| The latest sailing news from New Zealand and the world. |
26 Jan 2017 |
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  New Cup plan outlined..Burling wins in Perth..New sailing record
 | | Emirates Team NZ heads out for another training session in the AC45S Hamish Hooper/Emirates Team NZ |
Welcome to Sail-World.com's New Zealand e-magazine for January 26, 2017.
This edition was delayed after Sail-World NZ became aware last night that an announcement was pending for the 36th and 37th America's Cup, aimed at locking in the boat type and securing the investment of the existing teams.
The idea is not new, having been floated by Golden Gate Yacht Club and then Oracle BMW's Tom Ehman in 2003 in an interview I did with him for Pacific Sailing magazine.
The concept was not picked up or acted upon at the time, and instead the Cup has moved further and further away from what is contemplated and prescribed in the Deed of Gift.
Emirates Team New Zealand are not included in the signatories, and previously they have said, may be off the record that it they win, or had won in 2013, they would have talked with the Challengers.
The usual way is to call a Challengers Meeting of interested teams and getting their views incorporated in a Protocol, which is written in accordance with the Deed of Gift for the America's Cup and will get the maximum teams participating.
 | | - A Day in the Life of Land Rover BAR, Great Sound Bermuda, January 2017 Alex Palmer |
The requirements of the host venue also have to be factored into the Protocol, and no America's Cup has ever before been held at a new venue inside four years, and on the two occasions when the Cup has been won by the Defending team the time gap is three years - into a venue with existing facilities.
The deal announced overnight in London, of course is not binding in any way at all under the Deed of Gift for the America's Cup. At best it is a statement of intent between the five teams that have participated as to what they could do if one of them won the 35th America's Cup and accepted a Challenge from one of the other group of five teams.
What the document doesn't address is the issue of team nationality - and an 80% nationality requirement rule would wipe out half the existing teams. However strong national identity is seen as one of the keys to pulling large viewing audiences and support from the country of that team.
It also does not address the requirement of boats being 'constructed in country' as required by the Deed of Gift and watered down in the current era to just a small 2.7-metre section of the bow.
 | | Two-times America's Cup winner, Alinghi have stayed in the 2017 Extreme Sailing Series for the past two America's Cup cycles. © Aitor Alcalde Colomer |
The timing of the announcement and its prescriptions locks the participating teams into a boat (AC50) which has not even been sailed yet.
Also not clear is the reaction of the major America's Cup teams who are not participating or have withdrawn from the current event - twice AC winner, Alinghi, and four-time Challenger Luna Rossa which pulled out of the current Cup after the class was changed by a majority vote of teams, some nine months after entries had closed and the AC62 boat type had been selected and widely promoted.
For sure there are some measures in the proposed Protocol which could and should cut costs such as the dropping of the use of surrogate boats, retaining the one design hull shape and wing sail profile, allowing existing tooling to be used and systems carried over. Currently some teams have built and sail up to four of the AC45S test platforms, while others are operating on just one. In other words they are building more AC type boats than Bill Koch did in the 1992 America's Cup - which triggered a two boat restriction for the next four Cups, until Golden Gate won and opened the rules again.
Adapting to new sailing technology is the key issue and deterrent for those new teams coming into the America's Cup.
It is difficult to put together a coherent case for sponsors to invest in the short time (now less than two years) and for the teams to come up to speed with a boat type which for most is new technology.
The retrospective rule changing by the current competitors by a simple majority vote with scant regard for the minority of the teams is a another significant deterrent to entry, particularly for a new team. The retrospective rule changing is a very serious issue for any team, and backers being asked to invest in an America's Cup campaign, and goes to the core of the credibility of the event.
 | | 35th America's Cup - Oracle Team USA and Softbank Team Japan are two of the four teams contesting the Practice Racing © America's Cup |
The America's Cup teams, well four of them, have swung into action this week with a session of racing organised by the America's Cup Race Management (ACRM).
Billed as 'formal-informal' racing the first round of racing appears to have lasted just three days - and has involved only the four teams that have AC45-S catamarans (or their development platforms) in Bermuda.
Two of the teams, Groupama Team France and Emirates Team NZ are still in their home countries and can't participate.
Both teams have cannibalised their AC45-S catamarans to move key parts over to the AC50's - so that they are using known and tested parts - and don't have to go through an extensive running in process.
Quite what happens later in the year - around mid-March/April, when all teams are in Bermuda, and the current prohibition on AC50's sailing/training against each other remains in place.
 | | Emirates Team NZ AC45S and tender. Hamish Hooper/Emirates Team NZ |
Even though the America's Cup has never been fair - and has been likened to trying to play pool on a table with a book under one of its legs - having organised racing amongst only the four teams with AC45-S boats would be a new low, even by Cup standards.
Little is being said about the outcome of the racing - and no scores have been published, but from the comments made it seems that some of the teams at least have a bit of work ahead if them, and have been found wanting under the pressure of boat on boat competition. The America's Cup World Series were fine - given that the boats were relatively slow and equal in pace. But the AC45-S boats, which are very close cousins of the AC50's to be used in the Cup, will have speed differences, and handling issues - with some being strong in one aspect and others in another.
