A Fish Eye View- All Fools for Skirt Lifting

by Bob Fisher on 2 Apr 2007 Aptly, on April 1st, the united world of the America’s Cup lifted its skirts in Valencia to show a less than astonished public what it had kept secret since the Cup moved to Europe four years ago. For anyone expecting a shattering revelation, it must have been an anticlimax.

America’s Cup Management, which controls the event, was beaten to the punch by the South Africans a day earlier when in the late afternoon, following a lengthy ceremony, the Jason Ker designed Shosholosa was revealed. The eight-metre long bulb was decorated with a cheetah 'leaping into the semi-finals'.

Shosholosa was one of only two boats to sport a bowsprit (the China Team was the other) and had a bow that sloped forward towards the water (likewise China Team). Its revelation was heralded by an elephant in the compound, but an Indian elephant, not an African one.

Far from Version 5 of the ACC Rule driving all designers towards uniformity, there was a notable difference among the 12 teams. Rolf Vrolijk, the lead designer of Alinghi, said, 'I’m surprised at the variation. The teams have opted for different directions.'

Certainly the Italian +39 team has done with its single, narrow boat (probably the narrowest on display). It has a big, knuckled bow with much of the hull fullness forward. When +39 held a risotto party after the Shosholosa ceremony in the next door compound, the Italians deemed it an occasion to show their all and off came the skirt, the second early flasher.

BMW Oracle had two different boats – the bow on USA-87 has been replaced with a steep knuckle and the keel bulb is a short, low-drag version with 1995-era wings close to the back. In contrast, USA-98 had a much longer, high-stability bulb with horizontal wings aft of the fin, and a sizeable rudder for greater control in the pre-start.

Luna Rossa’s two were even more widely divergent. The sleek bow of ITA-86 has given way to a steeply knuckled bow on ITA-94. and a conventional bulb to a longer one with wings sloped down just aft of the fin. ITA-94 is one of the narrowest boats – China Team’s CHI-95 has external chainplates to maximise the stay-base of her rig because of her narrow beam.

Emirates Team New Zealand’s newer boat, NZL-92, has a short, stubby bulb (low drag) on a flat entry, narrow beam hull. A smart NZ flag motif decorated the new keel while the older boat’s was pure Kiwiana – a giant Buzzy Bee, the pull-along nursery toy for the past 60 years.

The Spanish second boat was distressingly like the first, except that it was narrower. It had a narrow rudder and the flattened elliptical bulb had a rounded chisel tail.

Refinement rather than change was the keynote of the new Mascalzone Latino, ITA-99. It had a shorter bulb and a wide fin with a parallel trim tab. Next door, the China Team displayed the squarest sectioned hull of all – drawn with a straight edge? – and perhaps the most original.

The defender, Alinghi, was a logical and conservative derivative of all that has gone before. Her design team has kept the fullness well forward – which should be good in light breezes – and SUI-100 has a long lean bulb. 'Adopt and adapt has been our byword,' said design co-ordinator, Grant Simmer. He added, 'There are some interesting refinements out there.'

Alinghi has used the experience of its sailors for input to the design team. 'They don’t shoot from the hip, their comments are only offered after serious consideration, and the design team reacts to them.'

Andy Claughton, the Kiwis’ design co-ordinator, said,'I think you need a balance of youth and experience. And you need a balance between strong practicality and, for want of a better word, some ‘boffinry’. I think we’ve done that . . . modern technology needs young guys to deal with it. I think when it comes to big design groups, it can get too hard to manage.'

The talk stops when the racing begins on Tuesday.