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08 Nov 2017 |
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  Sail-World NZ - Nov 7 - Volvo off to a flying start...Am Cup progress
 | | Team Brunel - Start of Leg 2. Day 1 from Lisbon to Cape Town. 05 November, 2017. © Ainhoa Sanchez/Volvo Ocean Race |
Welcome to Sail-World.com's New Zealand e-magazine for November 7, 2017
The Volvo Ocean race got off to a flying start from Lisbon in the early hours of Monday morning (NZT).
Pushed along by a strong breeze the seven-boat fleet hit speeds of 30kts (according to commentators) as they crashed and surfed their way out into the North Atlantic, en route to Cape Town.
Without the traditional rounding point off the coast of Brazil, which forced the boats to sail around the South Atlantic High, it is a little tricky to predict which way the competitors will go.
From races which have not enjoyed the forced route around a mark off Fernando de Noronha, around 200 miles east of the Brazilian port of Fortaleza, we know that one option is to cut the corner, and beat down the African coast.
The only boat that has really worked for was the Peter Blake skippered, Ron Holland designed Lion New Zealand. A change in expected conditions from fast reaching to punching into a head-on SE gale, which cost one maxi boat her mast, another to delaminate and turned the leg into a two-boat race between UBS Switzerland and Lion New Zealand.
So the direct route - while the shortest is not the best option.
Blake elected to go around the back of the High in the previous race after their dismasting in Ceramco New Zealand when they had no option but to reach under Jury rig.
 | | Skallywag SHK. Start of Leg 2. Day 1 from Lisbon to Cape Town. . 05 November, 2017. © Ainhoa Sanchez/Volvo Ocean Race |
Of course, the maxim of 'west is best' always applies in this part of the ocean and route. One of the points of interest will be to see which competitors break first to pick up the increased wind pressure and accepting the trade-off of the longer distance.
With a more direct and shorter route on offer - it is a fine balancing act as they trade-off wind (and) speed for distance, coupled with negotiating the Doldrums - and breaking through that convergence zone with a minimal loss of speed and distance.
Rather than write breathless pieces about who's doing what to whichever on the basis of distance left to sail to Cape Town, Volvo Ocean Race is now taking the refreshing line that at this stage the direct route to the finish is not a sound measurement basis.
On the home front, the America's Cup hosting is off the public radar. However, there is a process and series of planning meetings underway to look at the options and costs.
 | | Dockside - Volvo Ocean Race, Leg 2 Start - Lisbon, November 5, 2017 Eugenia Bakunova |
Sail-World had an interview with ATEED yesterday morning, and it would seem that one of the key players at least is on the right track.
We will be covering this in a lot more detail in the next two days, but the bones of the America's Cup in Auckland are that the economic impact figures put together by Hamish Ross from various sources are broadly accepted. Namely that in 2000 Cup there was a spend of $130million on infrastructure (developing the Viaduct Harbour) for a return of over $640million.
In 2003, with the infrastructure in place and a spend of $8million required, the event produced a return of over $533million.
Estimates of the infrastructure spend in Auckland for the 2021 event are put at $150million - and elementary maths tells you that the return is four times the initial investment. In business, a return on investment of that magnitude and time frame would make the decision a no-brainer.
The problem in the Auckland situation is that local government has to make the investment and central government gets the return for no investment or financial outlay.
Time frames are also very tight, with the entry window opening on January 1, 2018, and closing six months later. With an expected requirement for eight teams, there are four already who have indicated they will be making an entry - Luna Rossa (ITA), Land Rover BAR (GBR), Bella Mente (USA) and Team New Zealand. It remains to be seen whether the French team led by Franck Cammas is a reality, now that their primary backer Groupama has pulled the pin on an America's Cup challenge in New Zealand.
 | | Auckland America's Cup four options - for 30,000sq metres of space for th teams. Image created by Mike Leyland |
Budgets for a 75ft monohull AC75 are expected to be higher than the AC50/AC45S campaigns of the Bermuda America's Cup. While that may be a curb on low-budget campaigns, there should be a saving through the reduced personnel costs created by the 100% Nationality rule which curbs salary bargaining options for the sailing team at least.
