Cupdate, VOR and the CGF—Sailing news from the U.S. and beyond

by David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor on 5 Feb 2014 Sailing news has recently been dominated by Olympic class and One Design racing, but-as always-there’s still plenty of buzz surrounding sailing’s ultimate prize, the America’s Cup. According to reports, some key talent has been signed, and some key decisions are being reached this month regarding the yacht-design rule for the 35th America’s Cup, which is expected to be released sometime in March.

Fans of Oracle Team USA will be delighted to hear that Jimmy Spithill, the team’s confident and commanding skipper who boldly battled the team back from the edge of disaster in last year’s 'AC34', has signed on for another campaign. If the team is successful in AC35, it will represent Spithill’s third consecutive Cup win, having driven Oracle’s steed in both AC33 and AC34.

'Being a part of the team when we first won in 2010 and then to be able to get back to back wins and now to have an opportunity at a third, it’s been an amazing ride,' said Spithill, who became the youngest skipper to win the Cup, when, at age 30, he drove BMW/Oracle’s massive trimaran to victory off of Valencia, Spain. 'I feel fortunate to have been a part of it since day one and I’m looking forward to going at it again.'

While Spithill is obviously seeking a hat trick Cup win, Oracle’s team culture and upper leadership were also part of his calculus. 'This team is very competitive,' said Spithill. 'The top guys are always surrounding themselves with very good people. There is no micromanaging on this team by Larry [Ellison, the team’s owner] or Russell [Coutts, the team’s CEO]. They almost give you the burden of trust and that allows people to grow and learn and ultimately become better at what they do.'

Meanwhile, the Defender and the Challenger of Record have hired yacht designer Pete Melvin to write a class rule for the yachts that will be used to determine AC35. 'The process is to listen to the requests and desires of the Defender and Challenger of Record, which includes reducing the costs of the boats and in fact of the entire campaign,' said Melvin. 'On the boat side, that means smaller boats, with less crew, and less personnel involved in design, logistics, and reduced construction costs.'

As for creating a design rule that not only satisfies fans but also meshes with today’s sponsorship environment, Melvin was quick to point to the concept of each team using a semi-One Design, semi-custom boat as a way to manage costs. 'The America’s Cup has always had a large emphasis on design technology and there’s no desire to change that,' said Melvin. 'But there is a desire to reduce the costs of design and construction. So there are areas where it’s interesting to allow design innovation and there are others where you can throw a lot of design resource at something but won’t see a lot of performance differentiation. So those might be areas where one-design makes sense.'

Get the full America’s Cup download, inside this issue, and be sure to stay tuned for more AC-related news, as it becomes known.

Meanwhile, in ocean-racing news, the 2014/2015 Volvo Ocean Race is rapidly gaining steam as new teams are announced and key hires are revealed to the press. According to reports, veteran VOR navigator Andrew 'Capey' Cape has been signed to Team Brunnel for his sixth edition of this grueling race. 'It’s great to be involved with such a good team,' said Cape. 'The coming Volvo Ocean Race will be won by the sailors only. I can't wait to get on the water and prove our full potential.' More, inside.

Also inside, get the latest news from the Extreme Sailing Series, don’t miss the wrap-up reports from last week’s ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami, and be sure to spend some time enjoying the multimedia post-racing report from the Melges 24 Worlds, which just concluded in Geelong, Australia.

And finally, check out the latest news from the Coast Guard Foundation (CGF), and learn about their plans to build a community center in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. For anyone who is unfamiliar with the CGF and the great work that they do to help support the United States Coast Guard (and their families), now could be a great time to do a bit of research and to consider making a donation to a great cause.

May the four winds blow you safely home,