| The latest sailing news from New Zealand and the world. |
25 Nov 2017 |
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  Sail-World NZ - Nov 25 - America's Cup - Defenders 2, Challengers nil.
 | | Blair Tuke sporting another interesting haircut - MAPFRE winner Leg 2 from Lisbon to Cape Town. Volvo Ocean Race. 24 November, 2017. Pedro Martinez / Volvo Ocean Race |
Welcome to Sail-World.com's New Zealand e-magazine for November 25, 2017
In weird way, it has been a good week for Emirates Team New Zealand.
On Tuesday they announced the concept for the next America's Cup Class, with a radical high-performance 75fter.
The hit-you-in-the-face feature of the new boat is the foils. Otherwise, it is a reasonably mainstream boat.
The reaction has been mixed. The new AC75 satisfies those who liked the AC50 and are keen to see a foiling boat of some description - either multihull or monohull.
Most of the potential teams were expecting something less radical and more within their comfort zone.
An upgraded Maxi 72 would have been fine and would have suited the traditionalists who see the America's Cup as being a Match Race first and a Speed Race second. The AC75 spins that equation the other way.
 | | The new AC75 monohull will run a three ballasted foiling system - a concept that has not previously been seen. Emirates Team New Zealand |
Emirates Team is well positioned for the new boat - probably the best of all the teams, with a strong design group, albeit with most currently on a part-time basis. They have a top sailing team who are young, race sharp, fast learners and good adaptors. The organisation will probably get a bit of a shake-up, but that is not a bad thing and quite healthy.
The most compelling design aspect of the AC75 is the foils, and many get thrown by that. However, the foils are just one part of the overall package. Compared to the AC50/AC72 the hull design is more aligned with mainstream design knowledge. So there should be more available talent in that space.
The AC75 looks like it will be using soft sails - certainly for the jib and Code Zero, and probably some of the mainsail. Again that is back into mainstream sail design - so there should be plenty of design talent available and the arcane days of wingsail design and engineering have probably gone.
Spars will also be closer to the mainstream for design and manufacture.
 | | Peter Burling Team Brunel - Leg 2 arrival from Lisbon to Cape Town. Volvo Ocean Race. 25 November, 2017. Pedro Martinez / Volvo Ocean Race |
The overall package does bring the America's Cup closer to mainstream sailing, and on that count alone there should be some trickle down into pro/am sailing - one of Emirates Team New Zealand's objectives for the America's Cup.
'Love Taps' will be something else again in the AC75.
By any measure Emirates Team New Zealand is leading the sailing stakes for the 36th America's Cup.
The boat announcement dominated the news on Tuesday - with 3 News using it as their opening story on the prime time news that evening. Where else would that happen but in New Zealand?
From a Defence perspective, Emirates Team New Zealand got off to a good start on Thursday afternoon, with the Auckland Council removing the team's preference for base location, listening to the Councils lobbyists rather than its experts.
Auckland Council dropped the ball with the decision to remove the Halsey Street Extension from its options for hosting the 36th America's Cup.
Essentially all that Emirates Team NZ Chairman Stephen Tindall said to the Council was that the selection of the Viaduct Basin option so favoured by the politicians and lobbyists would not trigger a shift to Italy, permitted by Article 4.1 of the Protocol governing the conduct of the 36th America's Cup. The two parties to that Protocol are Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and Circolo della Vela Sicilia, not their respective teams.
 | | America's Cup AC75 - Class concept announcement - November 21, 2017 Emirates Team New Zealand |
Technically speaking it is the call of RNZYS as to where the Cup will be defended. CVS is required to organise the Challenger Selection Series, now known as the Prada Cup.
Neither Club spoke at the Council Meeting.
It is not Emirates Team New Zealand's role to stand up for the Challengers. The fact that they have done this is purely one of goodwill and generosity on their part. However it is now clear that it is wasted effort.
Emirates Team New Zealand are not the losers from the decisions made on Thursday by the Council.
The Challengers are. So too is Auckland City. Maybe also the NZ marine industry.
Emirates Team New Zealand will have the pick of the base locations in Auckland; the others will be allocated to the Challengers in order of entry. Somewhat naively the Council seem to have the view that the goodwill that exists between Emirates Team NZ and Luna Rossa will be carried over into the relationships with the Challengers.
That has never happened before in the America's Cup, which is noted for the Defender stacking the deck in subtle ways to disadvantage the Challengers. But in this instance City Hall, albeit unwittingly, stacked the deck for the home team.
Emirates Team New Zealand came out of the Meeting with clean hands - they had gone into bat with the Council to get the best deal for the Challengers for base location and general set up of the venue.
Their good turn has not gone unpunished. And ETNZ can now walk away from the negotiations able to say to the Challengers that they tried their best, but were unsuccessful. The Challengers would be well advised to fight their own battles now.
 | | America's Cup AC75 - one foil provides lift, the other uses its weight to provide righting moment Emirates Team New Zealand |
Getting a good base location is a key item on the shopping list for any Challenger. The Auckland situation is complicated by the fact that some bases are only designed for one boat, others for two. Quite how those get allocated will be interesting to see, but again that is not Emirates Team NZ's problem.
The announced Challengers (and other teams), while not yet entered, should have formed into a group, or a Challengers Committee and then acted in concert to make their views on the base preferences very clear. That would have included being directly represented at Thursday's Council meeting and making their views very plain.
