The Auld Mug, can't spot the axe marks though!
Switzerland, not being known for its extensive ocean coastline, opted to hold the competition in Valencia after it was won 4 years ago by sailing circles around our sinking defending yacht in New Zealand. Long story but Team NZ is here to bring it back!
The Team NZ base (the black shed on the left)
A friend of ours Grant, is also about to be married so this was a great opportunity for the boys to come out from London and see the fun unfold too. I left Sharon at a nearby campground with the English couple we'd met in Tarragona and spent the weekend with the lads, details from here on in shall remain suitably vague so as to protect the innocent :)
Rob & Eric
Coincidentally, our good friends Cheryl and Jase were also in town for the weekend, so it was great to meet up and share in the festive environment, and for Sharon and Cheryl to indulge in a spot of vino rosado!
Cheryl and Jase
Cheryl & Sharon
It's a big money game the America's Cup, and Valencia has spent around €100 million converting the port into a suitable base for the teams. A great job has been done too but nothing can alter the fact that the main city centre is quite disjointed from the port area, and at the end of the day we could have been anywhere. The transport around town was quite ill prepared too and meant that travelling from our hostel to the port could take up to an hour. Maybe if we'd been able work out the subway system as well as we could the bars then may be we'd have had more success??
Cup exhibit in town - one of the few signs of the event being held here
Team NZ returning to the shed after a day on the water
The four teams entering the semis were Team Oracle BMW (USA) frontman being Larry Elison owner of Oracle, Luna Rossa Prada (Italy), Desafio Espana (Spain) and Team NZ. As Team NZ topped the previous round robins, we were allowed to choose our opponent from the remaining three... Oracle being the favorite and Luna Rossa looking tough, Team NZ opted to race the Spanish team who'd only just managed to get through after some surprise wins.
The lads enjoying the views from a spectator boat (Grant as El Matador!)
It would be fair to say that we brought a great atmosphere to the Cup Village, (especially with Grant being dressed up as a Spanish Matador), as it seemed to us that not many locals were even aware that their city was hosting the event on behalf of Switzerland. But with the Spanish team now into the semi finals, there seemed to be alot more interest!
Desafio Espana celebrating a well earned second win
After a couple of wins by Team NZ, Spain managed to get a surprise win back and the racing became a whole lot closer than expected. Desafio Espana wasn't giving anything away! Sunday we were hoping to win the last race to secure our entry to the finals, but the light shifty winds allowed them to go to a 2-4 race score. Our friends from London headed back on the Sunday so we also left town to head back up north and back on track to head to Eastern Europe as we'd planned.
Team New Zealand subdued return following the loss to the Spanish
Team New Zealand managed to get the final win a few days later, sealing our place into the final of the Louis Vuitton Cup against Team Luna Rossa.
Luna Rossa after a convincing 5 -0 win over Larry Ellison's Oracle BMW team
NB: Following a comprehensive 5-0 victory over Luna Rossa in the Louis Vuitton Cup, Team NZ has secured its place to challenge Alingi in the America's Cup which commmences June 23...
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