Sailors and their families are in the process of completing the move to their new homes in Bermuda as SoftBank Team Japan ratchets up preparations for the 2017 America’s Cup.
Although the last challenger to enter the competition, the team is quickly making up for lost time, breaking ground on a new team base at the Royal Naval Dockyards on the Great Sound. The arrival of the team’s AC45F next week will complete the package as they aim to get on the water quickly and take advantage of training on the future race course for the 35th America’s Cup.
“There’s a lot happening”, said team CEO and Skipper Dean Barker. “It’s been a bit of a process getting here and getting sorted with all the logistics, but our Bermudian community have been very helpful with everything we’ve needed.”
Over the past month, four of the five sailors and their families have completed moving to Bermuda, settling into new homes and adapting to the logistics of living in a new country. Containers with the team member’s personal effects arrived last week. Included were the sailor’s beloved single-handed Moth sailboats that will see use in the coming weeks as training platforms.
“We’ve found we’re haven’t spent a lot of time sailing which will change”, said Barker. “The key thing is for the families to be happy and comfortable. It’s important to get everyone up and running quickly because we have pretty hard timelines we got to meet. The shore crew is getting in this week. Next month is pretty busy.”
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