Emirates Team New Zealand, back at their home base in Auckland after a successful 2004 European campaign, have re-grouped and are ready for an intense training period.

Having won this year's Louis Vuitton season trophy for the pre-regattas held in Marseille and Valencia earlier this year Emirates Team New Zealand will take full advantage of the summer to test its new boat, NZL68, in the waters of New Zealand's Hauraki Gulf in preparation for next year's races which start in June in Valencia.

Grant Dalton, Managing Director of Emirates Team New Zealand, in Dubai for a review of the team's plans with their title sponsor, said: "The team numbers 95 people and it was not possible until now to get everybody working together full time in one place.

"There were moments before Emirates's and Team New Zealand's joint announcement last June when I wondered if this time would ever come.

"The funding we needed was massive by New Zealand standards, and the business people who make decisions about sponsorship of this magnitude wanted more than just hope for a good result. They wanted to see change and commitment from the team. They wanted a clear vision of the way forward to Valencia in 2007."

He added: "But there was always encouragement from people and organisations who knew us well and who continued to believe that it was possible to bring the America's Cup back to Auckland.

"We were immensely encouraged by Emirates's support and that's a relationship that is going from strength to strength."

Looking ahead to challenges, Dalton said: "We have a demanding regatta programme and of course our aim is to do at least as well in 2005 with our new boat as we did this year, and stay in the lead."

For 2005 there will be a new version of the America's Cup racing yachts known as version five.

ETNZ has already built and fitted out its new version five boat and took it out on to the water for the first time recently making the team one of the first America's Cup syndicates sailing in the new version of the design rule.

The main changes now allowed to the boats are a deeper keel and lighter bulb, a larger sail area thanks to a longer spinnaker pole - and inflatable battens. Hull appendages, or hulas, are banned.