The revolving door marked skipper at America’s Cup challenger Team Korea is spinning again as Australian Olympic gold medalist Nathan Outteridge departs after just seven months, about the same tenure as his predecessor Chris Draper, an Olympic bronze medalist.

Outteridge, who with Iain Jensen, blitzed the 49er fleet in the London 2012 regatta last month, is expected to join one of the three confirmed challengers for next year’s 34 America’s Cup with the Swedish-based Artemis as the front runner. Draper is with Italy’s Prada-backed Luna Rosa challenge. The third is Emirates Team New Zealand.

21-year old New Zealander Peter Burling has been named as the new
skipper, who will contest the
next round of the America’s Cup World Series in San Francisco 2-7
October. A compatriot of Outteridge in the 49er, Burling took a silver
medal at the London 2012 Olympics in the two-person skiff.

At just 21, Burling becomes the youngest skipper in the competition by a
considerable margin, a position he is familiar with, having been the
youngest ever sailor to represent New Zealand at the Olympic Games, when
he sailed in the 470 class in 2008 in China.

Dong Young-Kim, founder of Team Korea, said: “Peter is the type of young
talented newcomer who has been attracted by the high performance boats
used in the America’s Cup World Series and we look forward to continuing
the team’s strong performances. We are proud of what our new team has
achieved in its first-ever participation in the America’s Cup.”

However, the cost of mounting a viable challenge in the new class of 72-foot wing-powered catamarans is upwards of $100m. So far Team Korea – which also has links with English premier league football club Sunderland – has failed to announce that it has raised any significant budget.