The Pink Panther Strikes Again
by John Curnow, Editor, Sail-World AUS 10 Jun 2018 15:00 PDT
The ultra-cool Pink Panther © Supplied
Irony? Aptness? Foresight? Cheek? Perhaps indeed it's some of all of them. There we were last week in The Black Knight, looking at how the impending America's Cup (AC36) was more like a farcical fight scene between Clouseau and Cato, and then during the week reality started to match fiction.
So it is pretty interesting when even the Kiwi media are giving it to Dalts (ETNZ's Grant Dalton), saying in essence that the talk it up cup is trying to hoodwink more than a few out there. The three seriously funded teams from Luna Rossa, INEOS and the NYYC have places at the AC Base, but there are three more slots going begging.
With big hitters Ellison and Bertarelli sitting it out, and only hints of a second US team (USA21) surveying the scene, it is more than noteworthy when the NZ Herald's Chris Rattue compares it unfavourably to Bermuda (here), because the overall global representation is lower. The really big question to come out of it all is just how many Kiwis have the same hymn sheet?
Attue also went on to add. "After today's broadcasting rights announcement, Emirates Team New Zealand boss Dalton tried to blame previous Cup organisers for allowing the prestige of the event to decline. In particular, he said using subscriber services to cover the cup had shrunk the world audience." In all, and to me, it sounds a lot like sand being thrown in the pit.
Then, as if trying to make it in time before the first of the big cash (USD1m) is due at the end of June, firstly a Norwegian, then a Sardinian fledging syndicate announced their intentions to challenge. Given the super large numbers required to sit at the table and actually play in this game, the one million for a late fee may seem paltry, but remember there is a two million dollar entry fee, split over 2018 and 19, along with a further million for a Performance Bond. Now you can make instalments, but none of it is chump change, and if you are still chasing big coin in the first place just to be there, then these are dents in the wallet that will really hurt you.
So perhaps the parallel out of it all is to the too cool for school feline itself! Remember, you cannot get the value out of the 175-195 carat Darya-ye Noor, because the Iranians will chop your hands off. Equally, the world's next biggest pink diamond, the almost 60 carat Pink Star, will only yield about $70m, which is probably barely halfway to where you need to get to. Accordingly, the Phantom needs to redevelop the plan. So yes. Fiction and fancy seem to be on the menu for some time yet...
One who put the screenplays down, and get set for something new was Tom Slingsby. His Australian challenge may have stalled, but the fierce competitor eyed off the Finn as way to ignite the second stage boosters on his hitherto stellar Olympic career. He's been training with the AST's Finn Squad for some time, and will compete at the Worlds in July to see how it all goes.
No one would ever use the term lightweight to describe Tom, but in fact he is about 10 kegs under the optimum for the larger boat. He is taking it in his stride and looking to get stronger, but perhaps the kindest words come from AST performance supremo, Iain Murray, who was reported as saying, "We're encouraging him to participate. We've got him in the team and we're funding some of his sailing, and he just did a training session in Lake Garda with the Finn guys. And even if he doesn't carry on, just having him in the team and his drive and focus is a really nice thing."
Tacking! This week Henri Lloyd became the next nautical brand name to go into some form of liquidation. Continuing the theme of rationalisation being experienced by the industry as a whole, it is felt that Swedish buyers are currently circling like a school of sharks. One well-placed source was certainly super-tight lipped when pressed, but did offer this gem, "...put it this way, next week is a new week, and there's a 90% chance all will be OK and become clear." I guess by the time next week's editorial comes around, we'll know just how well placed this particular source really is.
Right oh - here today there are some gems for you to review. We have information about Optis from South Australia, the Volvo, Clipper, J/70s, Olympic classes at Aarhus, North Sails provide us with some more insightful reading, Andrea Francolini's pics from a foggy start to a Sydney day, which served as a good reminder as a to the mysteries of Australian weather, more on the 83 containers that went overboard en route to Botany Bay, Etchells, Noumea, the scourge of Plastics, Melges 24 Worlds, kitefoiling, Extreme Sailing Series, the Golden Globe race is on a ramp up to their start, Exocets dominate the Moths, crewing information from the MySail Team which this week includes the Cookson 12 Sail Exchange, accommodation for this year's regatta at Hammo, and certainly there is much, much more.
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John Curnow, Editor, Sail-World AUS