April 11, 2025 • 7 mins
Longtime helmsman Peter Burling is departing Emirates Team New Zealand due to contracting disagreements.
Burling was the youngest helmsman to win an America’s Cup, aged 26.
Emirates Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton talks to Ryan Bridge about the departure.
LISTEN ABOVE.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Prying Bridge.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Big surprise move today, Peter Berling and Team New Zealand
parting ways. This after a very successful ten years for
the skipper at the Helm. Grant Dalton is the Team
New Zealand Chief executive grunt Hey Ryan.
Speaker 3 (00:14):
So what's the reason why is he leaving?
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Well, we just ran out of time. Basically, we've been
talking since Barcelona and need certainty pet out an offer
in front of him from us and honestly we never
really got to the point of rejects or either way
on the offer. I ended up pulling the offer because
we just couldn't get going. And it's yeah, it's a
(00:41):
sad day, but Teams one hundred and twenty people, we've
got an America's cart where a new completely uncharted territory
final went up for the fourth time and we've got
to get going.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
So you actually pulled the offer? Is it?
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Why?
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Was he just taking his time or was there a
particular issue over something in the contract?
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Yeah, I mean that's that's a fair question. I think
there's two elements really too. There's one is time and
now there is money, and we never really got to
other than you know, this guy's office overseas that pay
out of a lot that was about as far as
we got on the money relative to the offer that
I'd put on the table, which in Team New Zealand's terms,
(01:23):
was a big number. And time. I mean twenty seven
the Cups in twenty seven, we're in twenty five now. Now,
I know that sounds a normal sport quite a long time,
but we actually start building a boat at the end
of the year, a new boat, so it's coming out
as fast and as fast as cycle. And so although
we can accommodate to a point, twenty seven is a
(01:44):
pretty much unaccommodating year for us. We've got to have
our people in place all the time, and there's one
hundred and nineteen other people that are there to win
the Cup and completely permitted. So look, Pizza, amazing contribution
and we leave on on great terms. There's nothing in
(02:06):
it any more than that. And I know that people
would try and sensationalize this somehow, but it's just it's
not like that, you know, we've been beating me, had
been chatting this morning.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
In fact, it sounds like you might have called us
bluff though, you know, so he's he's obviously got an
expectation about what he wants and you weren't prepared to
go there or whatever, so you just pulled pulled the offer.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
I think pulls bluffs not the right way to describe it.
It's possible that he didn't believe that this could ever happen,
and you know, and and hindsight may be a wonderful
thing for him and maybe for us. Well let's see
in twenty seven. But you know, we had to get going.
We had from that position of where he was. Really
(02:53):
the sailing team develops. We've retained, you know, the guys
that we want from last time, and they're all world classed,
there's no doubt of that. But the selling teams are
very much an important part of integrating with the design team.
They're not isolated in that respect, and that's one of
the strengths of the team, of course, combining people. And
(03:15):
as I say, we needed certainty and we couldn't come
to an agreement on that certainty. So it's not any
more complicated than that. And where Pete's had an immense
contribution to the team, I don't think either of us
we certainly didn't start and needed it to end up
in the spot. But here we are.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Is sale GP a problem for you? Is it going
to be a problem for you in terms of keeping
sailors retaining them if they're spreading their time elsewhere.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
Well, all our sailors actually are in sale GPA. So
in that respect, guys have got a race. You know.
It's like you can't just turn up at the World
Cup of Rugby. I mean, I played footy, so so
it's good from that respect. It's a league and they're
completely complementary, and so much as you know, if you like,
we're the World Cup and the Champions League if you like.
(04:10):
So it's only good for the sport. But if this
becomes a time when they clash, and I think they
will clash in twenty seven, then it's naive of anybody
to think that you can do both. So Team New
Zealand's job is to come, you know, to win the
fourth for the fourth time, I mean three times. Was
(04:32):
never been done before, the people had tried, nobody's even
has come into this uncharted territory of the four and
rinse and repeating won't work. It's just teams don't work
that way. They actually go backwards. So we have to
revitalize reinvigorate and bring a new talent as well. And
there's some seriously fast kids around, you know, as people
(04:55):
would attest to. You know, he was that kid with
his boat on the roof rack that came to twenty
and thirteen. And as those tids are around again, do.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
You hold any grudges against the government for not putting
chipping money in to keep the America's Cup in Auckland?
