The American Magic’s ‘Patriot’ suffered major damage in the first weekend of the Prada Cup races, but has returned repaired and with a fresh ‘band aid’.
A sticker appears painted on the boat, made up of British, Italian and New Zealand flags with the words “THANK YOU” written on top.
“After 9 days of round-the-clock effort, and the massive support of so many here in Auckland, back home and around the world, PATRIOT is back in her natural element,” the team shared on social media.
Since damaging the boat, American Magic have commended Team New Zealand for their sportsmanship and offering to help in the repair.
“Really we’ve handed off part of the project to them to take on and that’s allowed our boat builders and shore team to focus on getting the inside of Patriot back to where she needs to be,” said American Magic skipper Terry Hutchinson.
“It’s been truly impressive to watch our team and the support we’ve gotten from Team NZ and you just know it wouldn’t have happened without it.”
America’s Cup fans can expect to see the Patriot launch this afternoon, in the lead up to their race against Luna Rossa in the Prada Cup semifinals.
