2007 Seahorse Thereisnosecond

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There
is no
Second
The
Seahorse
International Sailing
guide to the
America’s Cup
PAUL CAYARD
DENNIS CONNER
RUSSELL COUTTS
PAUL BIEKER
MIRKO GROESCHNER
in association with
TOM SCHNACKENBERG… AND FRIENDS
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You & Us
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W ELCOME
3
Dear friends and fellow final of the America’s Cup.

America’s Cup enthusiasts UBS is committed to the unique
and dynamic sport of sailing as we
This summer the America’s Cup, one represent the same values and skills
of sport’s oldest and most prestigious required to succeed in global financial
trophies, returns to Europe for the services: professionalism, teamwork,
first time in over 150 years. expertise and passion.
UBS, as Main Partner of Alinghi, I am proud of the continued
Defender of the 32nd America’s Cup, association of UBS with sailing and of
is delighted to be sponsoring Seahorse our partnership of Alinghi. Made up
magazine’s guide to the America’s Cup of 21 different nationalities, this
as part of our ongoing relationship dedicated team has worked hard for
with the magazine and its readers. the defence of their title in 2007.
We look forward to the excitement
and close competition that will unfold Good luck, Alinghi!
in Valencia over the coming months.
In particular, to see which one of the Marcel Ospel
11 challengers will face Alinghi in the Chairman, UBS AG
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E DITOR -I N -C HIEF
4
A large number of people from a
wide spread of disciplines have
been working very hard and for
long hours just to get to the
startline of the 2007 Louis Vuitton
Cup… Meanwhile, the Alinghi
defence (main picture) have
also been packing in the hours.
Paul Cayard is one of the few
skippers to have enjoyed the
feeling (opposite) of winning the
Louis Vuitton Cup, in San Diego
in 1992 with Il Moro di Venezia
(TOUGH) END TO A TOUGH ROAD

Round-the-world race winner and multiple America’s Cup skipper Paul Cayard has been
immersed in the Cup since his first event in 1983 in Newport, RI, when he sailed
alongside fellow San Francisco native Tom Blackaller on the 12-Metre Defender
The 32nd America’s Cup will be the most The boats. In all, 100 have been built in the America’s Cup
competitive in the event’s 155-year history. Class (ACC for cool terminology). I skippered ITA 1 for the
OSKAR KIHLBORG/VOR
For 2007 the boats are closer in speed, Italian America’s Cup entry in 1992, which was the first boat
the Valencian racecourse is not as steady ever built to this rule, so I have followed the class since its
as originally thought, the teams are all at a inception. The boats have got narrower and longer. Stability is
high level having had years of training. down, but drag is down more, so the boats go a bit faster and
As always, there are teams who stack sail narrower angles. Everything is carbon, titanium or, in the
up better on paper than others. Prior to case of the keel fin, high-tensile steel. They are high-tech
PAUL CAYARD the event all we can go on are statistics of boats in the way they are made. However, they are not the
what has happened so far and try to fastest sailboats by any stretch of the imagination.
project. Once we’re into the racing and get to know the perfor- Having 100 boats built means 1,000 1/3rd-scale models
mance of the boats things will become a bit clearer. tested in towing tanks, which leads to 10,000 designs evalu-
Sailing is the least predictable sport there is. Compared to a ated by computer software, Computational Fluid Dynamics
car race, sailing also has all the variables of mechanical break- codes (CFD; know this to sound cool). The consequence is that
down potential, mental breakdown potential and support team the design envelope is narrowing. All designs start to converge
problem potential. The added variable is that the racetrack is in the same area. So what separates the boats in speed?
not a constant shape. As the wind shifts the track essentially The main sources of design speed differences are in the
shifts. It is possible to sail less distance than your opponent! mast and sails and the interaction between these two compo-
Does that sound like an advantage? It is, and good tacticians nents. The way the mast bends or doesn’t, and the way it
can make that happen. twists, have significant aerodynamic effects. The sailors can
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GILLES MARTIN RAGET

