News Around the World
Soon men would be men and most IOR yachts up to 50 foot would go to tiller steering… light, reliable, more responsive. Cheaper too. But in 1981 the One Tonner Belly Up still boasted this monster wheel – barely squeezing under the boom. Plus all that standing up…
If the Cup remains in New Zealand serious streamlining of the
event management structure is clearly called for. Although the operational side of the regatta was acknowledged by all parties to be a success, behind the scenes a tangle of overblown committees, unnecessary red tape and conflicting advice constantly threatened to constipate proceedings. ACE, the arm of ETNZ charged with running the event, was clearly frustrated. ‘In total there were 32 different regular meeting forums that ACE attended, most of which were non-productive,’ according to its own wrap-up review. Meanwhile, smothering red tape had agency representatives interfering in matters that fell well outside their areas of expertise or responsibility. This led to one caustic piece of advice for future generations: ‘It is OK to say to someone, “I will not be responding any further as that matter is not your responsibility.”’ At government level MBIE set up a ‘cumbersome and time- consuming’ chain of communication with relevant government agencies. To create efficiencies ACE bypassed the structure com- pletely and dealt directly with the agencies. ‘This was not viewed positively by MBIE... but it did ensure that key event issues and plans were agreed in a timely manner.’ At a city level it was even worse. Although Auckland Unlimited
was not actually responsible for delivering the event, it set up and chaired a group of 40 people representing a wide group of interests, which inevitably contributed to unnecessary demands on time and resources. ‘Unfortunately, due to the number of people who attended,’ ACE reported, surprisingly diplomatically, ‘they became very unproductive and the required outcomes were not able to be achieved...’ Auckland City Council also required no fewer than 15 separate management plans, with an additional 13 management plans asso- ciated with the Event Resource Consent, all of which required regular monitoring and reporting sessions. Amazingly, Prada, which invested $150 million into the event operations and the race village, complained about not being involved in the negotiations, meetings and the decision-making process.
32 SEAHORSE
‘Unfortunately the event concept – He Waka Eke Noa (we are all paddling in the same canoe) – was a very good intention, but it remained in the words… Truth is that the Challenger of Record and ACE were rarely in the same waka,’ the company reported. Given the tortuous bureaucratic ordeal involved, Prada may have
been shown a kindness in being spared a seat at many of those tables, while the whole experience sounds like one that the key people involved, making the decisions and running an America’s Cup, can now be excused for not lobbying all that hard to repeat. Ivor Wilkins
AUSTRALIA (More) gold Australia’s first sailing medal at the Tokyo Olympics came in the Laser event, won by the 25-year-old Matt Wearn. That is a simple statement that reflects but a fraction of that story – the broader canvas involving Tom Slingsby in London 2012, Tom Burton in Rio and now Matt Wearn all winning Olympic Laser gold under the direction of their extraordinary coach Michael Blackburn. Michael would not be happy that I single him out – the team is everything here, and that culture, twinned with extraordinary talent, has made this story so remarkable. It was not a great start for the western Australian in his first Olympics, a 17th on the first day when conditions were light and fluky meant the debrief would be a simple one. Disregard that score and focus on the week ahead. And boy did Wearn focus… Though day two saw him open with
a 28th place, due to a pre-start penalty which he dealt with and then reset to take a second place in race three. Races four, five and six were right on form, posting fourth, second and another second, gaining momentum and lifting him up to second overall behind Cyprus’s brilliant Pavlos Kontides. But not for long. Two first places in races 7 and 8 pushed Matt into top spot, unleashing his speed in the breezy and wavy conditions. And then on day six a 12th and an eighth spot drove him 22 points clear of the chasing pack going into the Medal Race, assuring him the gold
PHIL UHL
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