Team NZ had to forfeit a race to Great Britain after Taihoro's hull was damaged. Photo: TEAM NEW ZEALAND
Team New Zealand are hoping to rejoin racing in the America's Cup challengers series on Sunday after repairs are completed on their damaged boat.
The New Zealanders had to forfeit a race to Great Britain on Saturday after Taihoro's hull was damaged when it was dropped a number of metres from its cradle as it was being lifted out of the water early yesterday.
The team's design and shore crews have been working non-stop to repair the boat.
Team New Zealand structural engineer Dave Olsen said they were relieved to find the damage was not as significant as initially expected.
"There was a big scope of work to figure out where the damage was and how to fix it. The structural damage is reasonably significant, but it was all stuff we can repair to the hull.
"You wouldn't say we were lucky, because it was a bad afternoon, but compared to what it could have been we are feeling very thankful, for sure."
The work behind the boatshed doors had been relentless, Olsen said.
"The shore crew and boat builders are world-class; they turn this stuff around really high quality and really quickly. They are all putting big hours and we will get this boat back on the water and racing again."
The team were aiming to be back out on the race course on Sunday (NZT) for their scheduled races.
They were due to sail against Britannia and Orient Express of France on Saturday morning, but had to forfeit the first race, while the second was postponed because of falling wind.
The New Zealanders had beaten Luna Rossa by 12 seconds in their opening race of the series before the boat suffered the damage.
Britannia had to start Saturday's race to claim points and in the only other completed race of the day, American Magic beat Alinghi after the Swiss boat was forced of its foils in pre-start manoeuvring.
The race was shortened to just four legs because of the dying wind, with the Americans winning by 2 minutes 58 seconds.
The other day's races were postponed until Sunday NZT, meaning Team New Zealand will sail against Orient Express first before their scheduled race against Alinghi.
Team New Zealand is competing in the round-robin stages of the challenger series, but not the finals.
Britannia leads the series with two points, with Team New Zealand, Luna Rossa, American Magic and Orient Express all on one. Alinghi are yet to score.
