America's Cup - Ainslie says next Cup will be a design challenge

by Sir Ben Ainslie on 1 Oct 2017 Sir Ben Ainslie has added to the comments in the media release issued by the British America's Cup team on Friday after the announcement of the Protocol which will govern the 36th America's Cup to be staged in New Zealand or Italy in 2021.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph (UK), the four times Olympic Gold medalist and CEO, Skipper and Helmsman of Land Rover BAR says they are still digesting the Protocol, and hadn't been given a preliminary view of the document. Ainslie expects several of the teams who competed in Bermuda to exit the competition.

He writes:

Firstly, the positives. I am excited about the return to monohulls. Although personally I favoured sticking with multihulls – as in my view the racing out in Bermuda in May and June was spectacular and we, in common with a number of other teams, felt that continuity at this time would be good for the sport as a whole – I do not deny that this new class of boat can be similarly spectacular.

A lot of the design and sailing team at Land Rover BAR have backgrounds – mine included – in monohulls and I know that it is going to be amazing to sail these new boats once they are built.

The problem is, we still don’t know exactly what we are building. Will the AC75 be fully foiling? Semi-foiling? Will it have canting keels? What will the hull shape look like? With the rule not coming out until March, we hope there will be a collaborative approach to its development with all stakeholders included.

It is what it is. That is the way it has always been in the America’s Cup. It is the defenders’ prerogative. It is clearly a return to a more traditional America’s Cup style. You look at the new governance structure within the Protocol that has been announced, for instance, and it very much protects the rights of the Defender and the challenger of record.

I think it is safe to assume we will see quite a big transition, with a few of the current teams exiting and a few new ones entering, drawn back by the return to monohulls and the thought that they might be able to compete with a smaller budget. Whether that will actually be the case remains to be seen.

Some aspects may prove more costly, such as the new nationality rule, which will require at least 20 per cent of the total crew to be ‘true nationals’ and the rest compliant with ‘residency rules’ (380 days living in the challenger’s country). The nationality rule actually suits Land Rover BAR from a competitive standpoint as most of our team and sailors are already British. But for teams who do not have the requisite skillset already residing within their country, it will be an added cost.

Overall, I know the 36th America’s Cup will be, as expected, a huge design and sporting challenge and we are excited to get started. And there is enough detail in there to give our designers something to get started on.

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