New Zealand's historic entry into the iconic round the world Ocean Race is no more, forced to withdraw from a lack of sponsorship.
New Zealand Ocean Racing would've been the first all-Kiwi entry in the race in more than 25 years, led by Bianca Cook.
The team launched in 2020 and since then, all attention has turned to securing the millions of dollars of sponsorship required but Cook told 1News it hasn’t come together.
“I feel like I’ve let a lotta people down and I'm so sorry about that but at the end of the day, I just couldn't keep going,” Cook said.
“I’m just devastated really.”
The ultimate dagger for Cook came last November when the Auckland stopover was removed from the race.
“There's absolutely no denying it - as soon as Auckland was pulled as a stopover, I kind of felt like it was the last nail in the coffin.”
For Cook, the most disappointing thing is the opportunity lost for the younger members of the team.
She's hoping other entries will give them a chance while also doing one other thing - buy their boat.
“I really hope it's likely,” she said.
“I'm gutted we won't have a Kiwi team next time around but I hope the boat can go to a team that can make it happen.”
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