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Too much wind in Bermuda has frustrated the NZL Sailing Team, who are in the area for a crucial training block ahead of June's Red Bull Youth America's Cup.
The team are in Bermuda for a fortnight when they will be allowed seven training days on the AC45 but have managed only two training sessions since arriving about a week ago. A limit of 17 knots is imposed on the youth teams and breezy conditions of 20-30 knots have scuppered a number of attempts to go sailing.
The team have been doing plenty of dry dock sailing, practicing their manoeuvres and communications, as well as going through video analysis as they compare their onboard footage with that of Emirates Team New Zealand in action.
This is the NZL Sailing Team's first chance to sail the AC45s that will be used for the Red Bull Youth America's Cup - the same foiling catamarans used in the America's Cup World Series - and which are capable of travelling at 40 knots. They spent two days rigging SoftBank Team Japan's AC45 before getting out on the Great Sound for the first time.
"They are a thrill to be on," Isaac McHardie said. "Trimming a wing, bigger heavier loads, it's physical on the team. But we're absolutely loving it.
"We will be trying to get out on [the AC45] and learning as much as we can."
The winds should ease over the next couple of days before building again.
The NZL Sailing Team won the inaugural Red Bull Youth America's Cup in 2013 with Peter Burling on the helm.
# The NZL Sailing Team are still short of the $200,000 they need to get to Bermuda in June. To help them on their mission to defend the Red Bull Youth America's Cup, donate here
