Note: links in archived stories may have expired due to the removal of the stories from, or changes to, the websites from which they were derived.

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Pole position 

Schnack attack
"They have lured away many of NZ's best sailing minds and talents in the quest for the Cup, but they are all still chasing one Kiwi who did not budge and whose mind and talents may well make up for all those lost." Washington Post interviews Tom Schnackenberg; Team NZ's syndicate chief, design coordinator, navigator and "constant."
(27 December 2002)
 

Kiwi leads Brits
"Most of Kiwi Andrew Longmore's working life has been devoted to the pursuit of sailing's Holy Grail. No one has helmed more miles in an America's Cup boat than Barnes, in racing, testing and development over five different Cup projects; no one can bring the same breadth of knowledge to bear on a British challenge which is already short of time."
(4 February 2001)

America's Cup turns 150
"It would have felt very wrong to have hosted a celebration of the fact that we lost the cup in 1851, haven't seen it since and are making no attempt to get it back," says John Caulcutt, a backer for Britain's first America's Cup bid since 1986.
(28 January 2001)

Pdf copy
Our Cup overflowed
The America's Cup generated NZ$640 million in economic activity. Competing syndicates spent $149.2 mill, nearly matched by $118 mill from super-yacht spectators. 
(26 October 2000)

Yacht to watch this animation
You won't get the sea-breeze or the sea spray, but an internet animator from New Zealand can almost get you to the America's Cup.
(23 February 2000) 

Auld Mug stays with Swiss 
Alinghi has successfully defended the America's Cup, defeating Emirates Team NZ 5-2 in the best-of-nine series. The 2007 event was the closest in years, with the Swiss team winning the seventh race by a mere second. "Just not enough has been the theme," said Team NZ tactician, Terry Hutchinson. Alinghi beat Team NZ 5-0 in 2003, taking the America's Cup to Europe for the first time in its 150-year history. Alinghi's five-strong NZ contingent - Brad Butterworth, Dean Phipps, Warwick Fleury, Simon Daubney and Murray Jones - will stay with the Swiss syndicate for the next America's Cup Challenge. "We're mates and we've sailed together for years," said Alinghi skipper and tactician Brad Butterworth in the NZ Herald. "It's very important because that's been our career and that's been our strength. Why break it up?" The five NZ sailors have now won the America's Cup four successive times, the first two with Team NZ before they switched with then-skipper Russell Coutts to Alinghi in 2000. 
(5 July 2007)

Challenging times ahead for Team NZ
The NZ government has pledged $5.14 million in an effort to win back the America's Cup. Says America's Cup Minister Trevor Mallard; "This new funding will allow Team New Zealand to start the process of re-signing key team members. Without it, the human capital and intellectual property built up by Team New Zealand could disperse, putting at risk New Zealand's ongoing participation in the America's Cup." Grant Dalton will lead Team NZ in their efforts to recover the cup.  
(6 March 2003)
   

Kiwi's Cup
"America's Cup? Why, we call it the Kiwi's Cup now!" An encounter with "a proper cocky Kiwi" sees Post writer Angus Phillips ruminate over this auld mug called the America's Cup. This year's competition sees New Zealanders sailing and working behind the scenes on all the top boats, bringing former team-mates face to face. Phillips: "It's not easy being from a remote island of 4 million souls thousands of miles from anywhere when you have to compete in the global mix against the world's superpowers […] But Kiwis, who have proved themselves the best sailors in the world, can crow and throw their little darts. They've earned the right."
(10 November 2002)
    

Auckland holding its breath
The 2002 America's Cup challengers series has begun (click here for BBC, CNN coverage), launched with fanfare on the streets of Auckland. The competing teams paraded through the central city, the Swedes blasting ABBA, the French accompanied by can-can girls. Initial race conditions have not been nearly so exciting - for the most part winds have been either non-existent or too powerful to sail in. But at last the weather is looking up and competition is getting tougher. Says Yachting World: "the race for bottom [...] is becoming as keenly contested as the race for top." Larry Ellison fires it up in the New York Times.
(October 2002)
             

Counting down and counting up
The 31st America's Cup is 13 months away, but the Hauraki Gulf is already a hive of activity as 10 syndicates prepare to battle for the Auld Mug. And Government puffs up Team NZ's sails with a cash injection. Says Helen Clark, "Team New Zealand has not only been a wonderful ambassador for NZ but their success also had a positive impact on the country".
(5 January 2002)
        

The Viking
People from around the world pay tribute to sailing great, Sir Peter Blake, a man who inspired a generation of New Zealanders, through his deep love of the sea, his constant willingness to take up the challenges it offered, his courageous personality, and his dynamic leadership skills. "He had the well being of all humanity and the planet in his heart. He will be long loved and remembered".
Tributes to Sir Peter can be found at The Independent, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Times, Reuters.com, The New York Times, The Guardian, and The Financial Times.
(6 December 2001)

Magic lives on
Six years ago the Black Magic team completed their historic 5-0 sweep of the America's Cup.
(13 May 2001)

Coutts coming
The Swiss syndicate headed by Russell Coutts has been cleared to challenge in 2003, after doubts about the legality of the entry.
(6 December 2000)

