Nationality rules and the America's Cup

by David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor on 9 Oct 2015 While Hurricane Joaquin commanded Bermuda’s attention this past weekend, the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series’ Hamilton, Bermuda event is set to kick off at the end of next week (October 16-18), bringing with it high-performance sailing that’s played out aboard foiling versions of the AC45 platform.

For the six teams that are participating in this event, this regatta represents an opportunity to sail on the same waters that the 35th America’s Cup will be contested on come 2017, as well as a chance to check in with their rivals. For fans, the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series represents an opportunity for an AC fix midway through a long Cup cycle, as well as a chance to cheer for their favorite team and their favorite flag.

Given that the America’s Cup has always been a high-stakes game of international competition, multinational crews have become common, with some teams taking greater advantage of the Protocol’s weak nationality rules (for the ACWS, only one crewmember must hold a passport from the country whose flag is emblazoned on their wingsail) more than others.

Take, for example, the Defender, Oracle Team USA, who won the 34th America’s Cup with a lone full-blooded American (Rome Kirby) aboard their AC72-class catamaran. Flash-forward to the first Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series’ event (Portsmouth, Great Britain; July 23-26, 2015), however, and Kirby found himself sidelined, with Skipper Jimmy Spithill (AUS) selecting a team that included tactician Tom Slingsby (who carries both an American and Australia passport, thanks to his American mother and his Aussie father), wingsail trimmer Kyle Langford (AUS), trimmer Joey Newton (AUS) and bowman Louis Sinclair (ANT, USA, NZL).

Next week in Bermuda, Spithill (AUS) has elected to sail with his same line-up from the second event in Gothenburg. Spithill, of course, has his reasons for this line-up, but the team’s disappointing third-place finish in the U.K.and the second in Sweden doesn’t exactly conjure strong or compelling reasons not to try a crew rotation for the Bermuda event. But for American fans, it also begs the question as to why Oracle is opting to satisfy the Protocol’s nationality rules with dual-citizens, rather than tapping into America’s rich sailing talent, especially as Kirby sits on the sidelines.

While the America’s Cup has always been about huge war chests, massive egos, and plenty of bravado, charisma and style, the move away from both American waters (as the winners of the 34th America’s Cup, Oracle could have elected to defend their prize domestically) and American sailors isn’t exactly endearing Oracle Team USA or AC35 to most American sports fans. And while Spithill waged a masterful PR campaign against Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) during the last Cup that pulled in plenty of last-minute American moral support, the same cannot be said of his fan-facing work during the AC35 Cup cycle.

Having personally been in San Francisco during the turn-around days of AC34, I was gob smacked at the number of American fans that started turning up on the piers to watch the races once Oracle began staging their juggernaut comeback that saw them overcome an 8-1 deficit and ultimately beat ETNZ. Granted, America will never be a sailing-obsessed nation on par with Australia or New Zealand, but AC34 was proof that plenty of Americans will turn out to wave the flag, especially if they can believe (at least on some level) that their team actually represents their nation.

In San Francisco, Oracle had Kirby and an American address; for AC35, American sailing fans will have to pack their passports and buy plane tickets to a foreign nation, as Oracle’s offshore move is the first time that an American-flagged Defender has elected to defend their prize overseas. As for American sailors, Spithill has stated that Oracle intends to rotate-in their deep bench throughout the build-up to AC35, but-if 2015’s Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series events are any harbinger-it appears as if an elite team within a team is forming.

Given the wild chain of events that have unfurled since the heady days on San Francisco Bay, Jimmy Spithill and Oracle Team USA may need to wage another PR campaign if they wish to win back their American fans, many of whom are dismayed (if not downright disgusted) by Oracle’s recent moves.

And while this is obviously a decision for Oracle’s top brass, they are politely reminded that it’s far more fun to celebrate a hard-won victory with thousands of cheering fans than it is to drink alone.