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Page 8. MAINE COASTAL NEWS February 2015 Waterfront News America's Cup News


IAIN MURRAY APPOINTED AS REGATTA DIRECTOR FOR 2017 AMERICA’S CUP


The Competitor Forum, comprising the six teams registered for the 2017 America’s Cup, has appointed Iain Murray as Regatta Director. Murray is a former America’s Cup skipper who also served as Regatta Director in the last America’s Cup.


Murray started in his role as of Decem- ber 1 and has already been meeting with the teams as well as Commercial Commissioner Harvey Schiller via regular Competitor Fo- rum conference calls.


Murray says he sees his appointment to a second term as Regatta Director as an opportunity to advance the America’s Cup forward beyond what was achieved last time.


“Leading into the last America’s Cup, there were so many major changes and collectively we learned so much about how to design, build and race these foiling mul- tihulls,” Murray said. “Now we have the chance to fi ne-tune and make adjustments to make it even better. “Whether it’s the conversion to foiling


AC45s for the America’s Cup World Series, the new AC62s, the spectator experience, or the safety mechanisms - last time we really had to fi nd our way. This time we have a template to work from and I expect we’ll see improvements across the board.” In his role as Regatta Director, Murray will work in collaboration with all of the teams as well as Commercial Commissioner Harvey Schiller in setting the competitive parameters for the event.


Murray is required to nominate Regatta


Offi cials, including a Measurement Com- mittee and Umpires, as well as administer the Regatta Offi cials Fund to a budget agreed by the competitors. Each team contributes in equal measure to the Fund, initially through their entry fees.


“I’ve already seen a strong spirit of co- operation between the teams,” Murray said. “We’re focused on getting ready for the fi rst America’s Cup World Series events in the new foiling versions of the AC45s, as well as pulling together a measurement committee and fi nalizing some details about the AC62. Everybody is contributing and the process is working well.”


Spithill: “We can’t wait to get on the water in Bermuda”


ORACLE TEAM USA skipper Jimmy Spithill is in Bermuda this week, along with other team members, to lay the groundwork


for a smooth transition for the team as it moves to the new host venue of the Ameri- ca’s Cup over the coming weeks. “The objective of being here this week is to start work on setting up our base, our new home, in Bermuda. It’s been fantastic to get here and feel the energy and expe- rience the welcoming we’re getting from Bermudians,” Spithill told the local media on Tuesday morning at Dockyard, on the west end of the island. “Our plan at ORACLE TEAM USA is to be sailing out on the Great Sound at the beginning of May. It’s important for us to hit that deadline, so we’re working to put a plan in place to achieve that. Our team members, the designers, the athletes, their families and kids, we’re all coming here to Bermuda from about now onwards really - looking for houses, schools, getting integrated into the local community. For me personally, having been here the past few days, the local people here are really behind it. I have no doubt we’re going to have a fantastic America’s Cup here.”


The new ORACLE TEAM USA base will be set up at Dockyard, which is where all team bases will be located as well as the public village for the America’s Cup com- petition in 2017. ORACLE TEAM USA will set up the


fi rst team base and Spithill says it needs to be operational as soon as possible. “From a work point of view, the plan that we’re going through this week with ACBDA (America’s Cup Bermuda), WEDCO (the West End Development Corporation) and BCM McAlpine and others is going to result in a very functional, effi cient base so that our designers and engineers have a great spot, our athletes have the working area they need and the on-water operations is all integrated. The thing is that the race track is right here as well, so I think we will be very effi cient and very productive when we are here working. “It’s very important to ORACLE


TEAM USA to get set up here fi rst,” Spithill continued. “I look at it like we’re the home team - we’re responsible for the Cup coming to Bermuda, we’ll be the fi rst ones to set up here and get integrated into the community. And in my experience, it’s so important to have the home crowd behind you. The local Bermudians are going to be a big part of the result. We need them to get behind our team if we want to win. That’s a key part. It was key last time. We want to welcome them with open arms they way they’ve welcomed us. It will make a difference to us.


“I think people here will be blown


ORACLE's team base to be sent up at Great Sound, Bermuda.


away when they see these boats,” Spithill concluded, talking about the foiling AC45 and AC62 catamarans used in the America’s Cup racing. “Most people, when they think sailing, they think of cruising boats. When they see us here sailing for our training ses- sions, they’ll think they’re looking at some kind of spacecraft. These boats literally fl y. They do over 80km/h (50mph) on the water. They have to be powered by just the wind


BELFAST – Sailing Alone Around the World. Did Captain Joshua Slocum start the sailing/boating fi rst person genre? Or in other words, “I think I’ll get in a boat, go somewhere and write my story to impress all who will pay to read about it”. The answer is yes and no. There were plenty of travel nar- ratives written before Slocum (e.g. Twain’s Innocents Abroad) and lots of ship captain journals. What marked Slocum was that he prearranged to have the book serialized in The Century Magazine. So his story wasn’t “found narrative” – a journal written for other purposes but published at a later date. Slocum knew his words were going to press before he wrote them. It was also the nature of his voyage that made a difference. He was circumnavigating for fun.


What Slocum did do was open the fl ood gates. If Slocum could do it, so can I. Now you can read not only about sailing around the world, but also taking a small boat across the United States coast to coast or canoeing from New Hampshire to Alaska.


Stories range from of one person against the sea to MAINE’S INDUSTRIAL LEADER


AIR FILTRATION-DUST FUME CONTROL- STYRENE-ODOR - PAINT & BLAST BOOTHS DESIGN-INSTALLATION-SERVICE-OSHA COMPLIANCE


and the athletes on board. I think people will be really impressed and I think kids will be really excited by it too. Hopefully it helps groom a new generat ion of sailors.” ORACLE TEAM USA has a final training session scheduled in San Francisco next month before moving its operations to Bermuda, with a target to start training sessions on the Great Sound at the beginning of May.


The Dangers of Singlehanded Sailing


whole families – from serious to downright hilarious. Nautical Scribe Books in Belfast has over 200 sailing/boating fi rst person narratives. This winter when your boat is stored sit by the fi re and enjoy what others did with their boats. And, if you think books are passé you can watch a DVD. How about Alone Against the Sea: The Dangers of Solo Sailing – the stories of fi ve sailors that ven- tured out alone.


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