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Oh, Christ no, no, no, no, no, no, no no. We're
completely aligned on the fact that there are priorities crikim.
Even since that announcement that the world's gone nuts again,
what a great time to be doing an America's Cup
at the moment. So no, not at all. We would
(05:34):
like to It was genuine, you know. Basically the numbers
have been slightly embellished by envy, like they're quite good
at doing. It was never seventy five million, and okay,
five millions a lot of money, I get it, but
it wasn't seventy five It was forty And they've added
in the police, customs, airport staff, you know, stuff that
just makes the number look better if you're trying to
(05:56):
reject the number in that movie, But it's a shame,
because it doesn't make it any easier to have the
cutback In New Zealand. However, we have only one objective
and we've only and this has sort of caused the
problem in the first place. In twenty one, our objectives
is to win and anything else is completely secondary. So
(06:17):
we're going offshore again, but we're still going offshore to win.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
And just finally, any other of your crew. Are you
worried about any other of your crew not being with
you in twenty twenty seven? You know, will Blair be there?
Will everyone else be there?
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Well, Blair is the obvious question, and everyone asks because
yet Peet and Blair.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
Bla and Pete and joined at the hip.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
And yeah, exactly, and they're quite different in one respect.
I mean, they're both immensely talent today, but Blair is
more able to be more mobile because of the role
he fits within the team, So he's more like a
super sub, whereas Pete was integral to that whole kind
of sailing team development and into the design thing. Now
(07:04):
they all have him put Blair, particularly into foils for example,
but he's more portable as such, and you know, we're
in the process that hopefully putting together to deal with
a deal together with Blair. He certainly wants to stay
and we wanted to stay, all.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
Right, Grant have to leave it there. Appreciate your time.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Grant Dalton, the Team New Zealand Chief Executive with us
talking about the departure of Peter Berling. End of an era, Really,
isn't it? Seventeen after five News Talks, heb I've got
a few thoughts on that, and so do you looking
at the text machine. We'll get to them shortly. Plus
eighty years of Winston Peters will say happy birthday.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
Neck For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Listen live to News Talks it'd be from four pm weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
Prying Bridge.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Big surprise move today, Peter Berling and Team New Zealand
parting ways. This after a very successful ten years for
the skipper at the Helm. Grant Dalton is the Team
New Zealand Chief executive grunt Hey Ryan.
Speaker 3 (00:14):
So what's the reason why is he leaving?
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Well, we just ran out of time. Basically, we've been
talking since Barcelona and need certainty pet out an offer
in front of him from us and honestly we never
really got to the point of rejects or either way
on the offer. I ended up pulling the offer because
we just couldn't get going. And it's yeah, it's a
(00:41):
sad day, but Teams one hundred and twenty people, we've
got an America's cart where a new completely uncharted territory
final went up for the fourth time and we've got
to get going.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
So you actually pulled the offer? Is it?
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Why?
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Was he just taking his time or was there a
particular issue over something in the contract?
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Yeah, I mean that's that's a fair question. I think
there's two elements really too. There's one is time and
now there is money, and we never really got to
other than you know, this guy's office overseas that pay
out of a lot that was about as far as
we got on the money relative to the offer that
I'd put on the table, which in Team New Zealand's terms,
(01:23):
was a big number. And time. I mean twenty seven
the Cups in twenty seven, we're in twenty five now. Now,
I know that sounds a normal sport quite a long time,
but we actually start building a boat at the end
of the year, a new boat, so it's coming out
as fast and as fast as cycle. And so although
we can accommodate to a point, twenty seven is a
(01:44):
pretty much unaccommodating year for us. We've got to have
our people in place all the time, and there's one
hundred and nineteen other people that are there to win
the Cup and completely permitted. So look, Pizza, amazing contribution
and we leave on on great terms. There's nothing in
(02:06):
it any more than that. And I know that people
would try and sensationalize this somehow, but it's just it's
not like that, you know, we've been beating me, had
been chatting this morning.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
In fact, it sounds like you might have called us
bluff though, you know, so he's he's obviously got an
expectation about what he wants and you weren't prepared to
go there or whatever, so you just pulled pulled the offer.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
I think pulls bluffs not the right way to describe it.
