Iain ‘Goobs’ Jensen joins ETNZ

Some deals in sport just make sense. Iain Jensen signing for Emirates Team New Zealand is absolutely one of them.

When Pete Burling and Josh Junior packed their bags for Luna Rossa last year, they left a gaping hole in New Zealand's senior sailing ranks. Chris Draper plugged one gap. Now Jensen slots in alongside Andy Maloney and Nathan Outteridge, and suddenly the Kiwis are stacking a core team that looks pretty formidable.

Jensen's CV speaks for itself. Olympic gold in the 49er at London 2012, won alongside his soon-to-be America's Cup teammate Outteridge. The pair were the young guns of Artemis Racing heading into San Francisco 2013, right as the class was lurching through its generational shift from old-school match racing into full-noise foiling. Jensen found himself trimming the wing on Artemis' AC72.

He stuck with Artemis through Bermuda in 2017, falling agonisingly short in the Challenger Series final against the very team he's now joining. ETNZ went on to take the Cup from Oracle and still hold onto it today.

The last two Cup cycles saw Jensen embedded with the British challenge, signed as mainsail trimmer for 2021 and returning as trimmer-pilot for 2024. But health issues, both his own and within his family, meant he was unable to race in either campaign. Even so, Jensen remained a key figure inside the sailing group, deeply integrated into the performance team and contributing heavily to boat development and speed.

Fresh off winning SailGP Season 5 with Emirates Great Britain, Jensen made the call to sail for his home nation again, joining the Bonds Flying Roos. Few would begrudge any athlete that decision.

Now, linking up with Emirates Team New Zealand, there's a sense of unfinished business. After six years where circumstances conspired to keep him off the water, this Cup cycle offers Jensen something he's been chasing for a long time: the chance to actually race.

Freddie Carr, The Foil contributor and someone who's sailed alongside Jensen for the past eight years, put it simply:

“I'm absolutely made up for Goobs. This is a huge opportunity for him to race an AC75 at an America's Cup – something he's sadly missed in the last two cycles. He's one of the best sailors I've ever sailed with and an exceptional teammate. That's one hell of a signing by Team New Zealand.”

Hard to argue with that.