On the positive side, there is the reality that teams spend about 50% of their budget in the country of the venue. So again with simple maths, eight teams at an average budget of $100million each puts $400million into the NZ economy one way or another. That doesn't include the tourism and fan spend - which in New Zealand's case spreads far beyond Auckland.
So the numbers stack up despite the innate conservatism of governing bodies.
From the discussions, it would seem that the Westhaven reclamation is off the table, presumably because of road access. Wynyard Point - and removal of the silo tanks is not really an option either. The issue is one of mitigation of the ground damage rather than buying out a shortened lease - which would have invited a trade-off to be made.
Moving east, the extension to Captain Cook Wharf would not seem to be viable. If it is needed as an extension for cruise ships - then that is not compatible with New Zealand holding the America's Cup beyond one or two cycles. There would be a second Defence in say 2024, and three yearly cycles after that.
The best option is an extension to Halsey Street.
 | | Jo Aleh - Two-time Olympic Medallist & 2013 Rolex World Sailor of the Year appears at World Sailing's Annual Conference Daniel Smith / World Sailing |
For a Challenger, the America's Cup will be very difficult to win in New Zealand. A look back at the 2003 Defence, which was the worst effort in then 155 years of America's Cup history shows that while the Kiwis withdrew from two of the five races, in the other three the average margin between New Zealand and Alinghi was less that achieved by any other team in the Challenger series.
A big factor in the win was the acquisition of Russell Couts and the Tight Five from the New Zealand team plus other departures. Will that happen again? Unlikely. The lessons have been well learned, and the situation will not be repeated.
While some see a mooted AC50 series as posing a threat to the America's Cup, that too is unlikely. The boats are quite different. The AC50 series will likely be sailed using multinational crews. There will be a lot of work required to put the Series together. And it is not the America's Cup.
The biggest obstacle to the Cup being staged in Auckland is that of time and deadlines. The close of entries is June 2018. The sign-off for a hosting agreement for Auckland has to be achieved by August 2018 or earlier, and the bases have to be ready for team base construction less than 12 months later.
 | | Leg 02, Lisbon to Cape Town, Day 01, on board Vestas 11th Hour. 05 November, 2017. © Martin Keruzore / Volvo Ocean Race |
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Good sailing!
Richard Gladwell
NZ Editor
sailworldnzl@gmail.com
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 | | Team AkzoNobel - Start of Leg 2. Day 1 from Lisbon to Cape Town. 05 November, 2017. © Ainhoa Sanchez/Volvo Ocean Race |
 | | MAPFRE - Start of Leg 2. Day 1 from Lisbon to Cape Town. 05 November, 2017. © Ainhoa Sanchez/Volvo Ocean Race |
 | | Leg 02, Lisbon to Cape Town, day 02, Night on board Dongfeng. 06 November, 2017. © Jeremie Lecaudey / Volvo Ocean Race |
 | | Mid-fleet action - Volvo Ocean Race, Leg 2 Start - Lisbon, November 5, 2017 Eugenia Bakunova |
 | | Ludde Ingvall's 98ft Maxi, CQS is Line Honours favourite for the 2017 RORC Transatlantic Race, part of the Atlantic Anniversary Regatta © Rolex/ Kurt Arrigo |
 | | Team AkzoNobel. Volvo Ocean Race. 06 November, 2017. © James Blake / Volvo Ocean Race |
 | | Simeon Tienpont. Aboard Team AkzoNobel. Volvo Ocean Race. 06 November, 2017. © James Blake / Volvo Ocean Race |
 | | Leg 02, Lisbon to Cape Town, day 01, start on board MAPFRE. Volvo Ocean Race. 06 November, 2017 © Ugo Fonolla / Volvo Ocean Race |
 | | Leg 02, Lisbon to Cape Town, Day 1 on board Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag. Volvo Ocean Race. 06 November, 2017. © Konrad Frost / Volvo Ocean Race |
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