Keeping it in proportion
Maxi 72 manager Rob Weiland suggests a little (cost) pruning in the sport
On leg 5 the top of the mast on Dongfeng decided it had had enough and, although a bit of added publicity helped underline that this is a tough race, I guess as race organis- ers you are first happy nobody got hurt and then worried about the shrinking competi- tion. Difficult day for the Dongfeng team but also for Volvo race CEO Knut Frostad. A few days ago I attended the RC44 Malta event by invitation of Yachting Events Malta (a new initiative to promote sailing in Malta). As the brochure says, ‘the cleanest waters and the wind factory of the Mediterranean’. Eleven RC44s battling on courses set by Peter Reggio in a variety of conditions. Yachting Events made it look as if they have been around for a while. They set the bar high and at their first attempt jumped over it in gracious style. This was also my first encounter with RC44 racing and its manager Bertrand Favre. Bertrand is a regular in my mailbox as for years now he has been making brave attempts to streamline class scheduling to minimise clashes. The RC44 is an ‘out the box’ or shall I say ‘in the box’ concept. Masterminded by Russell Coutts, the concept is to supply owners with not just a boat but also a well-run series with good class management and logistics support. The RC44 is really a mini ‘old AC-style’ dayracer. Owner-driver fleet racing mixed with open-driver match racing and a 50 per cent pro crew limit. I knew all the pro crew in Malta. Great guys and, yes, ‘the best in the business’, but such is their popularity that event scheduling is often dominated by facilitating crew travel instead of where and when best to race. To give an example, avoiding Maxi 72 and TP52 crew duplica- tions forces tough decisions; to schedule a start for both classes at an event like the Copa del Rey simply does not work. To be fair this is not just the result of the pros putting pressure on the classes but also owners indicating they like to race with their favourite pros. To such an extent that they’d rather avoid an event than settle for key crew changes. If it was only about Maxi 72s and TP52s life would be easy, but unfortunately the scheduling puzzle covers an ever-growing number of popular events as well as Melges 32, Farr 40, RC44, TP52 and Maxi72 regattas.
The biggest commercial events (like the Volvo and the America’s Cup) try to avoid clashing, not just with each other, but also with F1, the Olympics, important soccer events and so on. As a result the ‘Bertrand Calendar’ also shows the World Match Racing Tour, Extreme Sailing Series, D35,
26 SEAHORSE
Subtle as a brick through the proverbial plate-glass window… the latest Botín-designed TP52 for the Quantum team will not be hard to spot during this year’s Super Series
America’s Cup, Soto40, GC32, Melges 20, J/70s plus classic offshore events… Bertrand does a good job but sometimes we still clash. In February I was in Antigua to check out the RORC Caribbean 600 and in Janu- ary to witness what with hindsight was the final Key West Race Week organised by Peter Craig and his Premiere Racing team. The RORC Caribbean 600 is potentially a tough race, as is any 600nm offshore. With good breeze and sun guaranteed it is a fast and fun race. A great addition to the calen- dar that attracts a wide mix of boats and crew. From slower than slow to MOD70 fast, from picked-up at a bar to AC pro. RORC and Antigua Yacht Club make a strong pairing, especially as island politics are, as everywhere, complicated. A good event with potential to become a classic. Peter Craig and Premiere Racing have more than done their bit for US racing and are to be praised for creating Key West Race Week and keeping it going for 21 years. The event, in my humble opinion, was and is the door to US yacht racing, a truly international event and a good reason to cross the Atlantic. That door would have closed a few years ago if it were not for Doug DeVos and Quantum Sails stepping in to help. As everywhere, traditional sponsor partnerships had dwindled in Key West. Doug is no stranger to putting his money where his sailing heart is, but that does not make his actions any less special. Personally, I feel that a realistic model to overcome the decline in sponsorship and community support for sailing events is a more direct relation between entry fee and event costs. This does not only bring the cash required but also contributes to the interest that participants take in an event. Organisers and participants in a way become partners instead of provider and consumer. But quality attracts interest and survives.
Sooner or later non-sailing partners will become interested again. The excellent news is that now Peter Craig has found a new home with the Superyacht Associa- tion, Key West looks likely to survive in the capable hands of the Storm Trysail Club. Again with support from Doug DeVos. Storm Trysail is one of those initiatives that make you believe in human nature. Founded simply as ‘By Sailors For Sailors’, you could add ‘Minimum Bullshit and Good Fun’. The right people at the right time, but also they need all the help they can get. So get your 2016 calendar out and mark the third week of January 2016 with a big ‘Key West’… and spread the word. Today Luna Rossa pulled the plug on the AC, Mr Bertelli clearly feels betrayed. From the info available it is impossible to completely assess the situation. Certainly the goalposts were moved and it looks like they were moved outside the pitch. The AC is in fact run by the competitors and this brings wealth that invites even the strongest legs to wobble. Add that Russell Coutts does not just aim to defend the Cup, but also to divorce the Cup from its her- itage and use its name and selling power to promote an F1-style catamaran series. You can agree or disagree with his vision but right now adding this secondary (primary for some) interest adds controversy; and the mix of interests has the potential to destroy the Cup completely. A big gamble. Setting the protocol and rules always was part of the AC game and we frequently witnessed that great sailors are not neces- sarily skilled and fair organisers. They are trained to focus on winning, we might add ‘at all cost’. Add loads of money, large pay cheques and the plot to get hold of the AC title for a type of event that certainly was not in the mind of those behind the Deed of Gift and you have a deadly cocktail… q
QUANTUM RACING/KEITH BRASH
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