America's Cup- Team New Zealand signs BMW Oracle coach

by Richard Gladwell on 9 Nov 2010
Australian newspaper, the Bendigo Advertiser reports that Glenn Ashby, America's Cup coach and seven times World A-class catamaran champion, plus Olympic silver medalist and Tornado world champion has signed with Team New Zealand for the 34th America's Cup.

The New Zealand team, the worlds most successful professional racing team, has not announced an entry in the 34th America's Cup, however appears to be in the process for gearing up for a Challenge, having let go some monohull crew, last month and re-engaging catamaran specialists.

Ashby's skipper in the 2008 Tornado Olympic and World Championship campaign, Darren Bundock sailed with Team New Zealand skipper, Dean Barker in the latest round of the Extreme 40 catamaran series last month.

Ashby was a coach bought into the BMW Oracle Racing team to bring a largely monohull crew up to speed with multihull sailing. He is also a top sailmaker in the multihull classes.

Recently Ashby competed with BMW Oracle Racing's skipper, Jimmy Spithill in the Little America's Cup sailed in International C-Class catamarans in Newport, Rhode Island. The C-cat are the worlds fastest sailing class and were the pioneers of the wingsail used to devastating effect by BMW Oracle racing in their successful America's Cup Challenge in Valencia, in February this year.

Other wingsail experts are also rumoured to have been engaged by Team New Zealand.

The Bendigo Advertiser reports:

He’s helped the United States conquer the America’s Cup and now Bendigo sailor Glenn Ashby will be part of Team New Zealand as it strives for similar success.

After winning the A Class Fleet Catamaran event at the inaugural Cairn Curran Classic at the weekend, Ashby told the Bendigo Advertiser he had accepted a role to help the Kiwis in their quest to clinch the coveted America’s Cup in 2013.

'I’ve just signed up with team New Zealand for the next America’s Cup,' he said.

Ashby, who was the head coach of the successful 2009 Oracle America’s Cup team, will assume a much more hands-on approach with Team New Zealand as a sailor.

'I’m going to have more of a sailing role this time rather than focusing on the actual boat like I did last time.'

The Beijing Olympics silver medallist said the offer to work in New Zealand rather than in America or Europe was the best one for him and his young family.

'The offer from Team New Zealand was just too good to refuse,' he said.

'The offer was obviously closer to home than the US, and the sailing role was very attractive to me.'

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