News Around the World


including his small catamaran in his backyard. He is a builder and so is a busy man now, but he said, ‘You know what is interesting, nothing is here. No birds, no snakes, no lizards. We used to have sparrows darting around the bushes but they were too small to fly any distance so didn’t survive the fires, and haven’t come back...’ And then of course Covid hit, with an impact not seen in my life-


time. Restrictions have been imposed in a far from perfect world. Events are scheduled and cancelled, and lockdowns are imposed. What has been interesting to observe is people’s attitudes to cancellations and complications… Offering some perspective to this, during my weekly phone calls


to my parents in the Channel Island of Jersey, I chat with both of them, firstly to my father, who as a boy was evacuated from the dock area of Bristol to a quieter life far from the night-time air raids in the Scottish countryside. And then always a longer conversation with my mother, who as a child grew up on Jersey during the five- year German occupation without her father – my grandfather – who was imprisoned and then worked as a forced labourer for Organ- isation Todt, with thousands of others in unspeakable conditions. 2020 was a disruptive and in many cases a tragic year, but I


woke this morning with a roof over my head, food in the fridge, hot water, clothes and friends and family at the end of a phone call. That is five gold boxes ticked. And a Hobart planned for 2021, plus an invitation to many Finn regattas when we move forward into the broad, sunlit uplands after this Covid beast has been tamed. I am also reminded that 12 months ago in Sydney I stood in a


recording studio, voicing the lyrics to a poem I wrote called Tomorrow is Hope, to raise funds for the bushfire relief; the final three lines to the piece are ‘Together we will get through this, together we will be stronger, together, we will overcome.’ It was Tom Slingsby who, when I first interviewed him 12 years


ago, stressed that a great deal of his early success had come from being reminded he had two ears and one mouth – and to use them in that order. And so after a challenging 12 months I find it even more important to surround myself with positive people. People who have the smarts, resilience and wisdom not to react with outrage at every perceived slight made against them on or off the water. And I also take the time to look out of the window, to see the small sparrows flitting around my garden. Blue Robinson


USA


Whither AC weather How much can a weather forecast influence an America’s Cup race that lasts only 25-30 minutes at an inshore venue on boats that speed on foils at 30-40kt+? Well, it turns out to be really important. Understanding the weather in a complex place like Auckland can definitely bring an edge. So to avoid the massive size, complexity and costs seen among the weather crews in previous AC cycles, current Cup rules mean that teams now share their observations so they can focus on analysis, not gathering data. This is one of several interesting points that arose from a program


offered by American Magic weather man Chris Bedford in a recent discussion with veteran AC navigator Peter Isler. The two devised a free program on AC weather which they then used to promote a series of lessons on Isler’s online learning platform, Marine Weather University. Lessons offered run from basic principles to in-depth topics designed to improve performance in inshore and offshore racing and passage making; it is becoming a valuable resource for both new and experienced navigators and sailors of all types. Perhaps presciently Isler had been working on this well over a


year ago, long before students were forced towards online learning, so its popularity has been given an unexpected boost in these pan- demic times. Bedford met Isler in 1987 in Fremantle when both were part of the winning Stars and Stripes team. This is his 10th AC cycle. In an hour-long segment Bedford takes the lead in explain- ing the factors that contribute to devising accurate forecasts for the five race areas east of Auckland, including of course the part played by local geography. Being a small landmass wedged between


32 SEAHORSE


the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean, Auckland is influenced by both, much as how Long Island lies between the Sound and the Atlantic – ‘but on steroids, ten times more complex’ he says. The life of an AC meteo expert is not easy: the first daily forecast


the team expects is at 0700, which requires hours of pre-dawn work in analysis and interpretation. Then there’s a planning meeting with the afterguard to agree on the day’s plan, whether training, racing or even maintenance, because each has a unique weather- related input to the gameplan. Unlike in other AC cycles, the dock- out time is not in the morning with a large entourage following on a large support boat… In 2021 the first races are not until 1500, the race areas are close, and the boats can get out there fast. The support boat is small and fast and cannot accommodate a


met team, so Bedford remains ashore in direct comms with Ander- son Reggio, the American Magic performance manager, CEO Terry Hutchinson and any other afterguard members who may need weather input up until 10-15 minutes before race time. With an array of cameras, sensors and observation posts all


reporting online, Bedford has no shortage of information to monitor what’s happening, and after racing then conducts a debrief with the team as well as providing a forecast for the next day so the overnight maintenance crews know what to add to their lists. He’s typically not home until 2100 or later… long days indeed. Another part of the job is developing the models needed to provide


the longterm forecasting, most crucially for the trim and equipment – especially foil – declaration that must be made no more than 120 hours before the start of the next round. Foil type, rig set-up, sails and other important decisions are then reliant not only on the fore- cast, but even more critically upon confidence in that forecast. It’s not far off when they say you can get ‘four seasons in one


day’ in Auckland – the area’s position between two large masses of water along with complicated island and headland terrains create varied conditions that change very quickly. Bedford says the pre- vailing feature in the Austral summer is the fight between the early- morning northeast seabreeze from the Hauraki Gulf and the later southwest seabreeze from the Tasman. And which one will win by start time at 1500… ‘This is as complex a place as I have ever worked,’ says Bedford, ‘and I love it. This requires all my career’s skills and training, with one exception: there is no snow here!’ Isler weighs in with another factor often overlooked for high-speed


boats: tidal current. The water running in and out of the harbour is significant and, with the preferred course area C lying close to the entrance, North Head and Rangitoto Island, the current can hit 2kt at maximum flood or ebb. ‘We already saw examples of missed laylines in the Christmas racing, and for sure to have to tack in these boats is more expensive than in past Cup boats,’ he says. On a more personal note, Isler concedes that he misses being


at home in San Diego and not part of this Cup cycle, the first he’s sat out since sailing with Dennis in 1987… Yet maybe distance has given him some valuable perspective. ‘At first I didn’t think this would be that interesting, but now I’m caught up in it completely,’ he said. ‘Yes, the boats are not like the older monohulls in being closer to what we all actually sail. And the match racing is really different. But I look at this in a much broader way, from the per- spective of where this is in the whole sport. ‘It’s amazing that sailing spans such a broad range of enjoyment:


from junior sailors to beach cats to skiffs to Olympic classes, from trailerable keelboats to offshore monohulls and multihulls, there is so much variety. I can’t think of another sport that has this range.’ In Isler’s view, the America’s Cup does not actually have to relate


to any of these but can remain in its own sphere as a viable event where it is hugely difficult to achieve success, and still be interesting and inspiring for its physical and technological challenges. He also has little time for those who want to twist the Cup into being some- thing it’s not: for example, while it is being played now with spec- tators in mind, it’s not a game that has franchises and a league and is in need of a commissioner. ‘The AC is just really cool in its own right. People should enjoy it for its own merits.’ Dobbs Davis


q


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