skill required is communication so that the technical team and
sailing teams can work together to find the right solution. Not all
great sailors have the ability to communicate, inspire and work in
a constructive way with technicians. Those who do will have more
success in working quickly through the many permutations.
Then there is the racing itself. That is the small tip of the
iceberg that the public get to see. The teams that are race-
tested and experienced will execute best on the day. In the
race there are pressures, there are unforeseen situations, last-
minute breakdowns, postponements, media requests, sponsor
requirements – all of which have to be dealt with. The better a
team are organised, the more experience they have, the more
they have ‘the right stuff’, the better they can deal with every-
thing that comes at them on race day.
My predictions? Without getting into an analytical study, I
would say that Emirates Team New Zealand, BMW Oracle
Racing, Luna Rossa and Victory Challenge will be the final
four in the Louis Vuitton Cup. Who could upset this group?
Only Desafío Español and Capitalia Mascalzone Latino.
IVO ROVIRA/ALINGHI
The America’s Cup itself? It won’t be 5-0. Alinghi will win
but they will lose two or three races.
The key: coming back after an unexpected defeat to play at
100 per cent the very next race, which may be on the same
day. All teams will lose a race they thought they should win.
That is the nature of sailing. Too many variables.
But who will let that loss throw them off their game? Who
control some of these effects while on the water but some are will let that loss stir up turmoil within their camp? Who will
designed in and can’t be changed. deal with a loss in a mature and professional manner and
Then there is the interaction with the sails. Should the sails come back to play their A-game. That is what will make the
be built full and then flattened with mast controls? Can the difference when it gets down to the short strokes.
‘big top’ mainsails be supported to the necessary extent? The That is my preview. As they say in the States, ‘Take that and
right amount of ‘roach’ on the upwind sails is somewhere 25 cents and you still can’t get a cup of coffee.’ That is the
between the theoretical optimum and practical optimum. The beauty of sport… there are no guarantees. You have to wait
teams who have had more time than others will have got more until they run the race to find out who wins. So, if you are a
of these answers right. fan, sponsor or spectator, sit back, relax and enjoy. If you are
The other component to speed is the team that has the a sailor, team member or relative of a team member, get ready
experience to optimise its boat. Each boat is slightly different, to be stressed.
and needs different amounts of power in different wind ranges Let the games begin.
and sea states. The design team make their best guess on this
but the real answer is found on the water. Paul Cayard
Good helmsmen and trimmers can ‘feel’ the boat. The next Cayard Sailing Inc ❒
The team here at Seahorse are pleased to bring you our guide to the 32nd America’s Cup:
There is no Second
We have been supported in bringing this to you free of charge promotional code box to ensure preferential treatment. We
by our good friends at UBS. We hope that you very much enjoy an open dialogue with our knowledgeable readership
enjoy what we consider an outstanding insight into the and welcome any feedback, insights or suggestions that you
competition for the world’s oldest sporting trophy. would like to pass along to me at andrew@seahorse.co.uk.
________________
If this teaser tempts you to take a regular look at Seahorse
International Sailing magazine then of course we’d be very Enjoy the Cup!
pleased to welcome you aboard as a subscriber. To subscribe
to Seahorse simply log onto: www.seahorsemagazine.com
– where you will find both a brief introduction to the latest Andrew Hurst
issue and a ‘subscribe to Seahorse’ button. When you are Editor
filling out the form make sure to put ‘ACTINS’ into the Seahorse International Sailing
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One to mark
6 Page 16
INSIDE
Courageous was the first America’s Cup yacht I saw. At a stroke all the ALINGHI
mystique of the America’s Cup that I had absorbed from books and
magazines was embodied in one elegant yacht gliding across the slack,
rolling Atlantic swell outside Newport, Rhode Island.
‘Bloody nice, aren’t they?’ said Alastair ‘Rubber Ball’ Munroe. At the time
he was the best bowman in Britain and we knew each other from way back
and countless bars either side of the Channel at the end of RORC races. It
was the summer of 1980. I was in Newport to cover newspaperman Phil
