Peter Lester: former America's Cup sailor on Nathan Outteridge being brought in to replace Peter Burling

Nathan Outteridge is the man who'll step into Peter Burling's shoes at Team New Zealand.

The Aussie-born NZ resident has been announced as the team's new skipper.

Former America's Cup sailor Peter Lester spoke to D'Arcy Waldegrave about this on Sportstalk.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sports Talk podcast with Darcy Wildergrave
from News Talks. I'd be.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
Let's talk a bit of America's Cup. There's a lot
of changes coming, Protocols are changing. We're joined now by
Peter Lester to talk about that. He joins us now,
like Peter, Hi, Darcy looking forward as we always are
to every edition of the America's Cup, more so not

(00:34):
the sailing, but the drama behind the scenes. Are today
what one day after the thirtieth anniversary of that fantastic
day over in San Diego, they've announced that Outridge and
Draper adjoining Team New Zealand for the next defense. I
need to know, Peter Lester, where does this sit as

(00:55):
far as eligibility because the laws around this or there
the rules, the protocol, Where does it stand right now?
What are we looking at?

Speaker 1 (01:03):
Mate?

Speaker 3 (01:04):
The protocol hasn't been published, but I think after today's
announcement what we can assume is that the nationality rule
has been altered inasmuch and my take on it right
now would be if a non national of a team
has not sailed in the last America's Cup, that they

(01:26):
become eligible for another country. Now that seems to me
as though it might have been a clause that's been
added to the protocol for the thirty eighth America's Cup
to try and help out a LINGI when they were
in negotiations with Team New Zealand and with the challenger

(01:47):
record the Rules Squadron in the UK, and of course
now we know that they've pulled out. But I think
today with Chris Japher, who's a brit being signed by
Emirates Team New Zealand. Now Chris did not do the
last America's Cup nor the one before, the one in Auckland.
Therefore he has become eligible and that means that we

(02:09):
now know that there will be a protocol change in
terms of nationality. But the protocol has not been published yet,
it's only in the draft form. But my understanding is
the protocol announcement is very close.

Speaker 2 (02:23):
Like the tide in and out. I've got to start
with these ridiculous sayings around, SAYNY, but I can't help myself.
It's movable feats it it always changes. That is the
nature of the America's Cup. But is this a surprise
to you at all? Presuming that you're right around the
protocol change.

Speaker 3 (02:38):
Oh no, no, it's the America's Cup, you know, and
that's the intrigue if you're a bit of a you know,
I love I love the America's Cup and of sort
of it's been my life and you know, what's going
on now is completely normal. It's not normal in real life,
a normal sport, but in the game of America's Cup,
it's absolutely normal. And it's the sequence of events. So

(03:02):
you know, erist New Zealand win the Cup, they get
a challenge or a record, which is the Royal Squadron.
Then they have this period from the last Cup until
about now where they negotiate the rules for the next Cup,
which will be the thirty eighth Cup. Then they announce
the rules, which we call the protocol, and then from
there that opens up the period where entries will be

(03:26):
accepted for the thirty eighth America's Cup from the challenges
and then couple with that as venue announcements. So there's
a bit happening in the next couple months.

Speaker 2 (03:36):
Primarily, Peter Lester, when you look at the adjustments and
changes of the protocol, where is it most likely to
fluctuate to move to bend?

Speaker 3 (03:46):
I think obviously there's been a slight relaxing of the
nationality rule, so that'll be reflected in the protocol. I'll
be interested to see what they've done with some of
the boat changes, the rule, the class rule changes, and
I'll be interested to see whether they've just pulled back
a little bit some of the technology and in terms

(04:08):
of the artificial intelligence and the automation on the boat,
on the boats, because we we certainly saw in Barcelona
that all the boats in fact had quite a high
level of automation in terms of some of the functions
on board. Now I think that might be pulled back
a little bit, or I'm hoping it will be pulled
back and we'll see a little bit more sailor.

Speaker 2 (04:31):
Input primarily driven by cost, I'd presume.

Speaker 3 (04:36):
No, I don't know yet. Well, it's always cost that
the cost is not the drive. If you can't afford it,
don't play the America's Cup game. But it'll suit.

Speaker 2 (04:44):
They need to drag people in. Surely they want a
vibrant there we go again, buoy in competition. So if
they price everybody out of the market, no one's going
to turn up, right, I think people turn up.

Speaker 3 (04:56):
I mean there's there's a number of very very wealthy
syndicates or wealthy billionaire owners, especially in Europe, who like
to play the game. And you know the politics of
the American's coup, there's nothing new with that. You go
right back to New Yacht Club and well they hold it,
held it for a one hundred and you know, one

(05:18):
hundred odd year, one hundred and fifty seven years. It's
just the way the game is played and that's what
makes it so darn intriguing. And then you know it's
one hundred and seventy four years old, this competition. It's
the oldest sporting trophy and it's that history that makes
the cup.

Speaker 2 (05:36):
As far as the fact that we've got our Tridge,
who's very much involved in the gauge of Team New
Zealand has been and Draper coming on board, what does
that say about the quality of young sailors in New
Zealand coming through? Surely to bleed some of these in
after three successful a victory and a couple of defenses,

(05:56):
the time will be right to look at some New
Zealand talent. It must be out there. It's like, it's
not like we landlocked Peter. There's this talent out there
to climb up to the next level. Yeah, I think
there is talent. There's some young ones. Will McKenzie who
got silver at the at the last Games, and the
forty niner class and Isaac McCarty. Theyre talented forty nine

(06:17):
of sailors, and that it's that class, that Olympic skiff
class where some of this talent comes from. Maybe they're
still a wee bit young. And you know Sam meach
is in there, Andy Maloney and obviously Chris Draper, so
one of those I think now you'd have to say
will step up to be on the port side steering

(06:41):
along with Nathan Outrad John starboard, so of course Outeridge
was on port side helming in Barcelona. He now will
start the boat on starboard. And again I look that
that hardcore team part of Emirants Ty New Zealand are
still going to be.

Speaker 3 (07:00):
They're tough. They've got some very very good sailors with
Maloney and I think Andy Maloney coming back from sale
GPS with the Brazilians at the moment, he comes back
into the fold, as does Bleartook, So you know the
hard core other than Berlin is still there.

Speaker 2 (07:17):
Does this distance the new Zealand fan base further from
Team New Zealand. They're not bringing through young New Zealand
sailors or am I being too precious around this?

Speaker 3 (07:29):
No, I can understand that. But there's still ruined You
still might there still might be opportunity for someone young
or more than one young helmlessman to be brought into
the fold. I mean, it's not a close shot. This
is just really the start.

Speaker 2 (07:46):
Now.

Speaker 3 (07:46):
I would assume of the of Team New Zealand building
the team for the defense in twenty twenty seven, I
would still be hopeful that, you know, some of those
young forty niner guys might get a shot.

Speaker 2 (08:02):
Would like to think so. I suppose there's a not
necessarily fine line, but enough between looking at New Zealand
and bringing talent through and actually winning. And I suppose
in something like America's Cup, it's all about winning, isn't it.

Speaker 3 (08:16):
It's got to win. I mean, and you know, unashamably,
Team New Zealand are the most successful team in the
mod of America's Cup in terms of winning, and certainly
I could see them riding on the whiteboard very very
early on. They've won it three times in a row.
They'll want to try and set the team up to
win it a fourth time in a row, which would

(08:38):
be a phenomenal record in terms of the America's Cup.
In fact, no one's done that.

Speaker 1 (08:43):
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