continued support from Sir Jim Ratcliffe who was on record to The Telegraph in London saying: ‘I don’t think we will necessarily fund it all next time. I think we will probably step out and bring in some other funders as well as ourselves. ‘I wanted to fully fund this one so we didn’t operate by committee.


But for the next one I think we’d probably be the operator, multi- fund rather than self-fund. But I think we’ll definitely go again.’ Winning the Louis Vuitton Cup was momentous for Ineos and


the way they won, after a three-race tear against a rattled Luna Rossa, was outstanding. Jimmy Spithill looked to have lost faith and Ben knew it, but the key was in the ruthless execution – you can’t buy that. Ben had that wild, deep-set, no-nonsense look again, the one we have seen too rarely since his trusty Finn Rita gave way to a complex string of America’s Cup yachts. A telling moment with regards to onboard dynamics was leg three


of Race 4 of the Louis Vuitton Cup Final, out on the starboard bound- ary with Luna Rossa slapping a cover on the port-tack Britannia. From the leeward pod Ben was encouraging Dylan Fletcher, steering from the port pod, to ‘keep going, Dylan, keep going’ as the Brits luffed from astern. Dylan, a gold medallist in his own right, felt he had done enough to secure the 75m ‘get-back’ penalty, while also protecting a multi-million-pound asset; he angled away from the Italian’s stern and the penalty, clear as daylight in the eyes of Richard Slater, the Chief Umpire, was denied. The following day there was the morning media briefing attended


by Slater and PRO Iain Murray, who had thoughts on what might have happened had Ben been steering from the port side – ‘all I can say is thank goodness he wasn’t.’ Ben himself offered: ‘I haven’t seen the Umpire’s app, and the


app really can often tell a different story – and that’s obviously what the umpires are going off. The pre-start one I thought was very, very, close and in our view it was a penalty. ‘The others I need to look at because it’s just the nuances of


whether you get an overlap or not and I’m sure it was very tight,’ before adding tongue-in-cheek: ‘But one thing you know about yacht racing is that the umpires are always right!’ The Brits dispatched Luna Rossa 7-4 and belief was there that,


after 60 years in the Match wilderness, history could be about to unfold. Back then it was Anthony Boyden’s 12-Metre Sovereign, crewed largely by ex-rugby players in woollen jumpers. History, unfortunately, didn’t happen in Barcelona but the


positives around the British team were immense and, as the Kiwis crossed to secure the 37th edition, the Notice of Challenge papers on behalf of the Royal Yacht Squadron were duly signed to secure the country’s position as Challenger of Record once again. A bright spot of news, but the Cup bubble deflated thereafter


faster than an AC75 bear-away. I have long contended that there is no sadder place in the world than an America’s Cup base after elimination, where the hopes and fires are extinguished, but this year was different. Alinghi Red Bull Racing were as busy as ever, entertaining sponsors and guests. Orient Express Racing Team and NYYC American Magic were ever-present. Luna Rossa went training with Marco Gradoni and Ruggi Tita – the fast-coming duo – and Barcelona felt busy right to the end. There is a clear desire to go racing again quickly, to maintain the


momentum especially around the successful Youth and Women’s events. Where it will be is unknown – personally I have some favourite destinations, but what we know is that under the New Zealand and British stewardships the Cup is set for a bright future. The 38th cycle is well underway already.


Magnus Wheatley USA


Framing the pitch Among many who made the long trip to Singapore for the World Sailing and ORC annual beanos was champion offshore navigator and world recognised media technologist Stan Honey. Besides accompanying his wife Sally – an award-winning sailor herself – on hand to oversee her WS Sub-Committee on offshore safety regu- lations, Stan gave a thought-provoking presentation of his own to the Oceanic and Offshore Committee, chaired by Cruising YC of Australia’s Matt Allen. Having been Allen’s predecessor as chair of this committee, and


with his serious bona fides on the subject of technology in sailing, Stan brought forth some ideas to consider on the eve of publication of the latest edition of the Racing Rules of Sailing for 2025-28. The context is the endless debate on how our sport chooses to


embrace or limit new technologies that enhance performance. There will always be an existential tension between the promise new technologies may bring to enhance higher performance, spectator visibility and even safety, but with a trade-off against added complication, high cost and traditional values that encourage and celebrate self-reliance. In Singapore Stan identified several areas where action may be


needed to ensure that some technologies common in big boat racing are not at odds with the RRS. For example: l RRS 52 states: ‘A boat’s standing rigging, running rigging, spars and movable hull appendages shall be adjusted and operated only by the power provided by the crew,’ and yet autopilots are found on all short-handed boats, and powered winch systems are becoming ever more popular to reduce dependence on large crews. l RRS 51 states: ‘Water, ballast, or dead weight cannot be moved to change the boat’s stability or trim,’ yet canting keels and water ballast tanks are now common features. l RRS 55.3 prohibits use of outriggers: ‘No sail shall be sheeted over or through any device that exerts outward pressure on a sheet or clew of a sail at a point from which, with the boat upright, a vertical line would fall outside the hull or deck,’ yet this feature is standard in every open class from Mini to Imoca. l RRS 41(c) indicates: ‘A boat shall not receive help from any outside source, except help in the form of information freely available to all boats,’ yet where are the limits to this for weather routeing… Hello? In RRS Appendix M there is suggested language organisers can


use to allow the use of autopilots with very specific limitations: ‘Autopilots may be used to adjust moveable hull appendages. The autopilots shall only use measurements of weather, wind or sea surface within 100mm of sensors that are mounted on the boat, and therefore the use of cameras, lidar, sonar or radar to measure the sea surface surrounding the boat is prohibited.’ ‘This was to address concerns that as sea-surface scanning


technology built into collision-avoidance systems gets better, if future autopilots are able to use measurements of the sea surface in front of the boat, those pilots will eventually be able to steer better than any human... and in all conditions,’ Stan said. ‘While the attitude of some in our sport is to embrace all technology, many sailors don’t look forward to a future in which boats are generally steered by computers!’ Powered winch systems are now addressed in both popular rating


systems, while the detailed formulas are refined annually with more live data. Similarly canting keels and water ballast are now common enough that the rating factors are already reasonably workable. But as for use of weather data… RRS 41(c) states: ‘Weather


information that is available to all boats for a fee may be received, but it shall not include specific weather or routeing advice customised for the boat or a group of boats.’ ‘There is a widespread conviction that boats should be navigated


from onboard, not from experts on shore,’ Stan explained. ‘So while sailors need to be careful of the rule, nearly everybody agrees with its objective. ‘However, in our age of ready access to the internet a crew could


unintentionally run foul of this with an email from a wife or friend, during a race, asking ‘Why on earth did you not go further south!’ Or ‘There is a nasty front coming across us right now so the kids are inside watching TV…’ Organisers therefore need to make sure that sailors understand


exactly what communication with shore is legal and what isn’t. It is not always as simple as that sounds, as our examples attest. The challenge to find appropriate balances continues and will


probably continue to fall along lines of culture: the high-profile pro- level events based out of Europe seem to embrace innovations more readily than our more traditionally amateur, owner-driven approaches in big races in the US. Horses for courses… well, sort of.


Dobbs Davis q SEAHORSE 31


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