Weld winning the OSTAR in his Newick-designed trimaran Moxie. Earlier
that morning I’d looked into the Lionheart base where a young and sheepish-
looking Lawrie Smith had just arrived to take over the helm of the British
12-Metre from John Oakeley.
Rubber Ball had ‘borrowed’ expat photographer Guy Gurney’s Searider
– yes, it was that long ago when the only RIBs in town had original warship
grey tubes and lifeboat orange hulls – which was how we came to be
hammering out of Narragansett Bay to look at the defender trials. Enterprise
was out there too but Dennis Conner hadn’t quite made his mark then,
although he would later that summer... Courageous had, twice, in the hands
of the two oh-so-different Teds, Hood and Turner. US 26 was just a special
12-Metre. Still is.
IVO ROVIRA/ALINGHI
Twenty seven years later, the America’s Cup still holds me in its thrall.
Three years after that first encounter I was back in Newport for that series.
It was the fulcrum in which the Cup tilted from two centuries of American
domination into the modern era where the challengers have had the biggest
shout. In 1983, 1987, 1995 and 2003 the Cup had fallen to the challenger;
the 1988 (yes, it was the catamaran versus big boat ‘event’), 1992 and 2000
Cups have been the defender’s triumph. PAUL CAYARD
Which brings us to Valencia. Dennis Conner and his Sail America cohorts Star, IOR 50ft and Maxi World Champion Cayard cut his Cup
John Marshall, Malin Burnham and Tom Ehman had tried to hawk the teeth with Tom Blackaller in 1983. He was skipper and
defence venue around after Conner won the Cup back in 1987, but it was lynchpin of the 1992 Il Moro di Venezia team, steered Dennis
the Swiss who finally managed to separate the host city from the original Conner’s Stars & Stripes defender which used the Young
home base of the winning team. And they have changed much else besides, America boat in 1995 and created his own team, AmericaOne
most notably filling the interregnum with some good points-scoring racing in 2000, beaten by Prada in the Louis Vuitton Challenger final
at a variety of venues.
But one thing they most definitely have not revised is loading the bases DENNIS CONNER
in favour of the defender. Alinghi have made darned sure that the hill the If one man shaped the modern America’s Cup it was DC.
eventual challenger has to climb is no less than a full Alpine ascent. A Tempest bronze medallist in the Olympics and two-time Star
In between times we have witnessed an eclectic and amazing cast of world champion, Conner was brought in as Courageous’s
characters. The designers and technicians, so absorbed and so proud of starting helmsman in 1974. His Freedom/Enterprise 12-Metre
their work. The sailors, whose skills are sometimes breathtaking. campaign of 1980 set the standard for a modern campaign.
Ultimately, though, it is the main stars who make this game so compelling: And his 1983 loss and 1987 win brought the contrast of tears
the sheer cussed determination of Alan Bond, the bluster of Peter de Savary, and a White House reception. Only after an unprecedented
the larrikin irreverence of Michael Fay, the intensity of Raul Gardini, the 10 Cups has the curtain come down on Mr America’s Cup
don’t-get-fooled-by-the-goofiness of Bill Koch, the bravura of Patrizio
Bertelli, the urbane mid-Atlantic/pan-European nature of Ernesto TOM SCHNACKENBERG
Bertarelli, the self-interest of Larry Ellison – to highlight a few. A short cut to probably the longest CV in America’s Cup history
Whether they are the boss or the boatyard sweeper, it’s rare to find would be to restate Dennis Conner’s opinion of Schnack: ‘the
someone in the Cup who hasn’t found it getting under their skin. It’s that best brain in the America’s Cup’. A nuclear physicist by training,
kind of event. Sailing’s fortunate to have it within its compass. he helped computerise sailmaking in the 1970s, developed the
And for its guide to the 2007 event Seahorse is proud to have assembled first leech-cut sails for Australia II and revelled in his role as
this team of contributors. There’s the basis of a pretty tidy syndicate here… Team New Zealand’s design boss in 1995 and 2000. His role
Tim Jeffery blurred amid the failed 2003 defence and Schnack’s free spirit
Production editor did not fit with new boss Grant Dalton. So he joined Luna Rossa
RUSSELL COUTTS
It should be enough to state ‘the most successful skipper in Cup
history’. With 14 wins in Cup matches Coutts passed Charlie
Barr and Dennis Conner. There’s also the matter of an Olympic
gold medal and becoming the dominant match racer of the 90s.
FRONT COVER/RIGHT: JAN PEHRSON
In hiring Coutts, Ernesto Bertarelli took the single most impor-