As it stands, the Consents for whatever option is finally passed by the Council will have already been filed by the time entries open on January 1, 2018, or will be lodged a week or two afterwards.
On the face of Thursday's deal, the New Zealand marine industry will be heavily impacted. Superyacht berths in the preferred Council option drop from 24 to just eight. And the eight will need to be shoe-horned into their allocated berths, given they have bases and team launching opposite with just 170 metres to be shared between the two for berthing and manoeuvring.
It will fall, no doubt to the lot of the Council officers to negotiate some deal for other space and lessees around the Viaduct area to increase the number of superyacht berths.
It must be said that the people in ATEED and Panuku Developments - Council organisations - did an outstanding job in their proposal development, analysis and quick thinking ability to provide solutions in a rapidly moving game.
The fact that people of that calibre are doing the planning and groundwork is very heartening as they try to make the best of the difficult situation they have been handed. However, they get little support from the Council and their lobbyists who are running this show.
 | Halsey Wharf Extension showing the teams all launching into the same basin, and with 24 berths available for large superyachts and a smaller set of berths for eight vessels. There is 170 metres of manoevering space for the superyachts to exit.
Auckland Council |
But none of that is Emirates Team New Zealand's problem. They have tried. Their efforts were rebuffed. Now they must walk away and get on with the sailing.
There is no obligation on the part of the Defender to make life easy for the Challengers, and indeed in other America's Cups, the Challengers have been left to their own devices. In 1992 and 1995 Challenger representatives had to travel to San Diego - find some suitable yard space and set up from there. San Francisco in 2013 was not much better.
The Host City is the main beneficiary of making life easier for the Challengers. The out-take from Thursday's meeting is that clearly, Auckland Council has little real interest in maximising the benefits of the America's Cup. Of course they make all the right noises, and fine speeches, but lack the required understanding. It seemed that only one Councillor had been to an America's Cup - Christine Fletcher. Seven Councillors voted for the Team NZ preferred option to stay for a decision in December, the rest grabbed the opportunity to kill it dead.
Looking at the war, rather than the current battle, Emirates Team New Zealand's chances of successfully defending the America's Cup got a big boost this week, and for that New Zealand's America's Cup fans should be grateful. The score thus far stands at Defenders 2, Challengers nil.
Still on the table are the issues of a permanent base for Team New Zealand, which figured in the Halsey Street Extension, but not in the preferred option.
An Event Fee is also well justified. The Council and government are quick to play up the cost of the infrastructure but not so the rewards they reap. Given that Auckland is believed to be paying $5million for a three week Volvo Ocean Race Stopover in a few weeks, what is an 18month America's Cup worth?
 | | Wynyard Basin which seems to be the preferred option. It involves the closing of half of Brigham Street and for bases to be built across the closed street and hard against the silos. ETNZ is expected to take Site 8, all the other sites launching into the basis are for single boat teams, meaning the two-boat challengers will have Site 4 and the other sites on Brigham Street(eastern side of the Wynyard Viaduct). Auckland Council |
Bermuda paid over NZD$21million as an event fee plus stumped up for another NZD$36million in event sponsorship underwrite. Or maybe ETNZ would be better advised to cut a deal for a percentage of the tax windfall for the government - say 20% of $600million? Plus a similar from the Council from $24million in berthage fees in the period to June 2022?
None of the Economic Impact Reports include the $100million in Advertising Equivalent Value generated by the America's Cup for Bermuda.
But even with what appears to be a very generous package from Bermuda the whole America's Cup deal including the development of infrastructure of a similar size to the Halsey Street Extension cost Bermuda 'only' NZD$95million - about half the projected cost of the most expensive option at Thursday's meeting. It is not clear why the difference is at that level.
To round out a good week for Emirates Team New Zealand team they scooped the major awards at the Volvo Yachting Excellence Awards on Friday night. Well done and congratulations to all the winners.
 | | 70 more superyachts visited Bermuda as a result of the 2017 America's Cup. They were berthed in multiple locations. The Viaduct plan now preferred cut superyacht berths from 24 to eight. Richard Gladwell |
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Good sailing!
Richard Gladwell
NZ Editor
sailworldnzl@gmail.com
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 | | MAPFRE wins Leg 2 from Lisbon to Cape Town – Volvo Ocean Race © Ainhoa Sanchez/Volvo Ocean Race |
 | | Day 20, Leg 2, Lisbon to Cape Town, on board MAPFRE. 24 November, 2017 – Volvo Ocean Race © Ugo Fonolla / Volvo Ocean Race |
 | | Charisma's tactician Ray Davies negotiates today's stubborn, lumpy sea - RC44 Calero Marinas Cup 2017 © Martinez Studio / RC44 Class |
 | | Jean-Pierre Dick and Yann Eliès, winners of the 2017 Transat Jacques Vabre © Jean-Marie Liot / TJV2017 |
 | | Several America's Cup bases will be located against the silos in the Bulk Storage Terminal, with the sea plane and ferry re-located. Mike Leyland |
 | | Day 3, Leg 2, Lisbon to Cape Town, on board Vestas 11th Hour. sail repair down below after an heavy night. 07 November, 2017 – Volvo Ocean Race © Martin Keruzore / Volvo Ocean Race |
 | | Solo round the world – Pacific Ocean now in sight © Jean-Marie Liot / ALeA / Macif |
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