On the water watching the watchers

Joe Allen videos the AC72′s every move ….

When Emirates Team New Zealand’s AC72 goes out on the Hauraki Gulf, it takes quite an entourage with it.

One day close to 40 people were on the water: 11 sailing crew, the rest an assortment of designers, engineers, systems specialists and boat builders. Chris Cameron went out on the water to  photograph the AC72 and came back with some of the watchers.

Ashore, weatherman Roger Badham is monitoring wind data from instruments strategically placed in the Gulf and intently watching approaching shower activity.

The AC72 is watched closely by its expert audience and every move is monitored by an array of sensors which transmit data to the team’s catamaran tender.

In the tender’s bow, coach Joe Allen videos the day’s sailing. His footage and that from fixed cameras on board the yacht is later analysed for the debrief.