Craig McCaw’s Seattle based OneWorld Challenge has been given hull numbers for its two-boat campaign, USA 65 and USA 67. Both boats are currently under construction in a facility outside Seattle under the direction of Peter Sowman. The first boat is scheduled to be completed in the spring and delivered straight to Auckland.”This has been a wonderful collaborative process that has been more open to new ideas than any campaign I have been on,” said one of OneWorld’s three lead designers, Laurie Davidson. “That will become obvious when you see our boats on the water.” Davidson is joined on the design team by America’s Cup veterans Bruce Nelson and Phil Kaiko.The sailing team is currently in Auckland training onboard its two 2000-generation yachts acquired from America True and Stars & Stripes. “It feels great to have the guys back on the Hauraki Gulf honing their skills and building a world-class team,” said OneWorld CEO Gary Wright in a team news release. “The whole team has come back to New Zealand well rested, ready to put 100 percent of their effort into preparing for the America’s Cup. They are out there pushing on every element of the design and technology, evidenced by our recent broken mast, which we will be repaired and back on the shorebase in two weeks. I couldn’t be happier with the outstanding level of teamwork we have achieved.”¿Dave Reed
