America's Cup unlikely to return to Aotearoa again - yachting expert

The America's Cup event is unlikely to return to New Zealand, a yachting expert says, on the heel of the Kiwis' win in Barcelona.

Professor Mark Orams was a member of Team New Zealand alongside Sir Peter Blake, part of a Whitbread Round the World -winning crew and has been analysing the racing during this America's Cup as 'The Sailing Professor'.

He told Sunday Morning the reasons the competition will probably not head to Aotearoa again comes down to money and strategies to keep Team New Zealand ahead of the competition.

"The most valuable thing they've got to sell is actually the hosting of the event, not the sponsorship of Team New Zealand," Orams said.

"So they will shop that around and try and make a decision that ... helps them keep the team together, because they need to do that as the highest priority - lose your your intellectual property, lose your talent, you lose the America's Cup."

Minister of Sport and Recreation Chris Bishop congratulated the team but said it was up to the organisation to decide its next location.

"Congratulations to Team New Zealand on defending the America's Cup in such a resounding fashion. New Zealand is proud of the team. "

"The decisions around where and when the next Cup is held are ultimately over to Team New Zealand. The government is obviously open to a discussion around the event being held in NZ.

"Any government support would need to be assessed against many other competing priorities in these tight economic times, and demonstrate clear value for money and economic benefits."

While he would like to see the race here again, Orams said he would not bet on its return.

"I think it's extremely unlikely. It's unfortunate ...but the reality is the the ability to raise the money, to be able to be competitive in this environment is very difficult, from New Zealand and what [Team NZ chief executive] Grant Dalton and [chief operating officer] Kevin Shoebridge have to do is to try and raise close to $200 million, and that's extremely difficult.

"So they will make a decision that allows them to continue to keep the most successful modern America's Cup team together, so that they have the best chance of defending next time."

"And I'd have to say that not only is that a disappointment for everybody in New Zealand - especially the sailing community, but it's actually a disappointment for the members of Team New Zealand - they're Kiwis ... they're very proud of where they come from."

Auckland's Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson said it was too early to say whether Auckland would have a part in any future Cup challenge.

"We have invested in the infrastructure here in Auckland, but we certainly aren't in a position to fund any kind of campaign. Those discussions will be had in the future," Simpson said.

The focus immediately after this win was celebrating Team New Zealand's third successive Cup win, she said.

"...I'm incredibly proud of Grant Dalton and the whole Emirates Team New Zealand team - incredibly proud."

Cup a hotbed for innovation and opportunity - Orams

International sailors were frequently astounded by how a small country like New Zealand could stay competitive at the top level of such a technical and expensive sport, Orams said.

"I just am full of admiration for the achievement of Team New Zealand, not just in terms of the campaign they put together this time, but ... reflecting on the legacy that Team New Zealand's created since it was formed by Peter Blake and Alan Sefton in the mid-1990s, to become the dominant team at the highest end of technology in the sport of sailing in the world.

"In a sport that is not only highly technical but also requires an enormous amount of money to be raised, because it's very expensive to compete at this top level ... and when I talk to sailors from offshore, they just cannot understand how we do it.

"It's something very, very special."

Team New Zealand's prowess has had benefits for the rest of Aotearoa, Orams said.

"It enhances our reputation as an innovative nation who can do things in a distinctively Kiwi way, and be successful at the highest level in a very competitive environment.

"It ... demonstrates something that New Zealand has been able to do in a whole wide range of businesses and settings ... being quite bold and really pushing things out there."

There had also been direct and tangible benefits through the last few decades, he said.

"There's quite a number of spin-off opportunities that have happened out of this too... It's not an accident that Rocket Lab has been able to be formed and be successful from New Zealand, because the composite technology and expertise that we've formed through our marine industry has directly led into the success of a company like Rocket Lab.

"And we've also had a number of other spin-off businesses as the foiling kind of expands through not just sailing but into other areas as well.

"So that's revolutionary, and will continue to revolutionise the marine industry, and New Zealand is a global leader in this particular area of development."

Team NZ an unbeatable force due to their blend of skill, experience and expertise

There were many elements to the success of Team New Zealand, Orams said, including their technical choices before the races and their meteorological experts.

The behind-the-scenes elements helped position the sailors well to use their own skills and expertise successfully in making "those critical decisions about ...what the conditions require in terms of sail selection and settings, and then most important, tactically.

"And those who are exceptionally good at it, like [Co-Skippers] Peter Burling and Nathan Outteridge, and [sailors] Andy Maloney and and Blair Tuke, combining that really smart wisdom on board for collective decision- making was I think an enormous strength for Team New Zealand, whereas my impression from the British is that they were very much relying on just their two helms to really input into those decisions.

"So four good heads working well together are probably going to get it right more often than two good heads working well together.

"The vagaries of wind changes and the randomness sometimes, is very difficult to pick. It's one of the the reasons that sailing just captures you ... and then what you see in front of you, little indications, the patterns on the water surface, the phasing of the wind and where it's currently at and where it's been in the past and therefore where it's likely to go next in the next few minutes - all of those things are absolutely fundamentals."

The harder you work and the smarter you are, the luckier you get sailing, Orams said.

"They got it right more often than not.... in the end, I think that ability to pick the right side of the start and to manufacture the pre-start so that you can get that more often than not, was a really important contributor to the success in this Cup."

Great racing, great viewing - Orams

Ineos Britannia "were a very worthy challenger", Orams said.

"This was not easy, and actually the scoreline of 7-2 I don't think really tells the story of how close this was. It could have easily gone the other way, because the boats were very evenly matched in terms of speed.

"There were some slight advantages in some conditions for Team New Zealand and also conversely, especially when the sea state was up as we saw in the two races that Ineos won - they had some advantages in those conditions.

"So it required a really high level of performance, minimising mistakes, making good decisions and maximising what they had out of each of their machines. So it was a compelling watch from my perspective."

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