It's possible that he didn't believe that this could ever happen,
and you know, and and hindsight may be a wonderful
thing for him and maybe for us. Well let's see
in twenty seven. But you know, we had to get going.
We had from that position of where he was. Really
(02:53):
the sailing team develops. We've retained, you know, the guys
that we want from last time, and they're all world classed,
there's no doubt of that. But the selling teams are
very much an important part of integrating with the design team.
They're not isolated in that respect, and that's one of
the strengths of the team, of course, combining people. And
(03:15):
as I say, we needed certainty and we couldn't come
to an agreement on that certainty. So it's not any
more complicated than that. And where Pete's had an immense
contribution to the team, I don't think either of us
we certainly didn't start and needed it to end up
in the spot. But here we are.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Is sale GP a problem for you? Is it going
to be a problem for you in terms of keeping
sailors retaining them if they're spreading their time elsewhere.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
Well, all our sailors actually are in sale GPA. So
in that respect, guys have got a race. You know.
It's like you can't just turn up at the World
Cup of Rugby. I mean, I played footy, so so
it's good from that respect. It's a league and they're
completely complementary, and so much as you know, if you like,
we're the World Cup and the Champions League if you like.
(04:10):
So it's only good for the sport. But if this
becomes a time when they clash, and I think they
will clash in twenty seven, then it's naive of anybody
to think that you can do both. So Team New
Zealand's job is to come, you know, to win the
fourth for the fourth time, I mean three times. Was
(04:32):
never been done before, the people had tried, nobody's even
has come into this uncharted territory of the four and
rinse and repeating won't work. It's just teams don't work
that way. They actually go backwards. So we have to
revitalize reinvigorate and bring a new talent as well. And
there's some seriously fast kids around, you know, as people
(04:55):
would attest to. You know, he was that kid with
his boat on the roof rack that came to twenty
and thirteen. And as those tids are around again, do.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
You hold any grudges against the government for not putting
chipping money in to keep the America's Cup in Auckland?
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Oh, Christ no, no, no, no, no, no, no no. We're
completely aligned on the fact that there are priorities crikim.
Even since that announcement that the world's gone nuts again,
what a great time to be doing an America's Cup
at the moment. So no, not at all. We would
(05:34):
like to It was genuine, you know. Basically the numbers
have been slightly embellished by envy, like they're quite good
at doing. It was never seventy five million, and okay,
five millions a lot of money, I get it, but
it wasn't seventy five It was forty And they've added
in the police, customs, airport staff, you know, stuff that
just makes the number look better if you're trying to
(05:56):
reject the number in that movie, But it's a shame,
because it doesn't make it any easier to have the
cutback In New Zealand. However, we have only one objective
and we've only and this has sort of caused the
problem in the first place. In twenty one, our objectives
is to win and anything else is completely secondary. So
(06:17):
we're going offshore again, but we're still going offshore to win.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
And just finally, any other of your crew. Are you
worried about any other of your crew not being with
you in twenty twenty seven? You know, will Blair be there?
Will everyone else be there?
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Well, Blair is the obvious question, and everyone asks because
yet Peet and Blair.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
Bla and Pete and joined at the hip.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
And yeah, exactly, and they're quite different in one respect.
I mean, they're both immensely talent today, but Blair is
more able to be more mobile because of the role
he fits within the team, So he's more like a
super sub, whereas Pete was integral to that whole kind
of sailing team development and into the design thing. Now
(07:04):
they all have him put Blair, particularly into foils for example,
but he's more portable as such, and you know, we're
in the process that hopefully putting together to deal with
a deal together with Blair. He certainly wants to stay
and we wanted to stay, all.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
Right, Grant have to leave it there. Appreciate your time.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Grant Dalton, the Team New Zealand Chief Executive with us
talking about the departure of Peter Berling. End of an era, Really,
isn't it? Seventeen after five News Talks, heb I've got
a few thoughts on that, and so do you looking
at the text machine. We'll get to them shortly. Plus
eighty years of Winston Peters will say happy birthday.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
Neck For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Listen live to News Talks it'd be from four pm weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.