Hi all,

Well as we get back into things and begin to focus on Leg 7 it’s pretty clear to everyone that this is a tight race. As we head to Europe, CAMPER, Puma, Groupama, and Telefonica are all realistic chances to win this race.

The top performers are now all very close together so the obvious question is can we still win the race overall? Yes, absolutely but a few things do need to fall into place. Primarily we need to have conditions in the remaining legs that are not dominated by jib reaching. It’s out there for everyone to see that we just don’t enjoy those conditions and struggle in them, but in pretty much every other point of sail we’re competitive with everyone else. It just so happens that the first four legs of this race against expectations delivered a huge amount of jib reaching. The good news is that Leg 7 should be mainly downwind running and the legs after should offer a good mix of conditions.

So with two thirds of the race behind us are we where we wanted to be prior to the start? The honest answer is no because we know we have a very good team here and as a result we want to be first. We set out to win this race and that’s what we’re still focused on doing. That said with the issues we’ve had to date and the predominance of reaching conditions in the first half of the race we are not positioned too badly.

The important thing for us that we now have a transatlantic leg which requires boats to be good on all points of sail. We’re happy to take some punishment on jib reaching but want the chance to stretch our legs in different conditions and ensure that the boats that do well are those that perform well in a range of different conditions.

The reality is that at this stage of the race there aren’t many big tricks left to any of the boats to lift their performance. We have a few sail buttons left and our sail wardrobe will become more specific in the remaining legs. To date our approach has been more general and geared to cope with all conditions. In the shorter legs we will get a better handle on expected weather and accordingly tailor our sails to suit the specific conditions expected. The move from a more general sail programme to a more specific one does come with its own set of risks but we think overall it will give us a small advantage.

The nice thing is that at this stage of the race we have the ability to go either way with our sail programme and have plenty of options available to us which can only be a good thing. I’m not sure what shape the other teams are in, but to be in the position we are in requires you to have used your sail buttons wisely over the last six months.

Aside from the new sails there aren’t many other physical tweaks left to make to the boat to lift its performance, and it’s going to come down to the team being focused and at the top of their game.

As a unit I think we’re lifting our game with each leg and just getting better and better. This last leg saw a lot of difficult tactical decisions and the afterguard worked together really well in making the right calls. It certainly helped that the conditions generally suited us but nonetheless I’m confident that we’re gelling like never before.

Looking at the other top boats it’s hard to pick out who is the most dangerous team at the moment. Puma having won the last two legs are clearly on a roll but at this stage of proceedings everybody is on thin ice. If you’re going strong, it’s very easy to fall off the horse and have that momentum disrupted. Conversely, if you’re struggling you really have to fight to pick yourself up, get your head back above water and performing well again. Anybody who is on a roll in this race is one result away from falling off that roll in a big way.

Things are in a flux and any one of the top four are a real threat and could come out on top. As a team we’ve been through the wringer and came out of it stronger so I’m very happy with the make-up of our team.

We’re ready for a big transatlantic leg that delivers everything – tough tactical decisions, challenging weather and a good work out for boat and crew. We know we’re competitive in the light, upwind in any wind strength, and downwind in any wind strength. We have the one Achilles heel of jib reaching which has been rather brutally demonstrated in earlier legs, but at the end of the day we have a good boat.

This race is tight and it’s only going to get tighter but we’re ready for a good old scrap. You can see teams at the moment that are struggling to hold in where they are and those that have fallen off the pace. At the moment we’re performing well after coming off a very difficult time so that says a lot about the guys. We’re a robust team and after almost three months without a break we’ve fought our way back, we’re rested and now we make sure we’re back on track.

Talk soon

Nico

Bad weather got the better of the last practice day before the start of the America’s Cup World Series at Venice.

High winds swept across the Gulf of Venice from early morning bringing sheets of horizontal rain and whipping up the seas. By early afternoon the sun had made a tentative re-appearance and the wind started to soften, but the seaway that remained made sailing a very risky proposition.

With racing starting tomorrow none of the teams was willing to risk major damage.

With only one more regatta in the 2011-12 season – at Newport, Rhode Island from June 26 to July 1 – the nine competing teams are only too aware that Venice could be a make or break time.

Oracle 4 carries a one-point lead into the four-day Venice regatta and Emirates Team New Zealand leader board.

Consistency is the word of the day for all the teams – and the betting is that consistency could be elusive over the narrow in-shore courses and light winds predicted for the four days.

At the Emirates Team New Zealand base today, large puddles 5-6cm deep covered large areas of the uneven tented area that serves as team dining room, hospitality and boat storage and workshop.

When the rain lifted, team members swept and pumped the water out of the base only for it to return with further rain. The strong wind ensured temperatures were low.

