At this year’s Masters Worlds in Mar Menor, Portuguese Finn sailor Filipe Silva (above) finished as runner-up to France’s new world champion Valerian Lebrun. The 2021 worlds attracted a ‘smaller’ entry than usual, post pandemic, but 108 boats from as far away as Russia, New Zealand and South Africa is not too shabby for what has not been the easiest year in which to travel internationally. And top marks to our pick for World Sailing Prez, Gerardo Seeliger, 5th in the Legends and 60th overall… all at the spritely age of 74
originally her stern was emblazoned with the home port of Yanchep Sun City, the location of Bond’s real estate development project. Reacting to the overt commercial ploy, RPYC pressured Bond to change the home port to Fremantle. For his second challenge, in 1977, Bond simply challenged from
his own recently created Sun City Yacht Club. Bond had purchased 20,000 acres of sheep property near the small and isolated crayfishing village of Yanchep, planning to develop a Gold Coast-like satellite to Perth with a marina, golf course, resorts and a modern shopping complex. Naturally Bond based his America’s Cup challenge there and planned to hold the defence in Sun City when he won. Of course Bond did eventually win the America’s Cup in 1983,
but by then he had been forced to sell his interest in Sun City to his Japanese partners after housing sales failed to take off and the Bond Corporation ran into financial difficulties. Bond managed to mount multiple challenges and to finally wrest the Cup from the New York Yacht Club, all while facing the financial challenges from Sun City. Ironically, when sailing for Sun City Yacht Club, Bond’s Australia lost to Ted Turner on Courageous. Turner’s 1977 win is usually considered the last amateur campaign, with no connection to his extensive successful business ventures. The most sophisticated America’s Cup impresario managed the
funding of his first campaign so skilfully that the label impresario doesn’t quite fit. Producer or investment banker might be better labels for Ernesto Bertarelli. He boldly underwrote his 2003 chal- lenge, assuring top designers and a few talented Kiwi sailors that he was good for the money – which of course he was. But, with the talent lined up, he then could attract significant sponsors with cash, and reduce his own outlay. Morgan Stanley or Goldman Sachs could not have managed the underwriting any better. The result was the first challenger ever to win the America’s Cup
at the first attempt. Larry Ellison’s and Patrizio Bertelli’s challenges seem more like 21st-century versions of Lipton’s – they run and have large ownership stakes in their title sponsors. Alinghi never had a title sponsor, though they could easily have attracted one. And what can all this tell us about the situation today? None of
the tycoons involved in the 2021 challenges is an unfunded impre- sario. Jim Ratcliffe with Ineos Team UK (now renamed Ineos Britannia), Patrizio Bertelli with Luna Rossa and Hap Fauth, Doug
DeVos and Roger Penske with American Magic all seem more like a Mike Vanderbilt or TOM Sopwith. All the 2021 challengers have said they will be back for the 37th America’s Cup, although American Magic will be representing a different yacht club. The New York Yacht Club had announced an agreement to be represented by Stars+Stripes, but they never announced how the syndicate would be funded and in October the New York club withdrew citing venue and protocol issues. Or rather the lack of them. Ernesto Bertarelli has been quoted in the Italian press saying
he always thinks about the America’s Cup and that he is waiting for news on the venue and the protocol. Defender Emirates(?) Team New Zealand have received most of
their money over the years from a combination of corporate sponsor - ship and government money with support from their team principal Matteo de Nora. They missed their mid-September deadline to announce a venue, apparently to give themselves time to negotiate funding and conditions. They promised to release the protocol by 17 November, so perhaps we learn more then. We have an inter- esting mix of chancers, impresarios and tycoons.
CupExperience.com
SURPRISED? – Terry Hutchinson Redeveloping the fight! Debriefing the second event of the TP52 SuperSeries in Menorca the most notable points: 7th out of the fleet in first beat positioning at mark 1, three bad starts, 1st in boats passed throughout the event. I think the point the performance analysis team were trying to make was ‘you can’t start a lawn mower, but from there the Quantum Racing is going well and the team does a good job of chipping through the fleet’. Now that is the glass half full! The truth, while sometimes painful, is accurate. Mahon, Menorca is a great venue for racing. The racecourse is
the blocks on fire! The first three races of the event saw Alegre SEAHORSE 15
located on the southeast corner and with the wind quadrant in a north/south direction the best days are lumpy gravy providing great surfing for the TP52 and shifty breezes. Aboard the Quantum Racing we were fortunate over the course of the five-race series that it was the case. After poor starts we needed opportunities on the course. Andy Soriano’s Alegre with tactician Adrian Stead came out of
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