tant step in making Alinghi a winner. After their well-publicised
falling-out Coutts is sitting this Cup out while promoting his
RC44 class and launching the World Sailing League with Cayard
CHRIS DICKSON
A youth world champion, Dickson was twinned with David
Barnes and competed against Graeme Woodruffe and Brad
Butterworth to skipper New Zealand’s first Cup entry in 1987.
In the end, Michael Fay put Dickson and Butterworth together.
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Page 4 PAUL CAYARD 7

Few could be better placed to comment on the
32nd America’s Cup than this publication’s Editor-in-Chief
Page 8 SIZING UP ‘THE ENEMY’

Three-time Cup winner RUSSELL COUTTS marks out
the crucial differences onboard the AC boats
Page 12 THE SAME BUT DIFFERENT

BMW Oracle marketing director MIRKO GROESCHNER finds
the world of the America’s Cup presents many of the same
challenges as his previous role in Formula One Grand Prix
Page 16 INSIDE ALINGHI

TIM JEFFERY looks at the birth and development of
the Swiss defence team
Page 20 TEAM BY TEAM

Who, what, where and what matters
Page 36 THE LIMITS OF BRAVERY

TIM JEFFERY gives the teams their points out of 10…
Page 38 MAKING IT GO
TOM SCHNACKENBERG is that rare item, a powerful brain
that can communicate… so when he explains the forces at
work on an ACC boat it’s worth hearing
The media in Fremantle dubbed Dickson ‘an angel with U-Boat Page 46 NO MORE BANANAS
commander’s eyes’. Dickson went on to skipper the Nippon PAUL BIEKER and his BMW Oracle engineering team describe
Challenge and his own TAG Heuer teams in ’92 and ’95 and has the ACC structural revolution that has dominated much of his
been the key person in Larry Ellison’s 2003 and 2007 teams life for the past four years
PAUL BIEKER Page 52 REASON TO BELIEVE

After a degree in naval architecture at UC Berkeley Bieker Team New Zealand fell out of the last Cup in humiliating
worked for Gary Mull and then for a larger firm specialising in circumstances. Now Emirates Team New Zealand are
commercial craft. By now sailing Int 14s, he soon started to back with a vengeance
design and build them as well, developing this into designing
and building 14s for a living. Over time he’s also created several Page 56 HOW’S IT BLOWIN’?
innovative and successful performance keel boats. But it was Alinghi meteorologist JON BILGER looks at the factors that
his reputation with 14s that led BMW Oracle to come calling to dominate the racecourse weather in Valencia
work on their structures in 2003. That experience (not the fact
that Paul designed Bill Gates’ diving board) led to his current Page 60 CUP MEMORABILIA
role as head of hull and appendage structures for the team Alinghi’s general counsel HAMISH ROSS looks back at
some of the more ‘interesting’ moments in Cups past
JON BILGER
If Jon Bilger is to be remembered for one thing in years to come Page 64 COMMITMENT TO THE COMMITMENT
it will be his last-minute change of call of the favoured course Who better to ask about the first America’s Cup to be
side in Race 3 of the 2003 America’s Cup. Until then, he was held in Europe than DENNIS CONNER, the man who
little known outside of the Alinghi team. A sailmaker and coined his memorable phrase as his original recruiting filter...
engineer, he put together Alinghi’s very smart met team,
which then, as now tapped into the expertise of Australia’s TEAM
renowned CSIRO bureau and weather-modeller Jack Katzfey EDITOR-IN-CHIEF DISTRIBUTION
Paul Cayard Jan Briggs
HAMISH ROSS PRODUCTION EDITOR ACCOUNTS
Ross came from the leading Auckland law firm Bell Gully to look Tim Jeffery Claudine Thompson
after John Marshall’s Young America team in the years leading DESIGN PROMOTION
up to the 2000 Cup. He was in on the ground floor when Alinghi Stephen Stafford Storm Event Management
were created in 2000 and remains their general counsel and SUB-EDITOR ORIGINATION
part of the core management. With a longstanding interest in Sue Platt Menorca Repro Services
preserving New Zealand’s yachting heritage it’s no surprise he MARKETING PUBLISHER
has become an authority on the history of the America’s Cup Graeme Beeson Andrew Hurst
MIRKO GROESCHNER There is no Second is published by Fairmead Communications Limited,

