Former Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker has signed with Japanese America's Cup challenger Softbank Team Japan.
In February Baker was replaced as Team New Zealand's helmsman by New Zealand's Peter Burling and Australia Glenn Ashby.
He officially left the team in March after turning down a sailing coach and performance manager position.
SoftBank Team Japan was only confirmed as a challenger earlier this month and Barker said the new role provided a chance to build a new team from the ground up.
Barker has a busy time ahead as he tries to recruit a team to race at the first America's Cup World Series event in Portsmouth in July.
"We're filling the key roles on the team as quickly as we can. I think we're pulling together a very strong team. We want to compete at the head of the fleet and we're assembling a team that is capable of doing that. Our goal is to win the America's Cup," Barker said.
Dean Barker in the America's Cup:
- 1995 - trains with Team New Zealand
- 2000 - America's Cup winner with Team New Zealand, helming the deciding race
- 2003 - skipper, unsuccessful defence of America's Cup with Team New Zealand
- 2007 - skipper, winner, Louis Vuitton Cup
- 2013 - skipper, winner, Louis Vuitton Cup