PAUL TODD/OUTSIDE IMAGES
Update
Mate… if Kiwi Magic’s original skipper and tactician Chris Dickson and Brad Butterworth had stepped on in 1987 to find the bowman wearing a crash helmet they would have dropped him for somebody with more confidence in their spatial awareness. Or who at least was prepared to properly take one for the team… different times. One of only three GRP 12 Metres ever built, KZ-7 never looked better
was where 12 Metre action was to be found. At night they were right and the Candy Store (aka the Clarke Cook House, one of the regatta sponsors) was more than pleased to accommodate them, as were the other restaurant/bars. Other regatta sites take note. Serious? If the head of the 2021 Challenger of Record, Patrizio
Bertelli, didn’t think so, why would he have entered his two Twelves with star-studded crews: Kookaburra II with Torben Grael and Nyala with Mauro Pelaschier as helmsmen? Torben had his work cut out in the Grand Prix division but did manage a couple of wins against the three ex-New Zealand boats, while Mauro had an almost perfect score with Nyala in the Vintage division. Focus of attention was necessarily on the Modern Division where
eight boats that had seen Cup duty arrived with some of their Cup crews onboard. Calling the shots on Courageouswas the man who had occupied that position 42 years earlier, Gary Jobson. He was without his Cup-winning skipper Ted Turner, who attended the regatta but was not well enough to sail. But Courageous placed first once and that helped her to third overall in division. The competition in this division didn’t stop with the leaders, with
the likes of Intrepid, Freedomand Defender in the group. Defender had her own story. She was up for charter for the event and that was just too much for Californian Dick Enersen who had been part of the Defender team back in the day. He felt certain he should be at this regatta and when he heard she was available he stepped up to the plate. He had over the years lost some of his touch but is still no slouch. In the four-boat Grand Prix division, where the post-Newport Cup
boats competed, the racing was closer than elsewhere. These were boats with winged or bulbed keels and none of them were with their original owners. Legacy (KZ-5), now in the Danish hands of Jesper Bank, started with four first places before letting New Zealand (KZ-3) of locals Gunther and Maggie Buerman into the act. And then the next win was that of Kookaburra II (KA-12) in the hands of Torben Grael, sailing for the Prada team. Mighty Kiwi Magic (KZ-7), also in Danish hands, was consistently last… Perhaps the closest racing was between the two yachts in the Spirit division, somewhat unsurprisingly. They are both owned by
16 SEAHORSE
the New York Harbor Sailing Foundation and both were named America II, but numbered US-42 and US-46. Michael Fortenbaugh in US-42 beat Scott Curtis by a single point. The entire regatta was well organised by the Ida Lewis YC, who
in the past has been responsible for the racing in the Challenger selection trials. This time, characteristically, the organisation was faultless. The boats too were remarkable, as Gary Jobson put it: ‘Really these boats were built for one campaign, maybe as a trial horse later, but it is a testament to the people who in 1907 created the 12 Metre Rule. ‘Experience does count in 12 Metres. They are very physical
boats that are hard to operate, but they are here. Will the foiling cats be here in 42 years’ time? Not a chance.’
AND TODAY – Andy Rice SailGP has made a big splash in a short time. Since its glamorous launch last autumn by the River Thames in the shadow of Tower Bridge, there has been a big song and dance about ‘redefining sail- ing’. Based on what I saw in Cowes in August, Russell Coutts’ vision is indeed powering on. The F50 catamarans, direct descendants of the AC50s used in the 2017 America’s Cup, are already signif- icantly faster, and going faster still with every event. The reintroduction of downforce into the windward rudder made
it possible for three teams to exceed 50kt for the first time. Dylan Fletcher and Team Great Britain were first to do it, swiftly followed by Team Australia and Team Japan a day later. There’s no doubt that with more automation than is currently permitted the boats could go even faster and with less jeopardy. But Coutts is keen to strike the balance between crew skill and ‘driver aids’. In one particularly marginal bearaway in Cowes, when the breeze
was gusting 25kt on a choppy wave state, the F50 crews could do with all the automated assistance they could get their hands on. For one moment it looked as if all six boats might be gone at the same time. As it was, all but Team USA survived, Rome Kirby’s boat standing on its ear for what seemed like an eternity before finally conceding defeat.
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