponsors deciding they want to do the race, and then looking around for the best sailing team that will do the job for them.
Camper, the newly announced Emirates Team New Zealand sponsor, are believed to have been in that camp (pardon the pun), and were also close to running the the Spanish team Ayre in the 2011/12 Volvo Ocean Race.
Abu Dahbi, announced as a stopover port for the VOR, at the end of Leg 2, does not have a team - that will be selected by the Abu Dahbi Tourism Authority.
Several teams have been interviewed, at this stage it is not known if a second America's Cup team, maybe Alinghi, will run with the Middle Eastern stopover port, or if they will sail under the Swiss flag - continuing a long standing Swiss heritage of success in Round the World Racing.
Both Emirates Team New Zealand and Alinghi have similar substantial sailing assets and strong sailing teams - which they are keen to retain and not have pillaged by America's Cup teams - backed by billionaires, who are seemingly quite happy to sit for seven years between America's Cups.
One doesn't have to look too far to see a couple of other America's Cup teams, who are similarly placed - and who must be close to a go-no-go decision on the Volvo Ocean Race, for similar reasons.
Although only four teams have announced their intentions for the next Volvo Ocean Race, Emirates Team New Zealand being the fifth. It would seem that it crew orchard is not exactly full of low hanging ripe fruit, there for the picking.
Watch captains from Ericsson 4, winner of the last Volvo Ocean Race - New Zealanders Stu Bannatyne and Brad Jackson would seem to have been spoken for - with Bannatyne expected to run with Alinghi and Jackson said to be signed with PUMA Racing.
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32nd America's Cup - Final Match - Day 6 - Alinghi vs Emirates Team New Zealand. Will there really be seven years between America's Cups for most teams? -
Photo: Gilles Martin-Raget
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Emirates Team New Zealand does have a strong retinue of Round the World race experience, with CEO, Grant Dalton having seven races to his credit, and his 2IC Kevin Shoebridge, being similarly experienced.
The team will do an amoebic split into the inshore and oceanic crews. The inshore crews will compete on the World Match Racing circuit and other match racing events; the three remaining Louis Vuitton Trophy Regattas; and on the TP52 Audi MedCup circuit. The Oceanic Racing team will include some new hires, and will be focussed on the Volvo Ocean race, with their yacht starting to build in August and being launched in March 2011. Workup will take place mainly in New Zealand.
There is no NZ Government money being injected into the Volvo Ocean Race boat which is believed to have a budget of around 25million Euro (NZD 47million) - well short of the NZD$190 million believed to be the cost of the last America's Cup campaign. However the NZ Government and Auckland City Council have funded the Auckland stopover to the tune of NZD 1.5million each - understood to be about half the going rate internationally.
The yacht will sail under the joint burgees of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and Real Club Nautico de Palma.
The Spanish sponsorship and identity will be treated very favourably under Spanish tax law, believed to return a 2:1 credit on every Euro invested in a project of this type.
Is the America's Cup's honeymoon over?
by Richard Gladwell
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