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The NZL Sailing Team have enjoyed some relaxation time in Bermuda but it's not really what they went to the territory for and hope to get back out on the water tomorrow.
The NZL Sailing Team had one long training session before the weather front hit Bermuda. Photo: Red Bull.
The high winds that forced the abandonment of racing in the America's Cup today also prevented the Red Bull Youth America's Cup teams from vital training only five days out from the start of their competition. The youth teams have a wind limit of 18 knots, meaning they also missed sailing yesterday when Emirates Team New Zealand capsized - the America's Cup has an upper limit of 24 knots.
The NZL Sailing Team were initially confronted with light winds when they first arrived in Bermuda but had only one training session before the weather front moved into Bermuda.
"The last two days have been a bit slow," tactician Micah Wilkinson said. "It has been pretty windy here in Bermuda so we have had a couple of days off.
"We have used these days pretty well. The boat is in pretty good shape, thanks to [skipper] Logan [Dunning Beck] and his stern hand of getting us all to do some work. There has also been some good relaxation time after what was a pretty intense day on the water."
The 12 Youth America's Cup teams have been put into two groups of six, with the NZL Sailing Team in Group B alongside Team BDA (Bermuda), Land Rover BAR Academy (Great Britain), Spanish Impulse Team (Spain), Next Generation USA (USA) and Candidate Sailing Team (Austria). They need to finish in the top four when qualifying gets under way next week to move into the eight-team finals on June 21-22.
New Zealand won the inaugural Youth America's Cup in San Francisco in 2013 with Team New Zealand's Peter Burling on the helm and the Kiwis are expected to be among the contenders again this time.
"The team is performing really well on the water," Wilkinson said. "The first day's training was really positive so we are looking forward to getting back out there tomorrow when the breeze had dropped and do some different stuff.
"The long-range forecast has our qualifying races in pretty light winds so it would be nice to use the code zero a bit more and get a bit more sailing in."
The wind is expected to decrease in time for racing in the America's Cup tomorrow when Team New Zealand will return with their freshly patched-up boat. Wilkinson admits there were a few anxious moments when they saw Team New Zealand capsize yesterday.
"It was pretty full-on. Watching the racing, we were pretty worried for the boys so it was good to see them all pop up in one piece. We're glad to hear they have got the boat pretty much back together and testing all their systems so we're really looking forward to seeing them back out on the water again. It's pretty exciting to watch."
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