NZL Sailing Team with ETNZ arrive in San Francisco

Yachting New Zealand

Media Release

9 AUG 2013

Red Bull Youth America’s Cup: NZL Sailing Team with ETNZ arrive in San Francisco

This week the seven sailors who make up the NZL Sailing Team with ETNZ have arrived in San Francisco to prepare for the 2013 Red Bull Youth America’s Cup.

Latest team video here
Sailor profiles here

The regatta runs from September 1st to 4th and before then the Peter Burling led team will take part in an official training programme along with the nine other teams who they will line up against for four days of fleet racing to determine the inaugural Red Bull Youth America’s Cup Champions.  

Team member Andy Maloney is excited about what’s to come; “I have been looking forward to the next month since being named as a member of the NZL Sailing Team with ETNZ entry into the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup back in January. We have a few weeks of lectures, training and all-around preparation in San Francisco before we race.”

“It is awesome to be part of such a skilled team of sailors. I am sure I will learn from being around other top sailors and the experiences we share over the next month will be unforgettable,” Maloney continues. “I am pretty sure swapping the Laser for an AC45 during this time is going to be a fun change! Can’t wait to get familiarized with the AC45 and racing in a ten boat fleet of these high-speed machines is going to be amazing.”

The AC45s were sailed during the America’s Cup World Series regattas in which the 2013 America’s Cup challengers honed their multihull sailing skills before their 72 foot cats were built and launched. The NZL Sailing Team with ETNZ are allocated with the AC45 belonging to Emirates Team New Zealand for the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup.

While it won’t be their first time on board an AC45 together, having spent time on the Emirates Team New Zealand catamaran in Auckland earlier this year, the official training period will be an important opportunity for the kiwi team.

Support for the NZL Sailing Team with ETNZ through a recent crowd funding campaign has been overwhelming and the team are extremely grateful.

“Thank you very much to everyone who has supported us,” says sailor Sam Meech. “It’s going to be a fantastic opportunity for us and hopefully we’ll bring it back for New Zealand.”

Follow the NZL Sailing Team with ETNZ via…
facebook.com/NZLSailingTeam and yachtingnz.org.nz

ENDS

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