Editorial Andrew Hurst Harsh but true
‘After much deliberation and taking into account logistical and commercial considerations, SailGP has made the difficult decision to pause the participation of Japan SailGP Team indefinitely. The league would like to thank Nathan Outteridge and all of the athletes… and wish them well for the future.’
So sayeth the Russell Coutts-led SailGP organisation after the
Olympic gold medallist and runner-up in last year’s series failed to find sufficient backing to continue – or perhaps less backing than some other new teams lining up to join the circuit could bring. Outteridge is a double Olympic medallist in the 49ers, Moth
World Champion and a regular top-level participant in both SailGP and the America’s Cup itself. But there is a reason why the New Zealand-resident Australian is such a standout America’s Cup com- mentator as well as being an exceptional sportsman, in every sense of the word, and so unsurprisingly he was very gracious in being ‘excused from further participation’. ‘This series is not just about the racing on the water, it’s about
making the teams commercially successful,’ he said in reply to the announcement. ‘And we haven’t got the backing to continue. It’s in the interests of every top sailor that SailGP succeeds, to do so there will have to be pain along the way.’ So SailGP suffers its first major departure (Team China slipped
away almost unnoticed last year) as the ranks are thinned to give the series its best chance of commercial sustainability before Larry Ellison starts to wind back his enormous cash injections. Coutts has never pretended to be aiming for a much larger fleet
of F50 cats; that is not how a pinnacle series succeeds in any sport. He knows that when underfunded F1 teams come to the Grand Prix grid they usually end up being an embarrassment, detracting from the elite image of a global TV sport. F1 grids are now strictly limited – the entry bond would easily fund a large IT start-up. Coutts is aiming at around 12 super high-quality teams maximum.
towed onto their foils, that has the opposite effect. And this is the conundrum for a series with lofty commercial ambitions. For so long as hosting fees make up such a big proportion of
the organiser’s revenues, there is little alternative but to follow the public money. Once – we hope – more of the teams become self- sustainable then, as in the TP52s, the teams themselves will get the biggest say in venue choice, as now they will be underwriting the budgets (unless organisers get greedy and try to maximise both income streams at the same time… bad idea.) So it is only by continually paring down teams running out of cash
– now that at last replacements are lining up – that Sir Russell’s creation has a chance of being recognised alongside the Olympics, America’s Cup and, we would add, the Vendée Globe. And unlike the Cup and Vendée Globe, SailGP really is mano-a-mano, the boats being supremely identical. Currently the front end of the SailGP fleet is already there but the series as a whole is not. To be honest I never expected SailGP to get as far as it has,
especially the quality of the racing which now stands comparison anywhere. And regardless of Larry Ellison’s initial largesse. F1 only hit today’s lofty heights and multi-billion dollar income
streams through the ruthless management of Bernie Ecclestone, who behind the scenes regularly helped promising new teams onto the grid (on occasion throwing in his own money) while unsubtly easing out stragglers diluting the elite TV impact he knew was essential to keep his series developing. He knew too that this would only increase the income streams of the surviving teams, which made it easier to take them with him when it came to hard nego- tiation (like with circuits, whether over money or safety). I’m not saying Russell is remotely like Bernie. That said, the
If a new team comes in with big bucks but less talent then he does everything he can to bring them up to speed. If they fail to hit the required standard then expect an early shower. Even a SailGP fran- chise owner who remains uncompetitive, I’d now expect in time to receive a ‘suggestion’ that it’s time to sell up and move on. For SailGP to succeed Coutts cannot afford to populate it with
rich amateur journeymen. There are plenty of other places for that sort of racing, including Coutts’s own RC44 Cup. (For such a handy sailor, the man is pretty good at spotting a gap in the market). The standard of the top SailGP teams is nothing short of breath-
taking. When Tom Slingsby and his well-honed Team Australia can regularly sail rings round sailors of the quality of Jimmy Spithill and Ben Ainslie you know you are witnessing something special. The main limitation we see for this series is venue choice. When
racing somewhere breezy like San Francisco, the boats and crews demonstrate to even the most casual spectator the sport at its incredible best. Somewhere like New York where the F50 cats were
‘ LEGACY
The St Francis YC’s Laser stars of the ’70s had the ‘Youth Bus’ (what happens on the road etc). Paul Elvstrøm and fellow Finn training buddy Börge Schwarz had to make do with Schwarz’s old truck and Paul Elvstrøm’s wife Anne’s much abused Mercedes
head of SailGP is demonstrating some similar management characteristics in driving towards his own ambitions – one of which is ruthlessnesss. To his great credit Nathan Outteridge fully recog- nises this. More power to all of their elbows. Delighted to have been proved wrong.
‘To macron’ – new verb added to the Ukrainian lexicon
ON THE OTHER HAND
To show a lot of concern and talk but
YES! Tesla staff may freely pretend to
do nothing – Ukrainian National News Agency (and soon after the Soviet News Agency Tass)
work from home – Elon Musk Once they have completed their minimum 40-hour
week in the office – Musk
YES YES! The Orma 60… extraordinary boats – Sean Langman (who’s raced everything) It is the greatest, greatest sailing I
have ever done – Langman Same – Ed
Say no to Noakes! – Berry’s Bay residents are objecting to Sean Langman’s boatyard expansion plans
WHY’S THAT THEN? Unfortunately I could not interview any witnesses of the
Crucifixion – Jacques Annaud tries to confirm the authenticity of the Crown of Thorns for a new Notre-Dame movie
TOP BLOKE
No cash no splash – Nathan Outteridge summarises Sail GP Japan Team’s dismissal
FRUITY Mick Jagger just turned
79. So? – Rachel Johnson (sister of) Macca made 80 look
like the new 20 – Johnson And Mick Jagger
is sex on a stick – Johnson
I would – Johnson
Seahorse magazine and our associate raceboatsonly brokerage site are both at:
seahorsemagazine.com The editor is contactable by email at:
andrew@seahorse.co.uk
SEAHORSE 11
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