Watching with a Local | Ben Costello

On Day 1 of the PRADA America???s Cup World Series, we tagged along with Ben Costello— a 21-year veteran sailmaker. Ben is the service manager at our loft in Auckland New Zealand. He’s the guy who keeps the loft floor in check, and he’s also the man to speak with if you want to hop a ride to watch the AC75s cup close and live. Ben is lucky enough to experience the 36th America’s Cup close to home. In this edition, there’ll be no getting up in the middle of the night like most of us around the world! Yesterday, his day began like any other – dropping the kids off at school, then heading into the loft on Archers Road. But, yesterday had a very special ending. After work, Ben and a few of the North Sails New Zealand crew took the tender and ventured out onto the Hauraki Gulf for the first day of racing. This is Ben’s story.