Please select your home edition
Edition
Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 350

America's Cup- Significant win for Emirates Team NZ in Jury Room

by Richard Gladwell on 9 Oct 2012
Emirates Team NZ’s AC72 sailing on hydrofoil daggerboards. the bigger volume boards permitted under the Jury Interpretation will allow her to foil earlier and in a more stable flight. Here she is sailing almost directly downwind in a light 10-12kt breeze Richard Gladwell www.photosport.co.nz

Emirates Team New Zealand have been handed a small but very significant victory by the International Jury for the 34th America's Cup.

In a decision dated October 7, 2012, the Jury has ruled on an application lodged by the New Zealand team on September 24, 2012, which queried a Public Interpretation given by the Measurement Committee.

That in turn was a clarification of an earlier Interpretation given by the Measurement Committee on July 12, 2012 - a week before Emirates Team NZ's AC72 was first unveiled and launched. She has now been sailing over two months, foiling on her fourth sail.

It is that foiling ability which appears to be at the heart of the very intricate rules interpretation given by the International Jury.

The simple question centred around whether an AC72 had to be presented in her measurement condition, with the daggerboards raised or lowered.

The Measurement Condition is an official phrase for a state of floatation of the AC72 where each hull must displace 45% or more of the total volume of the catamaran.

Emirates Team NZ's view was that the rules stated there were two measurement modes - one with the AC72 in Measurement Condition to determine the volume of water displaced by the hulls (which has to be at least 45% each).

The second measurement is MWP (the floatation plane when the AC72 is in Measurement Condition - effectively the Loaded Waterline Measurement - which is used to calculate the maximum wingsail height and other measurement points above the MWP datum).

Due to sloppy rule drafting the class rules could be literally interpreted to read that the AC72 was in one mode for the Measurement Condition calculations (ie checking that the hulls each displaced more than 45% of the total displacement).

The boat could then be remoded for the second measurement calculation of the MWP.
The point at issue being that in the first measurement (Measurement Condition) Emirates Team NZ argued that their daggerboards could be raised, and then lowered for the second calculation (MWP).

Positive Flotation

Daggerboards produce positive flotation when lowered, and it had been calculated that if the AC72 was measured (for MC), with the daggerboards in the lowered position then the volume of the daggerboards could be no more than 225 litres - which is quite minimal for hydrofoiling, and would make flight more difficult.

If that daggerboard volume was exceeded, then it was likely the the hulls would not meet the 45% minimum displacement requirement.

By being able to measure the AC72 with bigger daggerboards, designed to allow the AC72 to hydrofoil more easily, and for those daggerboards to be raised - therefore not affecting the MC calculation to the same extent, Emirates Team NZ have gained a significant advantage over teams who have opted for smaller daggerboards in the lowered position.

The International Jury agreed with Emirates Team NZ's literal view of the rule, the Measurement Committee had erred, when they had made an interpretation based on their 'perception of the intention of the original authors'.

The International Jury took the view that teams were entitled to take a literal reading of the rules rather than have to take into account the perceived intention of the rule writers.



Oracle and Artemis oppose

The America's Cup Defender Oracle Team USA and the Challenger of Record, Artemis Racing sided with the Measurement Committee's view.

Oracle said in part 'ETNZ have built boards whose volume is greater than what is allowed in rule 1.4(k). It seems that after failing to have the measurement weight of the yacht increased for calculating displacement to make their hulls and appendages legal, they are now trying to create compliance by having the weight of the appendages count but the volume of the appendages set aside. '

Artemis Racing claimed that the 'Application was an attempt by ETNZ to change the AC72 Class Rule to suit their own interest'.

Luna Rossa, who have purchased a basic hull design package from Emirates Team NZ, believed to be similar to the AC72 currently sailing, which would have been orientated for bigger volume foiling daggerboards, agreed with the position taken by Emirates Team NZ.

Team Korea, although entered as a valid Challenger, did not make a submission that was reported by the International Jury.

America's Cup Race Management backed the Emirates Team NZ case saying the case had 'arisen due to inconsistencies in the drafting of the Class Rule.' The race organisers submitted that 'when drafting the Protocol it was considered important the competitors be able to rely completely on the Class Rules as drafted ......and not to be prejudiced by new rules unless they have consented to them, even if the outcome of applying the plain language used in the Class Rule has an unintended outcome.'

'CRM also submitted that the history of the America's Cup had many examples of technical innovations exploiting provisions of the Class Rule not considered when it was drafted 'and is often accompanied by determined efforts on the part of other competitors to outlaw the innovation. Innovation of one competitor is rule breaking to another.'

ACRM noted that in issuing the latest Public (Rule) Interpretation the Measurement Committee had 'acted in good faith and endeavoured to interpret the AC72 Class Rules in accordance with their view of the intent of the Rules and avoid an outcome that was not intended.'

