Former Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker will get another crack at the America's Cup when he helms the New York Yacht Club challenge in 2021.
Barker's current role within the syndicate has been expanded to include steering duties aboard American Magic, with the prospect of going head-to-head with his old outfit for the Auld Mug.
Barker, 45, was last at the helm of Team NZ in 2013, when the Kiwis blew an 8-1 lead over Oracle Team USA in the challenge match-up, eventually going down 9-8.
Last year, he switched sides, leading Team Japan and serving as practice partner for Oracle skipper Jimmy Spithill, as the Americans lost the trophy to Team NZ in Bermuda.
Since then, Barker and his family have resided in Park City, Utah, to fulfill residency protocols for the next event.
He was part of New York's entry in the Ficker Cup and Congressional Cup regattas last month, winning the former and finishing runner-up in the latter.
Those results were enough to persuade American Magic executive director and skipper Terry Hutchinson that Barker was his best bet for the America's Cup.
The pair previously raced together at the 2007 America's Cup, where Barker helmed Team NZ and Hutchinson was his tactician in a finals loss to Alinghi.
"I made the comment to him after our first day at the Congressional Cup," Hutchinson told Scuttlebutt website.
"We came off the water with a good day and I said, 'Jeez, this is heaps better than the last day that we sailed together', where we lost to Alinghi by one second.
"Since then, we've done way more yelling at each other than we have racing together, but there's certain people that I've raced with that, regardless of the situation, I have a heap of respect for, even though they're competitors. Dean is one of them."
Hutchinson listed three criteria required for an America's Cup helmsman - big-boat experience, foiling experience and event experience.
"There's maybe four people in the world that tick all three of those boxes."
Expanding Barker's existing role meant New York Yacht Club would have consistency through its programmes and wouldn't lose further time on their rivals by bringing in another helmsman.
Hutchinson wasn't concerned with expected criticism that his team was not helmed by an American.
"The primary, overriding goal is to win the regatta," he told Scuttlebutt.
"Back in October, we said we'd be a multi-national team and yet we already have on the team a number of born-and-raised US citizens.
"To have a long-term impact on the USA, we have to first win the America's Cup. We have to put ourselves in a position to be successful."
Hutchinson hinted that Barker would not necessarily be the only helmsman on the team.
Newshub.