The AC45-S racing conveniently comes in the anticipated sailing Blackout period agreed by the teams to head off a determination by the anonymous Arbitration Panel to give the Kiwi team some time-redress after the removal of the Qualifiers from Auckland - which would have been underway about now.
The last couple of ACWS rounds showed Emirates Team NZ have a bit to learn in the match racing game.
Since the Fukuoka round, match racing coach Rod Davis has been brought back into the team, after a stint with Artemis Racing.
 | | Peter Burling and an Emirates Team NZ crew have won the Swan River Match Cup John Roberson © |
This week the Kiwi team are in Perth, sailing on the Swan River in the World Match Racing Tour's Swan River Match Cup in M32 catamarans.
After three days of racing, Emirates Team NZ have won under pressure - just heading off several competent young Australian match racing teams.
The racing on the Swan River has been conducted only by the grace and favour of the Fremantle Doctor. Each day has seen racing delayed until the arrival of the famous seabreeze - sucked in by the hot Australian desert. Fortunately the seabreeze arrived, Burling and friends were able to put away two wins, enough to win the title, and then raced for the plane home.
New Zealand has not been nearly so fortunate with the summer weather over the past week.
 | | Final Day - Forward Sailing New Zealand O'pen Cup - Otago Harbour January 2017 O'pen BIC New Zealand |
In Otago, the O'pen BIC Class has held the second regatta in the five event South Island series.
Although slightly lighter winds prevailed for the first two days, the final day piped in at 30kts plus giving the almost 40 strong fleet a day to remember.
Two visiting sailors from Bermuda won both fleets.
 | | Bayleys NZ Laser Nationals 2017 - Lake Taupo - January 2016 NZ Laser Assoc |
At Lake Taupo, the Bayleys NZ Laser Championship was also on the receiving end of some inclement weather, with the final day being wiped out. Sailing in the middle of so-called Summer against a backdrop of a fresh dumping of snow on Mt Ruapehu at the opposite end of the lake.
A strong contingent of Chinese sailors sailed in the regatta, dominating the leaderboard in the Standard rig, and owning five of the top nine places in the overall standings.
 | | TP52 Temptation (Anatole Masfen) - Bay of Islands Sailing Week, Day 1, January 25, 2017 © Will Calver - Ocean Photography |
Further north the Bay of Islands Sailing Week got underway today, in light winds and overcast skies. There was keen racing in A Division with six TP52's/50fters and with the newer TP52's or Super 52's dominating the top three spots on the points table.
BOISW is also the 50th anniversary for the Tornado catamaran, the former Olympic class with seven crews competing in what also doubles as a New Zealand Championship.
Racing continues Thursday and Friday.
We have reports and images from all the racing in these events in this edition.
 | | - IDEC Sport - Jules Verne Trophy attempt 2016/17 © IDEC Sport |
The maxi trimaran IDEC Sport is reported to be on her final night at sea in her Jules Verne Record attempt. What started as a trophy for the first yacht of any size and crew to sail around the world in 80 days or less. Now the crew of IDEC Sport, Francis Joyon, Bernard Stamm, Alex Pella, Sébastien Audigane, Clément Surtel and Gwénolé Gahinet are about to complete the Jules Verne course in a tad over 40 days - about half the original time of 79 days and 6 hours set by Bruno Peyron 23 years ago in Commodore Explorer.
 | | Start 49er - sailing World Cup Miami - Day 1 © Pedro Martinez / Sailing Energy / World Sailing |
Follow all the racing and developments in major and local events on www.sail-world.com, scroll to the bottom of the site, select New Zealand, and get all the latest news and updates from the sailing world.
Good sailing!
Richard Gladwell
NZ Editor
sailworldnzl@gmail.com
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Don't forget to check our website www.sail-world.com, at the top of the page, select New Zealand, and get all the latest news and updates from the sailing world.
 | | - Bay of Islands Sailing Week, Day 1, January 25, 2017 © Will Calver - Ocean Photography |
 | | Double Olympic medalist, Jo Aleh is tactician on V5 - Bay of Islands Sailing Week, Day 1, January 25, 2017 © Will Calver - Ocean Photography |
| | - A Day in the Life of Land Rover BAR, Great Sound Bermuda, January 2017 Alex Palmer |
 | | 2017 Perth Match Cup - Day 1 and 2, January 2017 World Match Racing Tour . |
 | | Day 79 – Jérémie Beyou (Maitre CoQ) – Vendée Globe Vincent Curutchet / DPPI / Vendée Globe © |
 | | Day 2 - Forward Sailing New Zealand O'pen Cup - Otago Harbour January 2017 O'pen BIC New Zealand |
 | | China were strongly represented - Bayleys NZ Laser Nationals 2017 - Lake Taupo - January 2016 NZ Laser Assoc |
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