America's Cup: Emirates Team New Zealand comes back up to speed
by Sail-World.com/NZ 18 May 2020 07:51 BST
18 May 2020
- Te Kahu - Emirates Team New Zealand - Waitemata Harbour - February 19, 2020 © Richard Gladwell / Sail-World.com
Emirates Team New Zealand are pulling back the time lost due to the COVID19 lockdown in New Zealand.
Having lost several thousand man-hours from the construction program the team are trying to catch up to meet campaign deadlines. "We've taken on more staff and have bolstered our night crew - which is working well for us. Even in just the first week back we got some good gains. It was good to be able to come back in the morning and see the progress that had been made overnight", says Scott Stokes Build Facility Production Manager.
"For many of us in the design team we were able to work efficiently and effectively from home, so the guys building the boat had exactly what they needed, when they got back. The design process is coming along very well,. There are a lot of different parts to the race package that are coming together nicely, but there is still plenty to learn, but we're in a good position," explains Jamie Timms Senior Structural Engineer.
"We've been out sailing the test boat - which doesn't require the whole team - so we have been busy in other areas - focussing on training and a few other projects going on in the shed," says grinder, Guy Endean. "So it was a good opportunity to push forward on some of those things."
"We can't let up at all on the fitness," he adds.
"We all want to go out sailing", says fellow grinder and 2012 Olympic Rowing Gold Medalist, Joseph Sullivan. At the moment is just just a matter of staying in the gym, keeping each other motivated and keep pushing as hard as we can, knowing that the boat [AC75] will come back and we will be sailing again, so we need to be as prepared as possible for that moment."
For a full update watch the video featuring a look inside the building facility on Auckland's North Shore, a chat with the design team members, and a look at what's happening on the water with the 12 metre long test boat.