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They jumped to rescue American Magic after their dramatic capsize and now they have been awarded a prize to help rescue the world's coral reefs.
The North Sails Sustainability Award at this year's Volvo Yachting Excellence Awards was won by all the team and individuals, led by Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa, who assisted in the rescue and support of American Magic after their dramatic capsize.
They were worthy winners but the number of those involved made it difficult for North Sails to present a prize everyone could enjoy.
"The America's Cup teams deserved to win but we couldn't exactly give everyone involved a gear bag," North Sails New Zealand sales and marketing manager Andrew Wills said. "That's when we came up with the idea of the coral restoration project.
"North Sails have had quite a lot to do with the coral project and it felt like a good fit. The more we can do as sailors to help look after our playground the better."
The North Sails Sportsmanship Award winners were gifted a piece of baby fragments from a coral in the wild (pictured) and will receive updates as it grows before it's replanted on a degraded reef. It's a project that started in Tahiti in 2017
It's estimated around 75 percent of the world's coral reefs are facing threats from pollution, overfishing and human activities.
You can find out more about it here and watch the 2021 Volvo Yachting Excellence Awards here.