Jurisdiction exceeded

In its Decision the International Jury found that the Measurement Committee had exceeded its jurisdiction when it had effectively amended a class rule, by way of an Interpretation, and was directed to withdraw it.

The Jury concluded by saying that that daggerboards may be retracted when calculating the percentage of displaced volume of the canoe bodies when determining compliance with the definition of 'hull'.

ACRM submitted that as the issue had arisen from a drafting oversight that competitor's costs should lie where they fell, and not paid by the erring party - as is normally the case.

Had the decision gone against Emirates Team NZ, they would have been forced to discard two of their daggerboards, believed to cost $400,000 each, and would have wasted two of their count of 10 foils permitted under America's Cup Rules.

Their AC72 would not have been able to foil as easily and steadily as it does currently.

Waterfront scuttlebutt has it that the ETNZ AC72 has been able to gybe while fully foiling at speeds of 40knots - which if true is rather impressive.

Oracle and Artemis are now in the situation where they have to consider the value of going to bigger foils.

The http://noticeboard.americascup.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/JN051.pdf!Decision_of_the_International_Jury cannot be appealed.

For Martin Tasker's report on TVNZ http://tvnz.co.nz/sailing-news/jury-decision-boosts-team-nz-video-5124078!click_here

Navico AUS Zeus3S FOOTERSea Sure 2025Excess Catamarans

Related Articles

The Trimaran SVR-Lazartigue is back at sea
Peter Burling joining the team for the Rolex Fastnet Race After a refit that began in March, the Trimaran SVR-Lazartigue was relaunched this Thursday, July 3. Lined up for the months ahead is an exciting race programme, culminating this year with the Transat Café L'Or in October.
Posted today at 5:14 am
GKSS Match Cup Sweden & Nordea Women's Trophy D4
High stakes for semi-finalists as the final four teams in each division are locked in The third day of racing at GKSS Match Cup Sweden saw the completion of the quarter-final match-ups in both the Open and Women's class, locking in the final four teams in each division for Friday's semi-finals.
Posted on 3 Jul
2025 29er Europeans at Lake Garda Day 1
Five teams tied at the top Ikke Huber / Liam Berger (Switzerland) lead the charge after sweeping all 3 races in the Green fleet — an impressive perfect score of 2 points. Lucas & Moritz Hamm, the dynamic twin duo from Germany, matched their Swiss rivals with consistency and pace.
Posted on 3 Jul
Onboard reporters in the Course des Caps
Enjoying the challenge of bringing the race to life In the Course des Caps - Boulogne sur Mer - Banque Populaire du Nord, the Onboard Reporters, or OBRs, are back doing a wonderful job of bringing IMOCA racing to life with pictures, videos, interviews and reports from the boats.
Posted on 3 Jul
Rolex TP52 Worlds in Cascais Day 2
Consistent American Magic Quantum Racing move clear ahead American Magic Quantum Racing stepped three points clear at the top of the 2025 Rolex TP52 World Championship leaderboard today in Cascais, Portugal on the strength of a first and third from two breezy races.
Posted on 3 Jul
505 UK Nationals at Weymouth
Michael Sims and Carl Gibbon hold back Howie Hamlin and Andy Zinn Apart from one 'stumble' in Race 7, the two leading boats were almost invisibly tied together to the point that after 8 races, they were tied on points.
Posted on 3 Jul
Unforgettable Transatlantic Race 2025 finish
First to arrive was Ocean Fifty Calamity, co-skippered by Timo Tavio and Kimo Nordström. It was rush hour in Cowes on Day 15 of the west-to-east Transatlantic Race 2025, as boats crossed the finish line in Cowes within minutes of each other after an epic 3,000-mile battle for top honors in IRC 1.
Posted on 3 Jul
iQFOiL World Championships set to open in Aarhus
Olympic medalists and world-class riders gather in Denmark for the biggest iQFOiL event of the year. The stage is set in Aarhus for a spectacular week of high-speed sailing as the iQFOiL World Championships 2025 kick off on 4 July, bringing together over 200 of the world's best windsurfers from more than 40 nations.
Posted on 3 Jul
The Ocean Race Europe to showcase new race tracker
Developed with PredictWind to revolutionise race coverage The Ocean Race, often described as the toughest test of a team in sport and widely recognised as a leader in impactful ocean health initiatives, and PredictWind, a global leader in marine weather forecasting, are collaborating on a new race tracker.
Posted on 3 Jul
Oliver Heer confirms 2028 Vendée Globe ambition
The Swiss skipper aims to return for the 2028 edition of the legendary solo race with a newer boat After completing the Vendée Globe 2024 on his first attempt, Oliver Heer, the Swiss-German skipper of Tut gut Sailing, has confirmed his intention to return for the 2028 edition of the legendary solo race.
Posted on 3 Jul