America’s Cup- foiled by foils?— News from North America and beyond

by David Schmidt, Sail-World North America on 28 Aug 2015 Has the America’s Cup lost its bearings? More and more, I find myself pondering this difficult question, especially given AC35’s shift towards a largely One Design platform and lip-service nationality rules, as well as the Auld Mug’s migration to Bermuda, signaling the first time in the Cup’s 164-year history that a Defender with access to “an arm of the sea” has opted to defend the Cup on foreign waters. But, moreover, with other events now also using foiling boats, questions about what truly make the Cup great are emerging.

A bit of backstory. The 34th America’s Cup was sailed on the waters of San Francisco Bay in September of 2013 aboard AC72 catamarans, which flew above the water on foils, powered by a massive wingsail that regularly lifted the boats to speeds of 40 knots or faster. But before teams took to their mighty AC72s, they learned to trim their wingsails on the smaller AC45s, which were used to contest the preliminary America’s Cup World Series (ACWS) event.

For the 35th America’s Cup, the original plan called for slightly smaller AC62 catamarans, that-like the AC72s-would use wingsails and fly on foils, with a “turbo” version of the AC45 that would be used for the ACWS. Flash forward several months and the call came down from on high to scrap the far more expensive AC62 for 48-foot version of an AC45. And while the new “AC48s” are purpose-designed to foil (something neither the AC72 or the AC45 were originally intended to do), the fact remains that the ACWS will be sailed in yachts that are only slightly smaller and slower than their Prime Time cousins, the AC48s.

Meanwhile, the sailing world got a great look at the wonders of foiling during AC34, and-as a result-other boats have taken to foils, from the extremely fast and cost-effective GC32 (which has also seen an evolution of its foil package) to the purpose-designed Gunboat G4, a “cruising” catamaran that’s offshore proven as well as racecourse quick.

Flash forward a little more, and the Extreme Sailing Series (ESS) announced earlier this month that they would be matriculating from the now-dated Extreme 40 catamarans to the considerably faster GC32 cats for their 2016 season (their tenth anniversary). For fans of Cup racing, this begs a sticky question: what differentiates an event like the ACWS from the ESS? After all, both offer stadium-style sailing aboard foiling cats that can tag speeds of (ballpark) 40 knots, right?

Then there’s the GC32 Racing Tour, which adds further complication to our math. This newly created racing tour also offers spectator-friendly, inshore racing aboard foiling GC32s, while providing even more competition for the ACWS, and-possibly-even the Cup itself.

When one looks at the raw numbers coming off of an AC45 Turbo and a GC32, the top end range is remarkably similar (ballpark 40 knots), although the AC45 uses a wingsail while the GC32 uses traditional soft sails. And while the AC45 Turbo gets the nod for a more high-tech rig (and a higher level of overall technology), it’s important to note that wingsails can be a true hassle to rig/de-rig, and they are prone to breaking when capsizing becomes a reality.

Then there’s cost. While AC45 Turbos are rumored to fetch somewhere in the low seven figures, a GC32 catamaran is a bargain at (ballpark) $300K. Critically, this (relatively) low asking price casts the door widely ajar for high-level Corinthian teams to step up to a foiling platform, thus sharing the secrets of foiling with a far wider spectrum of sailors than the usual America’s Cup suspects.

Granted, the Cup was once contested with 12 Meter yachts (and even J Class yachts) that were also sometimes owned by private/Corinthian-level sailors, but in Cups of yore, razor-sharp tactical skills, perfectly choreographed crew maneuvers and match-racing acumen were as important-if not more so-than pyrotechnics, at least until a certain wing keel was unveiled in 1983.

And while tactics certainly play a big role in ACWS sailing (and of course, Cup sailing), there’s no question that Oracle Team USA and the America’s Cup Event Authority have placed a lot of emphasis on foiling and high-speed sailing…hyperboles that the ESS and the GC32 Racing Tour can both soon also tout.

Which brings us back to our original question: Has the America’s Cup lost its bearings? After watching a truly beautiful regatta unfurl on the waters of San Francisco Bay in 2013, I’d be lying if I wrote that I was thrilled with the venue change. Having raced to Bermuda, I know that it’s beautiful…but I also know that it lacks the aesthetic and environmental qualities that make San Francisco Bay one of the world’s greatest sailing playgrounds.

Moreover, the lukewarm (at best) nationality rules mean that AC35 will be another Cup that’s sailed by armies of professional, multinational sailors (some might argue mercenaries), not by sailors of a common flag (especially now that Team Australia, the original Challenger of Record for AC35, foiled off in disgust), thus removing another potentially important differentiator.

Still, the Auld Mug is nothing if not a true Phoenix, having survived everything from ugly Deed of Gift affairs, to possession by a landlocked nation, to the horrible reality (at least for us Yankees) of tarnishing the longest winning streak in sports history. Yet the Cup always seems to sail (or, in modern parlance, foil) on to smoother waters. And while the America’s Cup has far more history than the ESS or the GC32 Racing Tour, it’s important that the Defender and other power brokers think long and hard about what the Cup truly represents, and what needs to be done to ensure that sailing’s greatest prize isn’t knocked off its lofty perch by some (relatively) low-cost speedsters that have unlocked the greatest piece of technology from the last Cup cycle. Or will a certain traditional event in San Francisco have greater appeal?

Speaking of the foiling, this weekend (August 27-30) will see ACWS racing take flight aboard AC45 Turbos on the waters of Gothenburg, Sweden, while the GC32 Racing Tour will host its Rome, Italy event during this identical time period. It will be interesting to see which event attracts the most attention, both among mainstream audiences and amongst die-hard sailors. Note the GC32 will be live online for free, the ACWS you can only watch with a paid App on your mobile.

Also inside this issue, get the latest news from the Melges 32 Worlds (August 26-30), the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, and the recently concluded Aquece Rio International Sailing Regatta 2015 (August 15-22), where reports have emerged that a German sailor had to be hospitalized after exposure to sewage-tainted Guanabara Bay.

May the four winds blow you safely home,