Have you noticed the logo on our email signature? Alsco is an official supplier to Emirates Team NZ, and we are allowed to promote ourselves as such.
One of the perks is the opportunity to engage with the team at many levels. I was lucky enough to be given a seat in a ‘chase boat’ on Sunday whilst the team were out testing in the Gulf. Fantastic to get close to the action and get a bit of a feel for the winged warrior Te Aihe. Certainly impressive and considerably whets the appetite for the coming months leading to the Cup retention battle in NZ.
Of course we all wanted to see Te Aihe up and foiling, and we weren’t disappointed - within minutes it was up and winging away, in only about 10 knots of wind, and look at the speed on the chase boats, 33 knots trying to keep up – incredible.
Unfortunately testing gremlins happened soon after and we sat around for about 3 hours before they had another go – this time towing Te Aihe up onto the foil behind a chase boat as the wind had died off.
Z energy is also an official supplier, perhaps a good thing too. The 2 bigger chase boats have 4 x 400hp outboards – burning the best part of a 1000lt an hour per boat at full noise, around 60 knots.
It certainly provides a new perspective of speed and technology, and all of the Team NZ team we encountered are great guys. I wish them well.
More info about the campaign here https://emirates-team-new-zealand.americascup.com/
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