TEAMORIGIN Reveal Details of Official Team & Boat Presentation

TEAMORIGIN announce Friday 14 September 2007 at 1100hrs as the Official TEAMORIGIN Team & Boat Presentation.

Upon the main stage of the Southampton Boat Show on Press & Preview day, TEAMORIGIN will face the press for its first official engagement since launching in January 2007.

The Afterguard aims to be present to record the events, note the names & probe for further information, & we'll be revealing everything to our readers on the day.

GBR-75 will be available at the show throughout the opening weekend, Saturday 15th & Sunday 16th September, 2007.

For further details, show times & entry tickets, visit the Southampton Boat Show website.

Ben Ainslie Watch - Update

Okay, this gets complicated -

Mariantic identified that New Zealand's Stuff were reporting that the Sunday Star Times had spotted Ben Ainslie having a cosy chat with Anthony Romano, Luna Rossa's General Manager. Did the editorial over at Rule69 put the wind up Ainslie, we wonder?

As ever, nothing is as it appears, and the America's Cup keeps providing entertainment long after the Auld Mug is hoisted aloft.

TEAMORIGIN - Rumour, Speculation & Possibly Some News!

With just a few days having passed since the completion of AC32, there's not a great deal of official 33rd America's Cup news circulating at present - but there's a wealth of gossip concerning the formation of teams for the next challenge. The Afterguard provides a round-up of what's being said about TEAMORIGIN.

As Johnathan Swift once wrote, "What some invent the rest enlarge" and so it is that we issue a warning: although here at The Afterguard we look to only the most reliable sources of information and always credit those sources, much of the rumour about TEAMORIGIN to date has since been proven wrong, so please don't rely upon what you read in this article!

Setting up home:

Andrew Bray over at Yachting World recently blogged that TEAMORIGIN have invested in new premises at Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth. Now Andrew is a highly credible source, and there's good reason to see TEAMORIGIN setting up at this location - Team Director Mike Sanderson is married to Emma Sanderson (née Richards) MBE, who is a member of the Pindar Ocean Racing Team, and both Emma and Mike have been extensively involved in the development of the team's new Pindar Open 60 yacht; much of that work will have been undertaken at Pindar's offices in, you guessed it, Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth.

Personnel:

Other recent speculation has concerned TEAMORIGIN's efforts to secure the best possible crew for the 33rd America's Cup campaign. Potential candidates appear to be:

Team New Zealand's boss Grant Dalton has been quoted here as saying Ben Ainslie has indicated he wishes to leave the team to join a GB syndicate. Rule 69 thinks it increasingly unlikely here, though we think it will happen.

According to the New Zealand Herald, another Team New Zealand member, English design co-ordinator Andrew Claughton has been linked to TEAMORIGIN, although the change to boat specification might see the Kiwis retain him for themselves. We doubt Claughton will return to the UK.

The Times have had a great team in Valencia, and they've speculated which AC-blooded Brits might join the fray on TEAMORIGIN's behalf - Iain Percy and Ian Walker?

Sponsorship:

The Telegraph spots Stelios (Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou) supping champagne on board a 1940's French survey boat - TEAMORIGIN's floating corporate entertainment hotspot for AC32 in Valencia. Just imagine the livery!

Okay, enough - with thoughts of bright orange ninety-footers, we'll leave it at that for now! Do check back as we'll keep you up to speed on all matters 'TEAMORIGIN'.