Matthew Mason (born in Whangarei) is a New Zealand

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

known as ’Kauri’. He sailed the

Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is an annual event hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, starting in Sydney, New South Wales, on Boxing Day and finishing in Hobart, Tasmania. The race distance is approximately . The race is run i ...

for five consecutive races between 1984 and 1988. He joined

New Zealand Challenge New Zealand Challenge was a sailing team funded by Michael Fay that challenged for the America's Cup three times between 1987 and 1992. New Zealand Challenge was the first team from New Zealand to enter the competition. 1987: KZ 7 ''Kiwi Magic' ...

for the

1992 Louis Vuitton Cup The 3rd Louis Vuitton Cup was held in San Diego, United States in 1992. The winner, Il Moro di Venezia, went on to challenge for the 1992 America's Cup. The teams Eight challengers from seven nations contested the 1992 Louis Vuitton Cup. Toget ...

challenge. Mason sailed on the 1993–94 Whitbread Round the World Race with '' Winston''. He then joined Team New Zealand and was part of the crew on ''

NZL 32 ''NZL 32'', or ''Black Magic'', is an International Americas Cup Class yacht which won the 1995 America's Cup by defeating the American defender ''Young America'' in a 5–0 victory off San Diego, California. Design ''NZL 32'' was, in many wa ...

'' that won the

1995 America's Cup The 29th America's Cup was contested between the winner of the 1995 Citizen Cup, Team Stars & Stripes, which switched to the yacht ''Young America'' (USA 36) for the competition, and the winner of the 1995 Louis Vuitton Cup, Team New Zealand, w ...

. He was then part of their

2003 America's Cup The 31st America's Cup was contested between the holder, Team New Zealand, and the winner of the 2003 Louis Vuitton Cup, Alinghi. Build Up The 2002–2003 Louis Vuitton Cup, held in the Hauraki Gulf in Auckland, New Zealand saw nine teams fro ...

defence before joining ''oneWorld Challenge'' for the

2003 Louis Vuitton Cup The 6th Louis Vuitton Cup was held in Auckland, New Zealand, in 2003. The winner, Alinghi, went on to challenge for and win the 2003 America's Cup. The teams The Yacht Club Punta Ala was the challenger of record. Alinghi Founded by Swiss bus ...

. Mason is a boatbuilder and was also involved in the construction of ''NZL 32'', ''NZL 38'', ''NZL 57'' and ''NZL 60''. He re-joined Team New Zealand for the

2007 America's Cup The 2007 America's Cup was the thirty-second challenge for the America's Cup and was won by Alinghi in the 7th race. The Cup is the most famous and most prestigious regatta and ''Match Race'' in the sport of sailing. As per the Deed of Gift o ...

. He then joined Oracle Racing and sailed on ''

USA 17 ''USA-17'' (formerly known as ''BMW Oracle Racing 90'' or ''BOR90'') is a sloop rigged racing trimaran built by the American sailing team BMW Oracle Racing to challenge for the 2010 America's Cup. Designed by VPLP Yacht Design with consultati ...

'' when it won the

2010 America's Cup The 33rd America's Cup between Société Nautique de Genève defending with team Alinghi against Golden Gate Yacht Club, and their racing team BMW Oracle Racing was the subject of extensive court action and litigation, surpassing in acrimony even ...

. During the

2013 America's Cup The 34th America's Cup was a series of yacht races held in San Francisco Bay on September 2013. The series was contested between the defender Oracle Team USA representing the Golden Gate Yacht Club, and the challenger Emirates Team New Zealand r ...

, Mason was in charge of a surveillance boat that got too close to

Luna Rossa Challenge Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, originally named Prada Challenge, then Luna Rossa Challenge, is an Italian sailboat racing syndicate first created to compete for the 2000 America's Cup. It won the Louis Vuitton Cup on their first attempt in 2000, but ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Matt Living people Sportspeople from Whangārei New Zealand male sailors (sport) 1992 America's Cup sailors Volvo Ocean Race sailors 1995 America's Cup sailors 2000 America's Cup sailors 2003 America's Cup sailors 2007 America's Cup sailors 2010 America's Cup sailors Team New Zealand sailors Oracle Racing sailors Year of birth missing (living people)