Winning the Cup may have been the easy part for the disintegrating Team New Zealand.

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND — The avalanche of talent departing Team New Zealand to points elsewhere continues with the latest announcement that designer Laurie Davidson has signed what most believe to be a multi-million-dollar contract with the Seattle syndicate, according to the New Zealand Herald. Davidson admitted there was a certain amount of sentiment made him reluctant to leave, but cited the fact that not having the final decision as Chief Designer was the driving force in his decision. He added that his preferred method of design came from his knowledge and experience and not computers, and didn't want to be put under pressure to change from his "pencil and paper" style. There has been no announcement regarding who will replace him at Team New Zealand, although Clay Oliver from the US remains on the team and has not signed with an outside syndicate.
Other offers coming from Prada, the Swiss, Paul Cayard's America One, and other well-financed and established players will leave Team New Zealand finding it hard to retain remaining key crew members, and the deck shuffling seems far from over. Offers for some crew are reputedly in the region of $250,000 to $500,000 US per year, a figure TNZ will not easily be able to match. According to the New Zealand Herald, as many as 30 crew may be jumping ship over the next couple of weeks, leaving Team New Zealand a major roster-restructuring task looming ahead.