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Katie Spithill on helming the
AC45
By
Damien Devine, Sail-World.com // July 16, 2011
Katie Spithill, sister of ORACLE Racing skipper James and a past No.
2-ranked women’s match racer, is currently in Weymouth training with AST and
RPAYC mates Nicky Souter and Jess Eastwell.
Katie, you recently did a trip to San Fran to catch up with brother James and
check out the AC45’s and the new AC set up. I believe you were the first female
to be lucky enough to helm an AC45. Along with James and his ORACLE Racing Team
you experienced first-hand the power of these awesome machines. It’s a great
opportunity to get a female perspective on the boats and how they fit into match
racing and the multihull scene in general. So…
What do you think of the 45’s?
Spithill: Wow –
I don’t know where to start, the first thing I said after we hit the dock after
the days racing & training was “Can I have one?” The AC45 was great, it is a
fantastic multihull to choose to be involved in the Americas Cup.
Being a match racer and now a F18 sailor, how do you think the match
racing aspect will work with these boats?
Spithill:
Being onboard one of the two ORACLE Racing boats whilst they were Match Racing
gave me a real insight as to how it is already working using these mutlihulls to
Match Race. Not only was it fast, ever changing and exhilarating, there was also
a fear factor in there of “will we cross, we will meet” etc., whilst the boats
are fast closing in on each other at 25+ knots of boat speed.
Unlike the old AC boats or many match racing boats these boats are fast
moving and need a lot of foresight and anticipation in relation to what will
happen next, so that the runners can be loaded, the daggerboards changed, the
gennaker furled, etc before you can tack or gybe.
Do you think it could be sailed by an all female crew?
Spithill: The age old question! It is not a question of if
it can be done but more so when it will be done. It has been done in the past by
the likes of Dawn Riley and the Mighty Mary team back in 1995 when she beat
greats like Conner and Cayard. Women can do just fine in the AC when the
position and circumstances are right; Just the same as any male team. Forcing it
to be an all female team is not a good plan. Integrate women in a proper way and
you'll have something, Drivers, Tacticians? Yes. Girls can compete with men on
equal terms there, but there is no way that an all girl crew can be competitive
when brute force is a key component. Unless of course there were more of them,
and this is already the case in some match race classes.
Link to full article: Katie
Spithill: On helming the AC45
Photo: James Spithill
Newport nonprofit partners with
America’s Cup
Source:
Providence Business News // July 15, 2011
The America’s Cup Event Authority has chosen a Newport, R.I.-based
organization, Sailors for the Sea, as its first partner in a new international
program intended to better preserve and protect the oceans of the world.
The America’s Cup authority is partnering with Sailors for the Sea in its
“Clean Regattas” program, which provides certification that indicates
independent third-party verification that a yacht club, sailing program or
regatta is environmentally responsible and is doing its utmost to protect the
sea.
“We are excited to support the sustainability initiative of the 34th
America’s Cup,” said Daniel Pingaro, CEO of the nonprofit Sailors for the Sea,
founded in 2004. “A clean, diverse and vibrant marine ecosystem is good for the
environment, for recreation and the economy.”
From public service announcements woven into the America’s Cup broadcasts to
visible identification on all America’s Cup boats and events, recognition of
ocean conservation and environmental stewardship will be pervasive throughout
the America’s Cup as it travels to global destinations over the next three
years, the ACEA said.
Link to full article: Newport
nonprofit partners with America’s Cup to support sustainability
America’s Cup preparations involve many
agencies
By
Will Kane, San Francisco Chronicle // July 17, 2011
At nearly 2,200 pages long, the city's plan for the 34th America's Cup might
leave the impression that things are shipshape and merely awaiting the rubber
stamp of approval.
They aren't.
Now that the environmental impact report is published, the city can begin a
delicate dance with federal, state and regional agencies that must eventually
approve different aspects of that plan. They'll also have to address concerns of
residents and environmental groups, who look at the city's sweeping plan with
wary eyes.
City sponsors and race organizers need a permit from the National Park
Service to send more than 90,000 spectators onto park property each day,
permission from the Army Corps of Engineers to begin construction on the water,
new maritime regulations from the Coast Guard that define the rules of the race
course, authorization from a state commission to anchor the massive megayachts
of multi-millionaires on public water.
And that's not even half the work to be done. All by the end of the year.
Michael Martin, who's shepherding the plan through the approval process for
the city, said that while that all might sound overwhelming and terribly
bureaucratic, it's actually the best way to get a good plan.
"I think people really are looking to improve the project," he said. "We need
their constructive criticism."
A variety of groups are ready to tell the city what they think is the best
way to handle the roughly 1.5 million people expected to watch trial races in
2012 and the more than 5 million people who could turn out for the actual races
in 2013 - as many as 500,000 of them on one "super peak" day.
Link to full article: America’s
Cup preparations involve many agencies
Related article:
SF
planning hurdles begin for 2013 America’s Cup
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