2011-12 AC World Series, overall leader  board

1. Oracle 4   67 points

2. Emirates Team New Zealand… 66 points

3. Artemis Racing… 54 points

4 Energy Team… 48 points

5. Oracle 5… 47 points

5.Team Korea… 47 points

7. China Team… 26 points

8. Luna Rossa Piranha… 19 points
*

9. Luna Rossa Swordfish… 12 points*

* Luna Ross has competed in only one of the four regattas.

It’s something Nick has dreamt of doing since watching Peter Blake’s Lion New Zealand race into Auckland from his father’s power boat during the 1985-86 Whitbread.

“For me it’s everything. Ever since I was out on my old man’s power boat, I think I was about three, and Lion New Zealand sailed into Auckland, you know, you kind of decide that’s what you want to do.”

Burridge however is no newcomer to sailing. Aged 10 he started sailing optimists and since then has gone onto campaigns on boats such as Leopard, Alfa Romeo and Investec Loyal in races including the Fastnet, Sydney to Hobart and Middle Sea Race.

But the 3,590 nautical mile race from Miami to Lisbon, Portugal will be the longest amount of time he has spent at sea racing.

“I really enjoy the offshore sailing, so the more time at sea the better. There’s a lot of physical challenges involved, the excitement, sailing big waves. Some people are into parachuting, bungee jumping and I’m into sailing.”

Figuring out what to pack and particulars about the boat are now extracurricular activities for Burridge. Pammenter is scheduled to give him the rundown of several systems and shore crew manager Neil Cox is also set to impart knowledge.

“As far as the rigging goes, I know that like the back of my hand, but inside the boat with water-makers, generators, the engine I haven’t paid a huge amount of attention to that.

“Previously, from sailing on similar keel boats you have an idea of how they work, but I definitely have to get up to speed over the next few days.”
As CAMPER’s reserve crew member Nick knew that one day he may get the call to action, so when he saw skipper Chris Nicholson’s name flash up on his mobile phone two days ago, he had an inkling that this was it.

“I am really excited, but I’m most nervous about the in-port race. I haven’t sailed in this mid-bow position in a racing situation. I really hope we can get a good result, it would set me up really well mentally for the offshore.”

While being the new guy on board has its pros and cons, Burridge reckons a definite advantage is that his body is fresh, unlike all of the Volvo sailors who have put their bodies through the wringer since the race started six months ago.

“I’ve had a lot more rest than the sailors have, they’ve not had a rest since China. “I’m feeling fit and good, so that will be an advantage. I think I’m the fittest I’ve been, I’ve been working pretty hard on it since January a year ago, just in case this opportunity came around.”

On the flipside, Burridge realises that joining the crew at the late stage of the race will have its drawbacks.

“They’ll be doing stuff where they don’t have to communicate with each other and I’ll be a bit behind on that, which might frustrate people, but I’m here to fill in for Mike and do the best I can.”

Doing his best is at the forefront of Burridge’s mind, especially with just 15 points standing between his team and Telefónica in first place on the overall leaderboard.

“I think everyone realizes that the top four have compressed a lot, Telefónica still have a small lead, but if we win this next leg and they get a third or a fourth then we’re in a great position to win the race.”

“The result side of things has been on all our minds since we launched our boat in Auckland. With Emirates Team New Zealand it’s all about results, you never do anything to come less than first place. We’re up there at the moment, but we’re not there yet and we have to work it.”

This week in Miami was no exception with CAMPER trimmer/driver Tony Rae and his family, along with bowman Daryl Wislang and his wife Jess jumping at the opportunity to get up close with some of Florida’s more reptilian inhabitants.

Along with sailors from Groupama and Abu Dhabi, the guys spent half a day in Florida’s famous wetlands region, the Everglades taking in an airboat ride and getting to handle alligators and snakes.

For Daryl and Trae who both hail from a snake and alligator free New Zealand the chance to get hands-on with some of Florida’s most exotic locals was too good to miss.

“It’s pretty cool to be able to see them not just in their natural environment but so up close as well”, says Daryl

“Coming from New Zealand we normally only see snakes and alligators on TV so to be able to actually hold them is a bit crazy.

“I don’t think it’s something I want to do too often though or that Jess will be volunteering to do again!”

Jess Wislang had the good or bad luck to be picked out of the group for a one on one encounter with a seven foot python – an experience she won’t be rushing to repeat.

“It was horrible. I wouldn’t do it by choice. I held a python once before when I was 18, and it was no better this time.”

Daryl however was impressed by her efforts.

“She did well I reckon. I didn’t see anyone else jumping to hold them. We haven’t spent that much time together lately, so days like this are a real luxury. It’s been great.”

Sidelined on the first day while the shore crew performed some preventive maintenance, the team was anxious to go racing.

Having missed three of the six scheduled races they had no chance of winning the regatta but wanted to put on a strong show.

