Update
The new Arkema Ocean Fifty (formerly Multi50) practises for the class’s 2021 Pro Tour which boasts a total of seven boats taking part with a few more on the horizon. What was the Multi50 class had several false dawns before, with boats enjoying some good inshore racing but too often capsizing once they got into the major oceanic events. This did nothing to encourage sponsors into the class although that is slowly changing. Unless you ‘go Ultim’ this is now the only high-profile multihull game in town; and nothing beats sitting a potential sponsor on the trampoline of an offshore tri and then sheeting on when you are trying to extract funding… in the nicest possible way. There must always be a place for such boats; once tried they completely ruin you for anything else that follows
a collision and both boats were taken out of the regatta. In race five it was Australia again, with GBR second. Thence to
the podium race, Australia, GBR and Spain. Ainslie and his team pushed the Australians hard, forcing an error… yet again Ainslie and GBR had swooped at the last and won the regatta. Ainslie: ‘On the first day in Bermuda we were having major issues
tacking and gybing onto port – coming out of the manoeuvres there was some definite weirdness with the rudders. We were losing control of the boat at least half of the time, falling off the foils com- pletely. Then while practising on Day 2 we found an obscure software issue and things improved. We won the fourth race and hung on for second in race five, just in time for the final win. A cracking race!’ With a rueful smile Slingsby said, ‘We knew the rules, we won
four races in Bermuda, we were at the top of our game, but Ben outsailed us in the final deciding race. They were impressive when it mattered, and so they won the regatta.’ Spithill commented, ‘This racing is much more like race cars and
MotoGP than any other kind of sailing. It is extremely fast, means split-second decisions and mistakes are going to happen. We and Japan were both going well in race four, on track for the podium race, up until Nathan ploughed into us. We had no time to react… yet we were penalised. Outteridge fell on his sword. ‘It was always going to be a tight
cross with Jimmy. We were the give-way boat. I got it wrong. Hesitation on my part, then a late crash tack. Too late. We had not had enough time together as a team to co-ordinate a late duck. It was all my fault; it does not seem fair that the USA was penalised equally as the right-of-way boat.’ Coutts then weighed in: ‘I agree it was harsh for USA, but the
rules are plain. The right-of-way boat had to try to avoid the collision too, and they did not. We have umpires for a reason. They make a judgement, not everyone agrees with it, but we move on. But after the Bermuda regatta the rules were reviewed. Changes now include loss of points and a possible DSQ for serious infringements. All eight skippers recognise it is not worth the risk any more. We do not want collisions; it is a danger to life with these extremely fast boats.’
Italy – June In the lead-up to the second regatta of the SailGP season Ainslie announced that prior commitments would rule him out for Taranto
18 SEAHORSE
and Plymouth. Olympic gold medallist, three times Moth world champion and American Magic strategist Paul Goodison would take his place. ‘It is certainly a little disruptive with me off the boat for two races, but we have a very experienced team and onshore support team and we’ll be fine,’ said Ainslie. Not quite, as it turned out. With Team New Zealand – previously led by Pete Burling – set
to lose four sailors due to Tokyo Olympic commitments, Coutts agreed that, with the postponed Olympics impacting so heavily, SailGP would allow waiving of the nationality rule, but only as a one- off. Ironically Swiss sailor Arnaud Psarofaghis of Alinghi, Coutts’s one-time bête noire, was one of three substitutions to the Kiwi team. Day 1 was light… so three-up racing with Coutts determined to
get his fleet flying. Most teams dropped grinders, but there was one notable exception. Team Japan opted to keep grinder Tim Morishima and sail without flight controller Francesco ‘Checco’ Bruni… This time it was Australia’s turn for the gremlins to strike. With
NZL leading, Australia was well back when suddenly they fell dead in the water with a hydraulic failure. Spithill and USA went on to win but all the boats came off the foils at least once. In race 2 Japan hit the line at speed with another well-timed run
from Outteridge. They led at the first mark and were never headed, taking the gun from a fast-finishing Spain with GBR third. Australia had a shocking start and finished last. Race 3. Spithill won the start and led the entire race. France was
second, with Japan third. The Australian meltdown continued; they had not adapted to three-up racing. Day 2 and the wind was in so it was back to full crews. A big relief
for some. NZL won the first start handsomely, forcing France to bail at the pin end. On the second leg NZL got high and fell off their foils, but hung on for a win, with Australia second and Denmark third (their best result in SailGP up until then). Race 5. USA is OCS. Japan’s Outteridge shut out the Spanish
boat on the startline. Japan won, ahead of Australia, Denmark was third again, then came GBR. Spain beat France to take a place in the podium race. And the Brits were out. Now the wind fell away and it was back to three-up. And Spithill’s
dramas were not over yet. Leading into mark 4 in the podium race Team USA GoPro footage showed a hard impact on their rudder as the three sailors were thrown forward. Once around the mark, their rudder, which had hung on, broke away. The rudderless boat leapt
VINCENT OLIVAUD
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