who are also the publishers of Seahorse International Sailing Magazine:
The German is one of the new breaths of fresh air that has come for more information go to www.seahorsemagazine.com
into the Cup since it was transplanted to Europe. A longtime Fairmead Communications Limited, 5 Britannia Place, Station Street,
BMW man, Groeschner ran the fan and marketing activities of Lymington, Hampshire SO41 3BA, UK
Tel: (44) (0) 1590 671898 / 671899 Fax: (44) (0) 1590 671116
the Williams BMW Formula 1 team before taking over business Printed by Jiménez Godoy SA. International distribution by AerSpeed
development for all of BMW’s widespread motorsport, sailing Publications Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without
and golf sponsorships. In Valencia he is BMW Oracle Racing’s prior written permission from the publisher is prohibited and breaches
will be vigorously pursued
accomplished and busy director of marketing
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America’s Cup secrets

8
‘Understanding your enemy is fundamental

to waging a successful campaign; but
having conviction in your own choices is
even more important…’ so says Russell
Coutts, three-time Cup winner and the
dominant figure of the ACC era. Here
Coutts highlights what he sees as the
keys to this summer’s competition
Sizing up ‘t
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S
ome of the latest canoe bodies 9
have surprised me. They’re
more radical than I’d have imag-
ined would be good. I’ve looked
at the photos and, yes, I do have
opinions about the way to
develop a post-2003 hull. There is still plenty of
design space in Version 5 despite the parameters
being narrowed since Version 4 of the America’s
Cup Class Rule used in Auckland. There is
definitely more potential than, say, where
Alinghi were in 2003 with their hull develop-
ments.
In my opinion, some teams have gone too far
with certain characteristics, especially beam. I
read Grant Simmer’s view that a lot of the teams
have focused on pushing more volume into the
ends of the boat and I fully agree that is what
should have been emphasised. I think some of
the boats are too narrow. There’s a lot more to
this particular question of the hull concept but
this is all I am going to say for now!
Skirts off…
What I will say is that it’s a big misconception
that teams hold their breath waiting for the skirts
to drop on Unveiling Day to reveal hull shapes
and appendages. They already have a pretty
decent idea about the opposition. Most of the
top designers can look at someone else’s boat
and reproduce it pretty close to the reality. By
watching the boats tow in and out and sail, plus
having the right photographs, I’m sure you can
get your best guess incredibly close.
I don’t think you’re going to see anything out
of this world on any of the boats when the skirts
are removed. I’d be surprised if you do.
The point of assessing the opposition after
unveiling is to understand, not copy. Certainly
this is how a top team would approach it. A
smaller team without time or budget for their
own R&D might think differently but I doubt
they would have the funding or the time to react
anyway. I therefore believe the secrecy and
so-called anti-surveillance rules in the AC are
pushed by rules advisors but have little relevance
in the real world.
A strong team will have had their develop-
ment path set for some time; most of the big
SALLY COLLISON/SHOSHOLOZA
teams would have had their final choices pretty

much made by the start of 2007. I don’t think a
team who are on top of their game will worry
too much about a rival provided it’s understood
what the other boats are like.
What does require a lot of thought is how to
optimise and mode your own boat – in other
words, how to fine-tune your boat’s perfor-
mance profile to counter your assessment of the
opposition.
he enemy’
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Moding and tuning the boat. The performance gains from one day than the next, or the wind shear differ-
GILLES MARTIN RAGET

