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Club:
Royal Ocean Racing Club, UK
Skipper: Ian Walker
Manger: David Barnes
Design: Derek Clark and Jo Richards
Main Backer: Peter Harrison
Main Sponsor: UBS
Budget: $30 million |
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www.gbrchallenge.com |
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So
what of GBR Challenge? Peter Harrison’s dream of putting Britain
back on the America’s Cup map has been widely applauded and the
Internet entrepreneur sunk $34 million of his own money into setting
up Britain with an America’s Cup future that stretches beyond
2003.
Harrison made some cute moves, buying the Nippon Challenge assets
he has dubbed his ‘America’s Cup Starter Kit’. At the
same time, he secured David Barnes as general manager. The New Zealander
is working up to his sixth Cup and leading a team of young, new America’s
Cup faces who are as motivated as they are talented. Ian Walker, fresh
from a silver medal in the Star in Sydney, was appointed sailing manager
in January last year then promoted to skipper in February this year.
His appointment is popular and inspired. He not only commands peer
respect, he is an intellectual sailor who will build speed in the
team’s new boats.
The question still to be answered is how will the afterguard be resolved?
Walker looks likely to steer the boat, during the race at least, with
Adrian Stead almost certain to be nominated as tactician. Whether
the GBR team will employ a starting helmsman remains to be seen. If
so, Andy Green and Andy Beadsworth are the pedigree choices, with
Green having had the lion’s share of the wheel to date.
In the year since GBR Challenge set up in Auckland, the team have
earned the respect of their more experienced peers in Syndicate Row
and notched up victories over Prada, Alinghi and others in unofficial
racing earlier in the year.
While the team were competing and training in the Nippon boats, GBR
70 and GBR 78 were taking shape in Cowes. GBR 70 was first sailed
at the end of July, while GBR 78, a boat conceived to take advantage
of the ‘two boats per challenge’ rule, was flown to New
Zealand to be ready if required at the end of the two round robin
series in October.
The stated GBR Challenge goal has always been to make the semi-final,
but the sailing hardware will need to be quick to make this realistic.
But if the GBR design team have got it right, the sailors can pull
the moves.
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