Mr Rules
In theory… but in Bermuda in 2017 then Emirates Team New Zealand’s rules advisor Luis Saenz was also seen diving beneath the Great Sound for a missing rudder foil
Since his America’s Cup debut in 1998 Luis Saenz has accrued enormous experi- ence in the event that dominates his life, first as a sailor and then as a rules expert. His Cup anecdotes range from the OneWorld saga of 2003 to the wholesale mutiny against skipper Pedro Campos during the Bravo Spain campaign…
Seahorse:When did you start in the America’s Cup? Luis Saenz: It was in 1989, in the Spanish team of Pedro Campos for the San Diego Cup of 1992. I was sailing Maxis before I joined Pedro’s team. But I was so stupid I went skiing at Christmas, fell down and damaged a meniscus. Our coach was Peter Lester and he suggested, ‘You study law and speak English, why not focus on the rules instead? We have forgotten most of them and we can do with some help!’ That’s how I started to specialise in the rules of the America’s Cup. SH: And after that… LS: In the early part of Pedro’s Spanish campaign for 1995 I was again helping out with rule interpretations, but I had already decided to prepare for the State Attorney exams and as a result I could not attend many regattas. I ended up doing badly in both, as a sailing rules advisor and in my State exams… I learned that I can only do one thing at a time! In 2000 I did a double campaign. I
started in Auckland with Bravo Spain, who actually had a good team, and when they were eliminated Dennis Conner hired me for his programme. I had won several protests against Stars & Stripes and Dennis took me on initially to help with a big protest against Prada. They seemed quite happy with my work and asked me to be the team’s lawyer for 2003. Then when Alinghi won in Auckland I
worked for a couple of years preparing the candidacy of Valencia as Cup venue for 2007; once that was achieved I moved to Luna Rossa in 2005 for the Cup itself. After 2007 I continued with Patrizio
Bertelli, but because of the big fight with Oracle and the court battles the Italian
Above: OneWorld, skippered by Peter Gilmour and steered by an up-and-coming Jimmy Spithill, spent a lot of their time mired in controversy during the 2003 America’s Cup in New Zealand and raced the Louis Vuitton Cup carrying a penalty for illegally obtaining design secrets from Prada (to windward) and from the Cup Defender Team New Zealand
team did not return to the Cup until after 2010 when I rejoined for 2013. Subsequently, after San Francisco, I
approached Team New Zealand with a proposal but in the end returned to Luna Rossa; however, after Oracle changed the rules – and the boat – for the 2017 event Bertelli got angry and left. I went back to work as a normal lawyer though I also accompanied the Spanish Olympic team in Rio 2016. After finishing the Olympic Games Team New Zealand (by now backed by Luna Rossa) called me up, because they had a serious problem with the interpretation of the rules concerning their boat’s clever control system. So I joined the team with the specific mission of taking care of AC50 class rule issues. SH:Was this also about the cyclor system? LS: Yes, to some extent. But the big ques- tions were more around the foiling-control system, the trim console for the wing, the wheel controls and so on. There was so much innovation going on with Grant Dalton’s team that it was a constant battle! SH:How did you deal with all of this? LS: Previously at Luna Rossa we had managed to have the class rule changed – really reinterpreted – about how the crew powered the hydraulics and the winches. We were already working on the idea of bicycles; in fact, Luna Rossa transferred their research to TNZ when they consid- ered this option for their boat. The rule had said that the buttons of the
winches had to be ‘manually operated’, but I said that the transmission buttons were being foot-operated so nobody was actually operating them by hand. It was necessary to change that definition ‘by hand’ so it was approved that the buttons did not have to be hand-operated… Quite subtly we were of course making
the development of the bikes possible! All that said, by now everyone knew that pedalling could generate more power
– but once again only the Kiwis had the courage to develop the concept, along with new hydraulic pumps and all of the associ- ated electronics. SH: But after Bermuda you signed for American Magic… LS:What I can say is that fortunately I had several offers and in the end I chose the New York Yacht Club and American Magic. I think it’s the ‘best club’ for the Cup for many reasons. I was with them for 2003 with Dennis Conner and this seemed like an extraordinary opportunity. It’s a big responsibility of course, but especially for me it is a privilege. It is the reference club in the history of the Cup; they were the creators of the event and they held the trophy for over 130 years. In addition, the American Magic team is extraordinary, very talented. It is an incredible honour to be with them. SH:What has been the most important case that you have faced during so many years involved in the America’s Cup? LS: It’s difficult, there have been many. The case that made a dent in the history of the Cup maybe was the Stars & Stripes protest against OneWorld in 2003. That really was a serious case of espionage; we protested, as did Prada and Team New Zealand, against OneWorld for industrial espionage. The case was very, very, very complicated due to the relevance of the infringement and also due to the ‘actions’ of some of those people involved. SH:Over the years you must have won some difficult protests and lost supposedly easy ones? LS: As Conner says, you’re never favourite before an audience. The real chances are always 50-50. For, whatever the case you have, when you enter the jury room there is always uncertainty. What I try to do while presenting a protest when I am convinced of being right is to minimise the chances of being disqualified. Even then there is always a risk.
SEAHORSE 53
CARLO BORLENGHI
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