Sunday dawned wet and windy – overnight the race village was battered by winds that reached 45 knots – which left a big seaway on the course of the Lido.

Regatta officials finally got a start two hours later than the scheduled 2pm. They set a course inside the Lido and only one race was held and it was completed in just over 10 minutes.

The raced was marked by multiple penalties brought about by yachts crossing the boundaries of the very tight course which at its narrowest was less than 200m wide.

The race was a magnificent spectacle for the locals. Emirates Team New Zealand was fifth, after challenging Oracle 4 for first,  then running foul of the virtual boundary, and with Oracle 4, running out of breeze and being overtaken by Artemis and both  Luna Rossa  boats.

Two practice days follow. The ACWS regatta starts on Thursday and finishes on Sunday.

With CAMPER’s time in the last stopover (Itajai, Brazil) cut to only a few days after the detour to Puerto Montt a number of non-essential jobs were deferred until Miami, meaning that the shore crew led by Neil Cox have a busy few days ahead of them before the boat goes back into the water on Tuesday May 15.

“It’s just a massive service of the boat from top to bottom”, says Cox.

“With the stopover in Brazil being so short and due to the fact we did stop in Puerto Montt there was work that we had to turn our back on in Brazil knowing that it would do the distance to here, and so now we have the opportunity to get to those jobs, so it’s things like a full keel service and rig check – that kind of stuff.”

Adding to the workload CAMPER must also undergo its mandatory race weigh-in while in Miami a process that can take up to three days says Cox.

“This stopover is very much about getting through the measurement/weighing process.

“For us that is a three day process, we have to get everything off the boat, weigh-in and then put it back together again. When you’ve got a stopover that’s only six days long, we’re losing three to measurement.”

Despite the long job list and limited time Cox is relishing the opportunity to get CAMPER back to 100% with so much still on the line.

“Everything matters right now, to be in a position where you’re heading to Europe with four boats poised the way they are, is great.

“But you don’t want to not be in the best position on the racetrack because of something that happened on the shore.

“This next leg is transatlantic, so there is the opportunity for these boats to do some fast downwind sailing so everyone will want their boats as well prepared as possible.”

CAMPER will go back into the water on Tuesday and be back out sailing on Wednesday.

Bowman Mike Pammenter will step down for the leg due to a prolapsed disc in his back. Mike sustained the injury during the sixth leg from Itajai to Miami. Reserve crew member Nick Burridge will move into the role for the transatlantic leg from Miami to Lisbon starting on May 20th.

CAMPER skipper Chris Nicholson says that the decision to rest Mike for the leg was made after a full medical assessment.

“Our team physio Paul Wilson has carried out a full assessment of Mike, and as with any injury of this nature the biggest issue can be time, so we are keen to make sure he has the opprotunity to rest and recover so that he can rejoin the team as soon as possible.

“While Mike is obviously disappointed to miss this leg it will be a great opportunity for Nick. As our reserve crew member, Nick has been with the sailing team since day one. While his day to day duties are within the rigging area on the shore side, he still joins us at every fitness session and for training on the water so he is very much a part of the team and we look forward to having him out there.”

Emirates Team New Zealand Physiotherapist and Medical Advisor Paul Wilson, “Due to the amount of heavy lifting onboard, lower back injuries are common in this sport. I am confident that with effective treatment and rest he will make a full recovery, but it is important he has a few weeks on land to allow the disc to heal. We hope to see him back onboard CAMPER in Lisbon for the remainder of the race.”

Nick Burridge (NZL) DOB 31 March 1982
A sailor and rigger, Nick has worked on many of the most successful maxi and mini maxi yachts in the racing world including Alfa Romeo, Investec Loyal and Shockwave. He has competed in several Sydney Hobart and Fastnet races, as well as six Maxi World Championships. He has been a rigger for Emirates Team New Zealand since 2009.

The team spent the day repairing some hull damage around the trampoline attachment, an area of  extreme load. Fortunately it is an overnight repair, so we are recalculating the stresses and undertaking a permanent repair to ensure we can sail tomorrow and for the remainder of the regatta.

The shore crew will be working into the night on the repair. Meanwhile, the sailing team watched racing today and later sailed on of the Luna Rossa twin AC45s to check sails.

Chris Draper’s Luna Rossa Piranha dominated the day in extremely light and  challenging conditions on the offshore race course, where the wind rarely exceeded five knots.

Three more races will be held tomorrow. The ACWS  Venice regatta proper starts on Thursday.

 Results after three races

1.    Luna Rossa – Piranha…27 points
2.    Luna Rossa – Swordfish…21 points
3.    Energy Team…20 points
4.    ORACLE TEAM USA Spithill…19 points
5.    Artemis Racing…16 points
6.    China Team…12 points
7.    Team Korea…11 points
8.    Emirates Team New Zealand…0 points
9.    ORACLE TEAM USA Bundock…0 points