ETNZ sailors meet their AC50 at Southern Spars

Southern Spars have long been Emirates Team New Zealand’s go-to manufacturer for masts and wing-sails, but for the 35th America’s Cup, the association has grown to include the whole yacht – with the exception of the foils and cross beams.

Inside Southern Spars’ massive new carbon-fibre manufacturing plant in Avondale, which has produced wing sails for ETNZ and Luna Rossa as well as masts for many Volvo and America’s Cup teams, technical advisor Max Sirena and helmsman Peter Burling inspected the AC50 for the first time.

“It was fantastic to check in on the progress out at Southern Spars,” says Sirena. “It is an impressive facility out there, and you can see the quality of workmanship going into making what we hope will be the boat to win back the America’s Cup.”

For Burling, who will be competing in his first America’s Cup, it was an exciting moment to finally see parts of the yacht that he will steer around the course in Bermuda.

“The yacht is really coming along,” he says. “As the boat takes shape, everything gets a bit more real. In terms of the event, it is fast approaching. We can’t wait to get this thing out on the water.”

Sirena and Burling have long professional relationships with the company. Sirena, in his previous role leading Luna Rossa Challenge, worked closely with Southern who built two AC72 wing-sails for his America’s Cup 34 challenge. Burling, through his Olympic campaigns in the 49er, collaborated with Southern Spars on optimizing the tune of his masts.

Southern Spars is very proud to be playing such a major role in Emirates Team NZ’s campaign to bring the America’s Cup home to New Zealand.

For more information and high resolution images:
email [email protected]