And thus guaranteeing for practical purposes, that the cup stays in NZL. Also going to really put a damper on the salaries for the sailors.

As for the "constructed in country" part... so much for keeping costs in check.

I'm sure they will find all sorts of loopholes in both the crew member and the constructed in country requirements.

Sadly, they always have, and always will. If nothing else, they need a rule to keep Ashby. Of course, they can handle that with non-winged monohulls.

Mike

They didn't say ALL crew needed to be of that nation...they said there will be "a nationality requirement" which may mean that 50% of the crew must come from the represented nation. just sayin'

Agreed. Like I said, they'll either find a way to keep Ashby, or choose a boat where he's not perceived to be such a critical asset.

Mike

This is hilarious, coming from a team named EMIRATES team New Zealand!

How many Emirates born sailors are on their team?

Well, that's just a sponsor name, but to their credit, Emirates has stuck with NZL for many, many cycles, so my hat's off to them.

Although, it is weird. Imagine American airlines sponsoring a team from anywhere else, something like "American Team Morocco?"

Mike

It will be interesting to see if Emirates continues to sponsor them, if the next AC is raced in NZ, vs in the UAE.

Emirates airlines is heavily subsidized by the UAE government which is a direct violation of the US Open Skies agreement.

They are losing a lot of money right now and have even had to cut some routes to the US, due to the lower price of oil.