Contents August 2017 FEATURES
THE 35TH AMERICA’S CUP Never bet against Uncle Sam, or so they say
32 Smashed it! Well, that was a week and a half. PETE BURLING, IVOR WILKINS, GRANT DALTON
39 Smarter in the lab and smarter
A rare wet moment Emirates Team New Zealand briefly splash down during the David vs Goliath contest that defines the 2017 Cup Match. Bermuda is of course accessed most easily and most cheaply from North America. Yet, with the exception of a handful of locals who rely heavily on the American weekender and honeymoon trade, plus a modest number who were not Oracle friends-and-family, the cheering was reserved for those ‘audacious’ Kiwis. The same was true in the media where it was hard to find support for the hard-working but rather uninspiring-looking defender. It’s possible that had more Australians made it to the island there might have been more backing for Jimmy Spithill’s largely Aussie crew; harsh but true. There was little of America to see in the USA camp. Nationality matters. It matters a lot. But the bigger point is that compared with the large crowds on the San Francisco waterfront, in 2017 there were few non-indigenous spectators cheering anybody. This was inevitable given the costs involved but was less of a big deal given the event was primarily an effort to reset the Cup for TV; and it is beyond doubt that the racecourse that was possible on the Great Sound was perfect for that with its geographic framing and very flat water. Like San Francisco, however, Bermuda is now left with a big chunk of change to make back (including the US$77million hosting fee) as the price for an event that was mostly enjoyed by grateful sailors elsewhere! Let’s hope that in a few months’ time it will still all feel worth it (the superyacht-plus- clients turnout must have been a particular disappointment). But set aside all of that and we 100 per cent agree with Franck Cammas: ‘Thank you, Bermuda’. All but the dourest sailor surely loved that show
COVER: Ingrid Abery INSET: Daniel Forster
on the water Was everyone looking in the wrong place? ANDY CLAUGHTON
40Wow! It was one hell of an America’s Cup match to be commentating on for TV. KEN READ
42 Confessions of a Cup addict Or to put it another way, the ability to change your mind gracefully… IAN WALKER
24 In praise of flexibility Is there now the critical mass needed to get a bit more ambitious with some new formats for international offshore events? ROB WEILAND
26 Newbie Designing the closest thing yet to a purpose-built ORC race yacht involved some overdue analysis of IRC/ORC performance vs rating comparatives. TOM HUMPHREYS and DOBBS DAVIS
29 Historic context Volvo – and Whitbread – race veterans BRAD JACKSON (who is going again) and PAUL STANDBRIDGE (who is definitely not going again) look at race editions old and (very) new
44 Built (fast) to last For many years ALEX THOMSON has bucked the wider trend with his choice of sailmaker for Hugo Boss. RICHARD BOUZAID, DAVID DUFF and MIKE SANDERSON have been there with the British skipper every step of the way
48 Too soon? JAMES BOYD is excited by changes for the next Volvo race but highlights some of the less obvious technical hurdles that will need to be addressed
REGULARS
4 Commodore’s letter MICHAEL BOYD
9 Editorial ANDREW HURST
10 Update Pistol Pete, upset Norwegians, tradition still rules (the Cup) – but not the (Cup) answers you might expect from one successful America’s Cup sailor. TERRY HUTCHINSON, IVOR WILKINS, RAY DAVIES, JACK GRIFFIN and CORINNE ROLLAND-MCKENZIE
Don’t get too worried about Groupama America’s Cup skipper Franck Cammas; he will go on to dominate the Orma 60s (above), the Volvo Ocean Race, the Route du Rhum – and pick up a Jules Verne Trophy somewhere along the way. He will also do a very respectable job in Bermuda on the smell of the same oily rag Rod Davis finds useful
14 World news The shorthanded boom continues, AIS safety, the mighty Macif, CONRAD COLMAN’s (incredibly) close shave, bumps on the way to Tokyo 2020 and Key West lament. PATRICE CARPENTIER, IVORWILKINS, ROB KOTHE, DOBBS DAVIS
22 Rod Davis Team New Zealand’s match racing coach (natch) asks if you like living off the smell of an oily rag?
52 Design – Higher (and wider) The 39ben is not a (wrong) birthday for the Land Rover BAR skipper but it does mark a radical step for another famous yacht racing name. ALEX VROLIJK and JOCHEN RIEKER
54 TechStreet
Got it all… carbon choice, a 50th birth- day (in carbon), the secrets of staying
warm, who’s the boss here, keep it clean, beauty (and pace) for sale. Plus one new fleet delivers two ‘new’ events
64 Seahorse regatta calendar
67 Seahorsebuild table – More splash less cash? Fast and (more) affordable. BEN ROGERSON
71 RORC – Going good EDDIE WARDEN-OWEN
95 Sailor of the Month No-compromise dedication to the task at hand
GILLES MARTIN-RAGET
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