Please select your home edition
Edition
PredictWind - GO! exec 728x90 TOP

Cultivating Intangibles at NYYC American Magic

by Will Ricketson 17 Jun 2020 09:17 PDT
New York Yacht Club American Magic © NYYC American Magic

How do you go about coaching the best sailors on earth? How do you guide America's Cup winners, Olympic champions, engineers, athletes, Ph.D.'s, artisans and innovators? All are essential to success, all are at the top of their field, and perhaps consequentially, all are problematic to forge into a cohesive unit.

For 16-time World Champion coach James Lyne, the answer lies in both the process and the intangibles. "With American Magic, it's my job to try to balance two things," reports Lyne from his mountain farm as he prepares to leave for Auckland. "How do we sail the boat fast enough to win, and how do we produce the intangibles of a team, the winning mindset? There's no off-the-shelf 'Bill Belichick cookbook' that says 'if you have this amount of magic pixie dust and this amount of Tom Brady, that we're going to end up winning.' So that's a little bit of where a coach comes in, and the input of proven leaders and winners like Terry [Hutchinson], Dean [Barker], Goodie [Paul Goodison], Andrew [Campbell], Marcelino [Botin], Anderson [Reggio], Tim [Hacket], Tyson [Lamond] and many, many others."

Each sailing session onboard DEFIANT, the team's first of two AC75's, generates terabytes of data and seemingly equivalent volumes of observations and opinions. Without coaching, the pursuit of progress and breakthroughs could easily obscure the end goal: victory in March of 2021.

"It's going to be a continuing internal struggle, this Cup, because you've got to have enough design power that you're fast enough. But we've still got to be able to sail the boat well enough around the course to extract that potential," says Lyne. "So what's the coach's role? I've been around long enough, and been a part of enough winning regattas, that it comes down to leveraging the individual strengths of your people. Guys like Terry are incredibly good at building "juggernaut trains" like BELLA MENTE and QUANTUM RACING. Key to those juggernauts are a design team, a shore team, a sailing team, and a production team, and keeping them in sync. The coach can make sure that the juggernaut stays on track on both the strategic level and during debriefs. To make sure that it doesn't get deflected, or get going down dead ends. That often just means tapping gently on the sides of the train to keep it going straight."

With American Magic sailing operations suspended since early March due to COVID-19 and a shipping period to Auckland, feelings of urgency, excitement and ambition will be at high levels when the team reconvenes at its new base in New Zealand. Lyne said that the U.S. Challenger's operations at the America's Cup venue will require even greater levels of discipline, and that the American football analogies will continue to apply.

"From whenever we start sailing in Auckland, there's going to be a path to winning the Cup that fits within the number of days we have left," said Lyne, who grew up in Whitby, North Yorkshire, England, but is a longtime resident of Vermont. "How we choose that path is the main determiner of our success. The longer we're unable to sail, the harder and narrower our path becomes. We're going to need everybody's enthusiasm because we are about to begin what I call our 'two minute drill.' We're going to be calling 'audibles.' The days of early testing in Newport and Pensacola, where we could look at some specific piece of software or hardware for a full day, that's going to change in Auckland. The days are going to be multitasked to a much greater degree."

In terms of success factors for the final months of the campaign, Lyne was quick to produce two.

"The first and biggest thing is 'people management,' because we could easily burn people out. Our sailors, shore crew and the performance analysts in our program have to be fresh enough that we're able to compete to our maximum potential. Second, we need to sail our boat for enough days and hours that we're good enough to win the America's Cup. These factors don't really compliment each other, and that's the challenge."

With no AC75 regattas yet held, and with ACWS Auckland, the Prada Cup and the 36th defense of the America's Cup still months away, Lyne sees an intriguing competitive landscape between Emirates Team New Zealand, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, and INEOS Team UK.

"For better or worse, all the teams are in a position where they haven't done enough sailing yet because of the one-design foil arms delays, the pandemic, shipping around the world, and their own unique issues," said Lyne. "Nobody's been able to execute their campaign just as they have wanted to. It's just how we deal with it from here, and how we execute from the moment we get to Auckland."

Related Articles

America's Cup: Luna Rossa to sail for Naples club.
Italian Challenger Luna Rossa will contest the next America's Cup as the team of a Naples club. Italian Challenger Luna Rossa will contest its seventh America's Cup as the team of the Circolo del Remo e della Vela Italia of Naples, as club that is new to the America's Cup. Posted on 10 Jul
America's Cup: French back "Kiwi" Protocol
K-Challenge tell Brits to sign Kiwi Protocol. Cup to be sailed before the end of 2025. Last weekend's missive from the French America's Cup challenge team is further evidence over the building frustration with progress towards the 2027 America's Cup in Naples. Posted on 6 Jul
K-Challenge gives opinion on proposed Protocol
Why the 38th edition could usher in a new era for the America's Cup Stephan Kandler and Bruno Dubois, Co-CEOs of K-Challenge, jointly stated: “The provisional Protocol published on 23 May 2025 by Defender Emirates Team New Zealand is an important step forward for the America's Cup." Posted on 4 Jul
America's Cup: Confidential settlement reached
(Updated) A confidential settlement reached over five year Cup legal claims. Confidential settlement reached between the America's Cup team Emirates Team New Zealand and their formerly contracted Event Managers, Mayo & Calder, and others associated with the company. But what of Mainstream Media's role in the affair? Posted on 29 Jun
America's Cup - #3 Finish Line
The Cup is still undecided. And somewhere, in one last simulation, the universe holds its breath. The Cup is still undecided. And somewhere, in one last simulation, the universe holds its breath. Step into the last leg. This is where legends break — or rise. Posted on 23 Jun
Cup Spy: "Burling Rule" unlikely to be changed
The Defender is unlikely to soften the Rules and allow open season on its sailing team. Despite the shift of three times America's Cup winner, Peter Burling it is understood that there is unlikely to be any softening of the Nationality rule to enable Burling to get any closer to the action than a chase-boat in the 38th America's Cup. Posted on 20 Jun
Burling "excited' by Italian move
In a media statement issued by his Media Team, Burling says he remains fully committed to his role w In a media statement issued by his Media Team, Burling says he remains fully committed to his role with Black Foils, the New Zealand SailGP Team. Posted on 20 Jun
America's Cup: Kiwis advertising for key people
Emirates Team NZ seeking new people for key roles ahead of its 12th America's Cup campaign Emirates Team New Zealand, the current America's Cup champion is gearing up for the 2027 Defence of the most prestigious trophy in sailing. The team has advertised eight positions in the IT, Meteorology and Engineering areas Posted on 12 Jun
America's Cup: Another sponsor signs for Italians
Luna Rossa has announced that Unipol has renewed its trust in the team Luna Rossa has announced that Unipol has renewed its trust in the team and will accompany it as an official sponsor for the duration of the 38th America's Cup. Posted on 5 Jun
America's Cup fillibustered by Challengers
A Cup in turmoil - Protocol is unsigned - with entries due to open on Sunday. Updated story: America's Cup got underway in Rome on Monday, with Round 2 of the official welcoming ceremonies on Wednesday in Naples. However three teams are working in collusion and have again issued statements within minutes of each other. Posted on 29 May
Barton Marine Pipe GlandsAllen Dynamic 40 FooterSea Sure 2025