Editorial- Louis Vuitton Pacific Series - As good as it gets.
by . on 14 Feb 2009
Welcome to the 17th edition of Sail-World.com's newsletter for the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series
Day 16 of the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series marked the conclusion of the competition, determining the winner of the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series Trophy itself.
A couple of days ago, as they changed boats after a Quarter Final, the Alinghi crew said to the outgoing Damiani Italia Challenge 'Well done and thanks for coming'.
That comment could be made of all the competitors and teams at this the inaugural Louis Vuitton Pacific Series.
Congratulations to Emirates Team New Zealand for turning around some rather indifferent performances in the latter part of the series, to take a superb win under immense pressure and home town expectation.
The past fortnight has been the rather surreal experience of seeing a newborn event grow into an adult, in the space of just two weeks.
Although the regatta started in the shadow of the America's Cup, it soon shook off the dead hand of that event, standing in its own right after a few days, and certainly by the end of the first day of the second round.
That point was when the competition developed a real edge, as crews could see they had to perform or be eliminated.
Today, we saw the very best of sailing competition, probably better than America's Cup racing, for several reasons.
Firstly there was no design influence in the racing - all but one of the the crews had literally jumped on a plane and gone to an America's cup class regatta in the same way they would have gone to a Laser class world championship. Just bring your luggage - the boats are supplied.
Secondly the conditions were a real test of the crews - with winds gusting up to 30kts and flat water these boats were powered up to the extreme. The racing was physically difficult - and this may have been a determining factor.
Thirdly the underdog, and hone team, who had won only one of its last five races, pulled something extra out of the bag and won three straight races in very convincing fashion.
So all told today was a great day's sailing, and a great regatta.
The other major point of difference is that the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series is not some clone of another event, but has a number of unique features which have never been tried before in the sport. By and large they worked well - in hindsight a few things could have been improved, or done differently, but generally other regattas and ISAF could learn a lot from the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series.
Where to from here is the next question. Louis Vuitton CEO, Yves Carcelle rightly pointed out that nothing can be done until there is a decision in the Appeal Court on the America's Cup. The outcome, either way, of that decision will affect the direction of the Louis Vuitton Series, and the shape it takes in the future. But it does and should have a future, of that there is no doubt.
Many are quick to look at the expense of this event, but now that its viability is proven, there should be no issue about bidding the venue, and using that money to offset some, if not all of the cost. One option could be to establish a Louis Vuitton World Cup, with the first round in Auckland in early February, with the two other venues being bid, and the timing staggered so they are four months apart.
But all that is for another time and another place.
Now we should enjoy the hangover and memories of what has been a great regatta - and a much needed adrenalin shot for the sport.
Thank you, Louis Vuitton for staging this regatta to celebrate your 25th anniversary of involvement in the America's Cup. It would have been easy to mark the occasion with a swept up dinner, but you have given the sport a new direction and new event. And for that legacy, Louis Vuitton will always be remembered.
This is not the final edition of the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series newsletter, we may have one further edition to finish the news for the regatta. And will produce a Collector's Edition which will trace the daily action in this outstanding event.
Good sailing!
Richard Gladwell
Editor, Louis Vuitton Pacific Series
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