Sarah Burrows’s family goes back a long way in Bermuda, and she has deep ties to the Royal Naval Dockyard, so for her it was quite natural to adopt an America’s Cup family.

She met Kris Breckenbridge, the crane operator for Oracle Team USA, who manoeuvres the boats into the water, and simply adopted him and his family — wife Kerry and children Sienna and Sebastian.

“We did the Bermuda adoption thing,” said Burrows. “They come for dinner, feed our rabbit and walk the dogs, I’ve taken Kris rowing out in a pilot gig and I’ve done yoga with Kerry.

“We have gone trick-or-treating and had Christmas dinner together. We have hosted both of their parents while on vacation in Bermuda.

“Their washing machine broke down and they came and did their washing at my home. They are lovely people. They are our family too.”

Sarah owns the Bermuda Fudge Company and her father, Maurice Woodmore, was one of the last apprentices at Dockyard, where the company’s shop is based.

She has seen the development of Cross Island, the home of the America’s Cup Village, and cannot wait for the event to start.

“It’s really exciting. The boats are like the Ferraris of boat racing. Something that big and that important will raise Bermuda’s profile around the world,” she said.

“There is a real buzz around Dockyard and I am sure the excitement is only going to build as we get closer to the event, which I, for one, cannot wait to see.”