Barker on Pace
Team NZ skipper Dean Barker tops the November World Match Race Rankings, beating his lieutenant Bernard Pace into second place. 
(21 November 2000)

Dean's decision
Dean Barker, Team New Zealand skipper, had ten minutes to make up his mind to take the hottest seat in sailing.
(September 2000)

US venture capitalists eye Kiwis
New Zealand's win of the America's Cup confirmed its yachting prowess. Now the country wants to be known for its high-tech wares.
(7 March 2000)
   

America’s Cup: New Zealand style
"Is this Monte Carlo, Rio de Janeiro, Cannes or Santa Catalina, the playground of California’s rich and famous?" Auckland, New Zealand’s "City of Sails", must have been tourism’s best-kept secret destination – the Pacific’s own Riviera – up until now.
(12 March 2000)

Sailing back to form 
Emirates Team New Zealand "are back to their best" according to the Telegraph's Kate Laven, dominating the 2009 Audi MedCup circuit with 23 podium positions from 35 races. With a maximum of 16 races left in this year's circuit, Emirates Team New Zealand are firm favourites to take the title in their first attempt. The Team has now made it three regattas in a row winning the Portugal Trophy. Grant Dalton's team was back to their best despite some dramatic wind shifts in the coastal waters off the Algarve. "We are back on track, making really good starts and sailing fast upwind — we definitely have a speed edge in those conditions," said navigator Ray Davies. 
(20 August 2009)

Win on a Mistral 
Emirates Team New Zealand has won the Sardinia Trophy of the Audi MedCup series off Sardinia making it two in a row after their win in Marseilles. The bush was on fire along the coast and the New Zealanders were on fire on the water. They started with a clean sweep of three wins on the opening day and posted a 3, 1, 2 on the last to complete a performance marked as much by consistency as power. There are boats as fast and crews as good out against them, but much more prone to mistakes and gaffes. Team boss Grant Dalton said there was a sense of relief, rather than euphoria, pervading through the team. "It was a difficult regatta," Dalton said. "The boys were talking about it on the way in. The wind was all over the place so it I feel relieved more than anything, now we have won it." The team next races at Portimao in Portugal in August. 
(25 July 2009)

LV victory sees America's Cup rematch 
Emirates Team NZ has demolished Luna Rossa 5-0 to win the Louis Vuitton Cup. Team NZ will now meet Swiss defender Alinghi in the America's Cup best-of-nine series, beginning June 23. In stark contrast to their usual reserved appearance, the Team NZ crew jumped up and down and cheered as they finished 22 seconds ahead of the Italian challenger. "This is our ticket to the America's Cup which is why we're here, so it was a huge relief once we crossed the line," said NZ trimmer Tony Rae. The stage is now set for a rematch of the 2003 series, when NZ lost the America's Cup to Alinghi. In other Team NZ news, the team's mystery backer was recently revealed to be Swiss-Italian millionaire businessman Matteo de Nora. De Nora has been involved with Team NZ since 2003. After that year's disastrous campaign, de Nora persuaded a syndicate of wealthy America's Cup fans to help finance the struggling NZ challenge. In addition, his family-owned fuel-cell company, Gruppo de Nora, has secretly spent two years developing lightweight batteries to power the electronics on Team NZ boats, giving them a noticeable weight/speed advantage. 
(7 June 2007)

America's Cup build-up
Team NZ captain Dean Barker beat ex-boss Russell Coutts 3-0 in the Swedish Match Cup finals. Coutts is heading Alinghi, Switzerland’s America’s Cup challenger. In other Cup news, Team New Zealand launch the first of their new generation of racing yachts (NZL81) and Dennis Connor’s newest yacht – Stars & Stripes – sank a mile offshore from Long Beach, California. 
(8 July 2002)
         

America's Cup lead-up 
Update on the preparations of the American and British Challengers for the Louis Vuitton cup in October next year.
(16 May 2001)

   
America's Cup 2003
See the ranking of the announced and unannounced contenders for the next America's Cup as judged by ESPN celeb Gary Jobson. Team New Zealand is the favourite and is ranked number one based on management, funding, design, talent and expectation amongst other things. 
(2001)

Oracle speaks
Flippin heck, the Chris Dickson-skippered boat for Larry Ellison's Oracle America's Cup challenge does an unchartered turn during a training run on the Waitemata. The boat's 21- ton keel "inexplicably sheared off".
(23 November 2000) 

Team NZ pickup Pace
Having carried off the wine prizes, we’re now taking skippers. Bertrand Pace, who skippered the French boat in the last America’s Cup, has signed on with Team NZ. "I am very pleased and excited to join the defending team," Pace said after a meeting with New Zealand skipper Dean Barker to finalise the deal.
(7 September 2000 )

If you can't beat 'em, buy 'em: It's the American way
"Let's face it American's hate to lose at anything, from tiddlewinks on up, and we had come to view the America's Cup as our personal possession. But then New Zealand hung us by the mizzenmast ...  our pride has been seriously stung". But Bill Gates .."Have we no shame?" 
(9 May 2000)

