“When looking at the crew make-up we have in place for Cagliari, it is a very exciting time for the team, it is a powerful mix of experience and raw, youthful talent, so to have two boats competing alongside each other for the first time will be really interesting for the team’s development,” Tuke said.
“From a personal perspective, I am really excited by the challenge of transitioning into another phase of my career within a team I have had such success with. The team as a whole is under no illusions as to how tough a fourth straight defence will be, so playing my part and utilising my experience will hopefully continue to contribute to its ongoing success.”
British challengers GB1 and France’s La Roche-Posay Racing Team also confirmed their crews for the regatta this morning. Like Team New Zealand, the British will be entering two crews, while the French will only be sailing with their main America’s Cup crew for this regatta.
The French have named a strong, predictable line-up, comprised of skipper Quentin Delapierre on one helm with French-Kiwi Jason Saunders as one of the trimmers – the same roles the pair had during the last campaign – and team newcomers Diego Botin and Florian Trittel as co-helm and trimmer respectively. While new to the Cup scene, Botin and Trittel are proven winners, with Olympic gold, world championships and a SailGP season title to their names.
Great Britain will pair Ben Cornish at the helm alongside Dylan Fletcher, with recent recruit Andrea Tesei joining Bleddyn Mon in the trimming roles.
Their Youth and Women’s crew, racing as Athena Pathway, will be helmed by Hannah Mills and Ellie Aldridge, with Sam Webb and Matt Beck in the trimming roles.
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.