Cup Fever Returns


Inaugural America’s Cup World Series Event Delivers By David Schmidt


For Cup fans, this has been an


exciting few weeks. The first event in the America’s Cup World Series (ACWS) just wrapped up in Cascais, Portugal, signaling the official end to a lengthy hiatus between multi- team Cup-level racing. If Cascais is a harbinger of what’s to follow, consider yourself advised to start booking hotel rooms in San Francisco for AC34, to be held in September of 2013, as well as accommodation in San Diego, California (November 12-20, 2011) and Newport, Rhode Island (June 23 to July 1, 2012), as the ACWS road show is headed to a coast near you. But first, Cascais. For anyone just getting up to


speed, racing has officially started in the brand-new wingsail-powered AC45 class catamarans. These speed machines were designed as a One Design introduction to multi-hull hard- wingsail racing, so as not to give the Defender too big an advantage come AC34 when each team will have to design and build their own 72-foot cat. But while OD racing was the game in Cascais, the rules—and the way regatta was broadcast—were almost as high- tech as the boats themselves. Which brings up the boats. AC45s are light, fast, and responsive enough to 48° NORTH, SEPTEMBER 2011 PAGE 58


AC45s are capable of flying hulls in mere zephyrs and accelerating on the faintest suggestion of a puff… this translated to jaw-on-the- ground spectator participation as wingsail-powered boats


were match racing upwind at 15 knots. Off the breeze, the cameras don’t lie: sheets of


water splintering back at the crews, many of whom were sustaining maxed-out heart rates as they put these physical beasts through their paces.


handle Cup-level match racers. Sounds a lot like the 2007 Cup, except AC45s are capable of flying hulls in mere zephyrs and accelerating on the faintest suggestion of a puff—not exactly the same program as the old war-horse America’s Cup Class sloops. In Cascais, this translated to jaw-on-the-ground spectator participation as wingsail- powered boats were match racing upwind at 15 knots. Off the breeze, the cameras don’t lie: sheets of water splintering back at the crews, many of whom were sustaining maxed-out heart


rates as they put these physical beasts through their paces. And since AC45s don’t carry a particularly wide beam (read: form stability), movable ballast (read: crew weight) is essential for these boats to stay flat and in control. The translation from fantasyland to the foredeck? Get the sheets and wing trimmed on fast and then immediately start hiking out. For fans, this spelled out furious moments of activity, followed by a brief respite, then more furious motion, as skippers were racing these twitchy machines as if they were mere dinghies, catching micro lifts and tacking on minute headers. Sound tactical enough for Cup racing? Just don’t forget to layer on the prerequisite fear of capsizing that was likely lurking on every sailor’s mind, especially as the loads—and the speeds—spiked. When Ellison won the Cup in


2010, his major initiative was to revolutionize the Auld Mug and create a TV-friendly, “Facebook-generation” event. Enter high-speed cats, wingsails, “stadium sailing,” and a made-for-TV presentation. Ace navigator Stan Honey was hired to create on-screen lines, helping non-sailing TV viewers discern the action. Sound familiar? Honey, it will be remembered, brought virtual first-down lines to televised football in 1998. The racing rules also got a serious tweaking. For example, each boat has been fitted with electronic equipment that alerts the crew—via light-up displays and land-based judges—if they have incurred a penalty. Also new are the off-the-wind starts and a combination format of fleet racing and match racing. I’ll admit that I was somewhat


skeptical before this event. Oracle Racing, the Defender, has a massive lead when it comes to wingsail technology and modern multihulls. True, AC45s are an OD class, but Oracle Racing has two of these speed machines (every other team has one), which they have been actively two-boat testing for months. Thankfully, my misgivings were quickly dispelled. Emirates Team New Zealand


(ETNZ) looked strong throughout the regatta. Yes, they sustained a well- publicized MOB incident, but they still managed to win that race, as well as most of their other contests. Spithill bested ENTZ skipper Dean Barker


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