We're still sailing 
Auckland's Louis Vuitton Pacific Cup is underway with two preliminary round robins leading up to a challenger final in which one team will advance to face Dean Barker's Emirates Team New Zealand on February 13 and February 14 — the cup "an ideal tonic … for the many who have had their fill of litigation", writes Christopher Clarey for the International Herald Tribune. "Just being here is a flashback to better times for the America's Cup and the global economy. Here, as before, are the ocean currents and sea breeze generating whitecaps on the Hauraki Gulf with a fair-sized spectator fleet afloat. Here, as before, are the sailors and their public generating plenty of nocturnal energy in the watering holes and culinary hot spots of the Viaduct Basin. The trouble is, with the Cup in its 19th month of legal limbo and more oral arguments scheduled in the New York State Court of Appeals, it feels rather like a mirage." 
(6 February 2009)

NZer heads Italian challenge 
Anthony Romano is one of many New Zealanders with divided loyalties in this year's America's Cup. Born in Nelson to second-generation Italian immigrants, Romano has spent most of his working life in Italy and is now general manager of the country's America's Cup challenger, Luna Rossa. "Growing up [in Nelson], we had a big family ... We ate a lot of pasta and listened to a lot of Italian music. I feel very much Italian but also very much Kiwi," he said in a recent NZ interview. Prior to his role at Luna Rossa, Romano held senior positions with Deloitte and Touche (NZ) and Timberland Europe before moving up from CFO to managing director at Calvin Klein's European head office. Romano is one of a large group of NZ-born sailors, technicians and officials working for international America's Cup challengers. 
(12 May 2007)

Kiwi vs Kiwi 
Team New Zealand will face the Swiss challenge Alinghi in the America's Cup finals in February, setting up a match up between Alinghi skipper  Russell Coutts and his understudy when he was at the helm of Team New zealand, Dean Barker. Alinghi defeated Larry Ellison's Oracle 5-1 to win the Loius Vuitton Cup and earn the right to challenge Team NZ. Oracle was skippered by Kiwi Chris Dickson and the boat designed by Bruce Farr.   
(21 January 2003)
         

ABC: Auckland Billionaire's Club
Warren St. John backgrounds the moguls and money questing for the America's Cup, pondering at the 'pet projects' of sporting tycoons like Larry Ellison: "they have hired the best sailors money can buy, sometimes moving them at the last minute to comply with the Cup's requirement that crew members reside in the country they represent. The result is an America's Cup that is more personality than nationality. [...] New Zealanders have reacted to the onslaught of billionaires with a kind of befuddled glee. "We have suffered for years for our isolation," said Paul Holmes, a popular television host here, "so when people like this come here, we're pleased. Katana [Ellison's luxury yacht, above] is the stuff of fairy tales to us. It's madness, but we love it."
(06 October 2002)
       

Sir Peter Blake honoured at World Sport Awards
Sir Peter has been posthumously given both the Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award and the Laureus Sport for Good Award at the 2002 World Sports Awards in Monte-Carlo. Sir Peter, was a founding member of the Academy of 44 international sporting greats along with former AB captain Sean Fitzpatrick.
(May 2002)
           

Olympic Honours
The International Olympic Committee will award the Olympic Order to Sir Peter Blake, one of its highest honours. IOC President Jacques Rogge declares Blake "one of the most gifted and successful yachtsmen in the world".
(12 December 2001)

Precision boat
Details of the construction Louis Vuitton challenger Young America, designed by Aucklander Bruce Farr.
(3 January 2001)

Again?
Talk of a pre-America's cup Team New Zealand-Prada rematch.
(2 January 2001) 
   

Cup challenge
Seattle telecommunications billionaire Craig McCaw is sending a team to challenge for the cup - American sailors well leavened with ex-Team NZites.
(14 January 2001)

Conner on
Dennis Conner will skipper the New York Boat Club's 2003 challenge, hoping to end the Cup's twenty-year residence away from the NYYC.
(30 November 2000)

Conner cautious
Dennis Conner will be in Auckland contesting the Cup in 2003, but he sure isn't feeling complacent: "There's so much depth of talent in New Zealand...They'll still be difficult to beat, " he told the NY Times.
(22 October 2000)

Black Magic casts its spell; all New Zealand celebrates
Skipper Russell Couts always put the emphasis on 'team' in Team New Zealand, and today, he gave an understudy the glorious job of winning the America's Cup ...
(2 March 2000) 

Ciao for now New Zealand
Beaten by Black Magic, Prada promises they'll be back for America's Cup rerun.  Minutes after New Zealand's Black Magic sailed past the finishing line to clinch the America's Cup with a 5-0 whitewash ...
(3 March 2000)

They're playing monopoly
There's always been a strong connection between sailing and skiing, but listen to what FIS officials have to say about their situation: "The domination of the sport by the Austrians has become an increasing concern."  At this point it is idle speculation, but might we be looking at a similar situation in the America's Cup?
(27 March 2000) 

Cool hand on Deck
"Sir Peter Blake, head of Team New Zealand, is that rare thing: an international celebrity who has remained popular in a homeland where cutting "tall poppies" down to size is a national pastime ..."
(26 Feb 2000)