Editorial- Of Medemblik and Valencia

by nzeditor@sail-world.com on 26 May 2007 Welcome to the week-end edition of Sail-World.Com/NZ’s newsletter

Outside of the Louis Vuitton Cup, the main point of interest is the performance of our Olympic sailors in the Breitling regatta – formerly the Holland Regatta and before that the Spa regatta.

With three days sailed there have been some very good performances from New Zealand sailors, many of whom are not in the who are not in the YNZ Olympic squad, but at the time of writing look set to make the medal races on the final day of the regatta.

Equally encouraging is the fact that the regatta is being sailed in light winds, Qinqdao conditions, so maybe those who have the inside running for the 2008 Olympic team will get a hurry-up.

The key event will be the ISAF World Championships at Cascais, POR, in just a month’s time. There, 75% of the places for the 2008 Olympic regatta will be allocated with the remaining 25% being determined in the Olympic class Worlds in Australia, New Zealand and USA in the first quarter of 2008.

We have reports from several competitors in the Breitling Regatta and will continue to publish these daily on www.sail-world.com/nz

In Valencia, the conjecture continues on two fronts. First what caused the implosion within BMW Oracle Racing. And, second how the form guide is shaping for the Louis Vuitton Cup Final which gets underway in a week.

On the first count, there is a lot of bewilderment both inside and outside the BMW ORACLE Racing camp as to how a team which looked so strong could perform so poorly in the Semi-Finals. While many fingers are being pointed at departed skipper and CEO, Chris Dickson, the fact remains that there was a strong and experienced management structure within the team, and matters just should not have been allowed to develop to the extent they did.

The image of a very tight lipped Chris Dickson in his final race, will be an enduring one. But at that stage the game was up.

Looking to the future, it is interesting to note that the two teams which imploded in 2003 – Luna Rossa/Prada and Team New Zealand - have both picked themselves up, addressed their issues, and four yaers later are in the Louis Vuitton Cup Final.

In terms of the formbook, the Final is not an easy matter to judge. One camp would have it that BMW ORACLE were soft in the Semi-Final and that Luna Rossa are being made to look better than they really are.

On the other hand it could be argued, that in spite of their internal issues BMW Oracle Racing still put up a good performance on the race track on most days, and the Italians have made some real speed gains.

I tend to lean into the first school of analysis. While Luna Rossa did sail well, they would probably have received a harder ride from either Desafio Espanol or Emirates Team New Zealand.

While most would have expected to see Desafio Espanol eliminated from the Semi-Finals, whoever the other team was, would have been a shock – but numerically it had to happen in a two-boat final.. (Remember the two-boat final, that grew to three boats in the Defender Selection series in 1995?)

The events subsequent to the Semi-Finals have shown that life was difficult in the BMW ORACLE Racing camp, this tension carried over onto the boat, which must have been reflected in the performance of USA-98. These views are backed up by the onboard camera shots of the body language and what we could and couldn’t hear of the conversations.

A comparison of the leg times between the two matches in the Semi-Finals is not particularly illuminating either, with the honours being evenly spread, and possibly more in favour of Luna Rossa.

Yes, this analysis does take into account the number of tacks, and when we have applied the same techniques in previous America’s Cups, particularly in 1995, the pattern was quite apparent early in the game.

Meanwhile in the Alinghi camp the clock to the 32nd Match continues to run. We have featured an extract of an interview by ValenciaSailing.com with managing director, Grant Simmer. It’s an interesting read.

Good Sailing!

Richard Gladwell
NZ Editor