Update
The TP52 Super Series’s second visit to Key West was a big success and may now become a biennial fixture, subject to the tricky issue of scheduling. With many – in fact most – TP52 crew also fully engaged with Maxi72 programmes, assembling a timetable for two fleets that both like to travel to similarly attractive venues and with reliable sailing conditions is not easy. But the rewards are OK
BICYCLES, THE BOARDROOM AND THE BLACKOUT – Jack Griffin
Emirates Team New Zealand have some big differences of opinion with the other five competitors. Back in March 2015 the Kiwis supported then Challenger of Record Luna Rossa and voted against moving from the AC62 to the smaller America’s Cup Class yachts. In January of this year the other five teams announced a Framework Agreement governing the next two editions of the Cup; the Kiwis are holdouts. In February the Kiwis launched their ACC race yacht with bicycle grinding stations while everyone else has gone with traditional pedestals. Let’s take a look at all of these issues.
Training blackout
In 2015, when the Kiwis sided with Luna Rossa in voting against abandoning the AC62 Rule, ACEA’s commercial commissioner responded by announcing that the round robin AC Qualifiers would be sailed in Bermuda rather than in Auckland. New Zealand gov- ernment funding dried up on the spot. ETNZ lodged a protest with the AC arbitration board which at the time had yet to be appointed. Confidentiality rules were added to the Protocol prohibiting the
parties from so much as acknowledging that there was a case in arbitration, much less what the issues and decisions were. One apparent result was that a 28-day ‘blackout period’ was imposed on all teams – coincidentally ceding ETNZ some catch-up time. The Protocol had originally set the earliest allowed launch date for the new ACC yachts to 150 days before the first race of the round robin AC Qualifiers – ie 27 December 2016.
Oracle, SoftBank Team Japan, Land Rover BAR and Artemis Racing were training in Bermuda. The New Zealanders had decided to stay in Auckland until March, so they were faced with losing training time while their raceboat was shipped to Bermuda. The French faced the same problem but with a far shorter transit. The blackout period was meant to equalise training time for all teams.
Framework agreement
Looking to the future, all the current America’s Cup teams, except the Kiwis, have put in place an agreement to hold America’s Cup matches in 2019 and 2021, sailed in a slightly modified version
8 SEAHORSE
of the current AC Class yachts. The venue is to be selected by the then current Defender. In the past uncertainty about the next America’s Cup has thwarted attempts to put it on a stable commercial footing. Teams cannot commit, sponsorship cannot be sold and other commercial arrange- ments cannot be made until questions are answered about when, where, how and in which boats the next edition will be sailed. The Framework Agreement attempts to solve those problems but, unless the Kiwis come onboard, the uncertainty continues as long as they are in the running for the Cup Match.
When the Framework Agreement was announced ETNZ stated that they ‘believe the future America’s Cup format should be decided by the Defender and Challenger of Record as it has historically been’. At face value that statement neither challenges the validity of the Framework Agreement, nor does it explain why the Kiwis did not join. The Framework Agreement was carefully written to respect the Deed of Gift. Think of it this way: these five clubs/teams have simply agreed with each other what they will require from a hip- pocket challenger. You can be sure that the Kiwis will also agree on terms with a hip-pocket challenger if they make it to the Match.
Bicycles
Emirates Team New Zealand show their differences of opinion about ergonomics too. They took most people by surprise when they launched their raceboat in February with bicycle grinding stations. All the other teams considered bicycle grinding but rejected it, feeling that the gains in power did not offset the difficulty of getting on and off the bikes.
The America’s Cup Class yachts need enormous amounts of power from the four grinders onboard. The competition may come down to which team has the best system for generating, storing and distributing that power. The class rule calls for three hydraulic accumulators of 4.8 litres each with a maximum operating pressure of 350 bar. One of the accumulators can be used for daggerboard rake, and nothing else. The other two can be used to raise and lower the daggerboards, and nothing else. Together the three accumulators can provide enough oil pressure for one tack or gybe. This means that the crew need to grind steadily to repressurise
PAUL TODD/OUTSIDE
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88
