America's Cup: Insider - “It's disappointing not to continue with American Magic in the Cup.”
by Sailorz.com 4 Nov 21:24 PST
American Magic - Race Day 9 - Louis Vuitton Cup - September 9, 2024 - Barcelona © Ricardo Pinto / America's Cup
American Magic announced on Tuesday, October 28, that they would not be participating in the 38th America's Cup in 2027 in Naples.
To find out more about this withdrawal, leading international weekly sailing newsletter Sailorz.com (formerly "Tip & Shaft) spoke with the French engineer Dimitri Despierres, head of the mechatronics department for the US challenge.
How did you learn of this decision?
Through a video conference, 24 hours before the announcement, which brought together the core group of about forty people who had continued to work since the end of the Cup and until July, mainly on design tools, but also the boat-builders still active at the Pensacola base. Doug (DeVos, the challenge owner) explained the ins and outs of this decision not to move forward in the America's Cup.
Was it a surprise?
We knew since the end of June that the question of participation was being raised, insofar as it was subject to a Partnership being established—which happened with the recent announcements. Knowing that it was Doug DeVos who, during the last Cup and at the end, had brought the challengers together to further professionalize and commercialize the event, so that it would become more financially viable for the participants.
We knew it was 50/50, but when you see time passing, you understand that if you're not fully engaged while Prada (Luna Rossa) or Team New Zealand are, you're just falling behind. So at one point, I started to have big doubts, but I still found it hard to believe that we wouldn't go, in the sense that, with the new rules, I didn't see any obstacle to us being competitive for the next edition.
When you have these assets, that you don't have to build a hull, but "just" to manufacture foils, with the added possibility of being competitive in terms of sailors, you tell yourself that the Cup won't ultimately cost you much, so you ask why you aren't going?
And did you get the answers?
You have to understand that during the first American Magic campaign, there were three financiers, Doug DeVos, Hap Fauth, and Roger Penske, from IndyCar. For the second campaign, on the 37th Cup, the latter had already withdrawn, and in the end, we clearly understood that Hap Fauth would not be part of the next campaign; he is quite old (almost 80yrs), has given a lot, and wanted to turn the page.
So Doug was left alone. Americans do not really have a culture of seeking sponsors; they are more inclined to find millionaire or billionaire allies in their New York Yacht Club networks or in their business. I think Doug DeVos didn't find this ally and didn't feel comfortable going without the financial certainty of doing the 38th and 39th, because one wouldn't go without the other.
However, he assured us that the current assets would remain with American Magic and were not for sale. Even if nothing is decided, it is also not ruled out that there could be a women's crew on the Women's America's Cup in Naples, or even a crew on the Youth. Now, if there is no American team on the 38th, it will be the first time since the event's creation in 1851...
Does this mean that this decision is not linked to the official launch of America's Cup Partnership (the Cup's new governance body, including commercial, of which each challenge is a shareholder), and the new calendar?
There may be points that have not been explained to us. Again, Doug was at the foundation of this Partnership. Until then, when you didn't win the Cup, you were left with nothing. So Doug, but also Ernesto (Bertarelli, boss of Alinghi), wanted to put something in place so that all the challenges would be shareholders and stakeholders in the decisions. The idea was to say: "Let's not be losers, but all winners." Why did they ultimately consider that this wasn't enough? I don't know the answer, but in any case, we didn't have any concrete elements from the Partnership that would have been blocking points.
For the full interview sailorz.com/americas-cup/dimitri-despierres-une-deception-de-ne-pas-continuer-avec-american-magic-sur-la-coupe
In the remainder of the interview Depierres gives his view of the impact of SailGP on the America's Cup; his future employment and projects; the Fench Challenge; his view of the future of the America's Cup and whether American Magic's AC75 is for sale.