Dean Barker looks back on America's Cup 32
by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World on 2 Aug 2007
Alinghi was almost even with NZL-92, but seemed to have a small click of speed/height when it counted. MCC McCamp
The day after it was announced in Valencia that Emirates Team New Zealand had made an entry for the 33rd America’s Cup, Sail-World spoke with skipper Dean Barker on the implications of the new 90ft class and the strategy behind their entry.
The first part of that interview was published last week. In this second part, Barker reviews the 32nd America’s Cup and why Team Alinghi were able to beat Emirates Team New Zealand in the closest match in America’s Cup history.
Just a couple of weeks or so after the end of the 32nd America’s Cup, it is back to business as usual for Emirates Team New Zealand. Barker explains the processes that are currently underway and how they see the next Challenge being put together.
'We are still continuing to pack up at the Valencia base. We are sending everything back to Auckland to be prepared for whatever happens in the future. It is no far away and depending on what is announced in terms of pre-events and things. You’ve got to believe that something will happen next year at some stage. At the same time we will be continuing on with the research and development which will be the key to the next event and building a fast boat.
'We’ve retained about a third of the people in different areas we figured that it was important not to continue or just roll over with exactly the same people. We have to be able to change or otherwise we will go stale and won’t take the next step. While this team is a hell of a lot better than it was in the past it still not quite there, and we have certain areas.
'One of the key ones that has to improve is our design. Not so much in terms of principal designers or that sort of thing. But more in terms of the resources a and tools that are available to them and the horsepower that they need to run a design program because the next one will be conceptual and computer driven rather than two boat testing on the Gulf. There ill be a lot more horsepower power required there to understand not only the concepts but also the modelling that will be where a lot of it is won or lost'
With around 12 days lost due to the lack of wind, in many eyes of many fans Valencia did not really live up to its promises – particularly the one by ACM, made in Auckland, that at the most one day would be lost! When the wind did settle in, it seemed to move around and have a lot of variance in both strength and direction, proving to be a real challenge for the sailors and after-guards in particular. How did the sailors find Valencia as a venue, both on and off the water?
'Good' is Barker’s quick reply. 'The Spanish and ACM did a fantastic job of construction and setting up what is a very professional and good venue. The sailing from April to May left a little to be desired at times. But it is no worse than what it was here in 2003. Next time, if the racing is later in the summer it should be better again. I think in terms of a venue it is good sailing. We enjoyed sailing there. There are enough different things going on that it is a challenge for the crews and weather teams. The tactics are not too orientated one way or another. There are plenty of opportunities on the course. I think it is a good venue. The City is getting better every year and with Formula 1 going in there it can keep improving and will only get better.
'The wind was good we enjoyed sailing in the sea breeze. The strong sea breezes were nice when they happened which was few and far between It was a lighter air venue than most people expected.'
Although Emirates Team New Zealand put up a great fight – disposing of the other Challengers with increasing ease after a stumbling start in the first Round Robin. However the met their match in Alinghi. Barker explains why he thinks Alinghi had the edge over the Louis Vuitton Cup winner:
'In the end the America’s Cup Match was a pretty close series. As best we tried to call it two even boats, we felt that Alinghi had just a click over us. It wasn’t a huge one, just a tiny click, and they could live in some fairly tough spots. Just when we thought we’d taken control of the race, they would come back on a shift, or have a little bit more breeze. Quite often a 50/50 call would go their way.
'That is not bad luck but when you are racing against a boat that had a click of speed often the 50/50 things do go the other way. We had the problem in Race 4 when the spinnaker ripped, which was something that was completely out of the ordinary. We had never had a rip like that before and the sequence of events after that was certainly tough for our team. We certainly didn’t think that we lacked for trying as to why we didn’t get there It was certainly a very good event,' he added.
For the next America’s Cup a new class has been announced, and there is still the gap to be closed on Alinghi. What are Emirates Team New Zealand going to do differently on both counts?
'When you look at a new class and the event is two year away, you say there has to be a lot more time invested in design and research than in sailing the boats in anger,' says Barker. 'You want to give yourself enough time to make sure that structurally and engineering wise that the boats are right. And the more time that you can give yourself to design a fast boat is going to be key. Because it is very hard to not believe that in the first iteration of a new Rule that the fastest not is not going to win the Cup because I think the difference could be back to minutes rather than a few seconds here and there.
'What’s the new course going to look like? Is it going to be a straight windward leeward? Are they going to have some fancy idea there?. Are they going to make the course longer?. Or are there going to be shorter races and more of them? It is all those questions that are hanging there right now.
'How do you prepare from a sailing perspective?' he asks. 'I think we have to get better at development classes. We have to get less match racing and more TP52 and 40ft sailing in development classes. We need to look at developing speed, that is going to be the key in the new class. When the Volvo rule came out the different designers all had different opinions on how to develop the fastest boat. In the end one guy had a boat that was massively faster than anyone else. The next America’s Cup is not going to be terribly much different to that.'
The new Protocol is still very focussed on preventing sailors and designers from transferring teams once they have been 'engaged' with a team for the cycle of the 33rd America’s Cup. The situation essentially creates an open market for crews as the teams are forced to wind down, and drop off sailors at the end of their 2004-2007 contracts to conserve cash. Other teams more certain of entering the next Cup can take advantage of the situation and head-hunt top sailors and designers – both scoring a gain for their team and weakening a potential opponent.
As a sponsored team without a billionaire in the background, how vulnerable do Emirates Team New Zealand feel about having key players poached by the more well-heeled teams?
'Right now of the key guys we wanted, there are not many that haven’t actually re-signed', explains Barker. 'The thing with this team which is our biggest strength, without question, is the people, the environment and the culture that is within the team.'
'The guys that were involved want to be involved again. The backbone that we need to be successful is in place, and we need to identify the things we can do better.
'The resource around the design team was the primary one we felt needed improvement. When you talk to the designers about the process and how to go forward, you find how light we were on the ground compared to other 'sup
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