The challengers will obviously be looking to get developing a good set-up are substantial. And ent from the race start time to the finish.
a gauge on where they sit with the opposition before you race in earnest, it’s always hard to Onboard you are going through a continuous
during the Louis Vuitton selection series but the know how close people are to their optimum loop of trimming, changing and iterating things
rounds come thick and fast so you need to be performance. in the different conditions to try to understand
ahead of the other players, not reacting to them. So how do you assess tune? Just as you can the boat better and better.
As top teams are able to replicate their rivals’ model a rival hull, so you can get an idea of the In terms of the sail programmes being run for
hulls it goes without saying that they can evalu- depths of the opposition’s sails, how they are the current event, it’s probably fair to say that a
ate the performance reasonably accurately too. used and how they’re sheeting them. This will lot of the effort is being focussed upon
Velocity Prediction Programs (VPPs) and other provide a strong indication about how they’re identifying, achieving and maintaining the
tools match the theoretical performance pretty trying to mode their boat and quite a lot of other correct amount and location of leech twist.
closely with what is seen on the water. useful information. In fact since the 1992 Cup, upwind sail devel-
So if you can draw a rival’s hull to within a For example, are they favouring a set-up that opment has been focused quite narrowly upon
few millimetres and work out their moding gives them speed rather than height? But in a bringing up the mid-leeches of the sails while
what can’t you assess of the opposition? The way, this information is used in the same way as allowing the heads to twist off in a controlled
things that you don’t know are subtleties like the with data about hull shape; it doesn’t necessarily fashion; that’s why you now see the genoa
section shape of the appendages or wing angle, change the way you’d want to do things with pushers on the spreaders pushing and supporting
which might alter their upwind/downwind your own programme; it might just give you a the leeches. It’s also a big driver behind the
moding. You’re talking about tiny differences in better idea about how to race them. development of the big top mainsails.
section shape or wing angle. However, these can Looking at a Cup boat from behind you’ll see
make quite a big difference to the upwind/ In good trim that the mainsail leech is pretty straight until just
downwind performance profile. Sail trim is always a major factor in getting the below the hounds when it dramatically opens
With the skirts off, it will be possible to assess best out of any boat, but is especially true in the out. There’s lots more twist high up because,
the less subtle factors such as foil areas. This will case of the delicately balanced and powerful obviously, lower down, the mainsail sits behind
give a pointer to the more straightforward ACC fleet. the genoa and each sail is dramatically affecting
issues. For example, rudder size will give an You’ve got so many options. You can increase the other. Above the top of the genoa the flow is
indication of manoeuvrability versus straight- sail depths, change sail shapes and play with the much more twisted and the mainsail works at
line speed. You gain one by trading off against twist. All these things have a dramatic effect on much wider wind angles.
the other. performance and yet it is one of those areas Persuading the upper leech of the headsail to
In practical terms I can’t stress enough that where obviously you’re never dealing with the stay up while you sheet the genoa harder and
there’s so much to be gained in terms of tuning same conditions. The water might be choppier bring the mid-leech in is where most of the gains
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GILLES MARTIN RAGET

SERGIO DIONISIO
Coutts (opposite) with Sir Peter Blake and tactician Brad Butterworth in San Diego in 1995 as they celebrated the first of
what would become three successive Cup victories for the New Zealand skipper. In between America’s Cups, Coutts,
an Olympic gold medallist in the Finn Class, has always stayed active on both the match racing (left) and offshore circuits
are with the pushers. But some additional issues achieve similar objectives but often using a weight and centre of gravity. But I’ve also heard
stem from this idea. I remember it took us bit by slightly different route. the impact of a good spar is at least as important
surprise that once you began using the pusher Take the example of materials: you might be as it was before so the subtle factors are still very
you started thinking about how it allowed more able to see the fibre layout but you might not important. Put it this way, it’s probably as sig-
of the sail to be supported. With the pusher you necessarily know the material properties of the nificant as hull shape differences in terms of the
could build the sail bigger up there because it is fibres, the thickness of the Mylar and so forth. It overall performance gain.
resting against it. This whole development loop really is very hard to get the complete picture. A
has been picked up and carried further forward lot of the time you see stuff on other boats and The 80:20 rule
by all teams this time. might think ‘that’s interesting’ and try to under- Choices and decisions. Whether it’s the canoe
To me a good team is one where good sail stand why they might be doing it that way, but it body, appendages or aero package, all aspects of
trimmers are pretty much leading the sail design seldom goes much further than that. a campaign come down to determining which
programme. They should be sitting with the sail paths to follow. There have been plenty of flops
designer and discussing what to do next before All in the spar and failures in recent America’s Cups. Ulti-
any new design is committed. It’s so important Masts are a massive area of development, heavily mately they’re a result of not having enough
to have good people in these positions because linked with the sail programme. Again it’s vital time to evaluate a new idea properly.
they should have a strong influence. to have it driven from onboard and have these Many times an idea will look very good in
Much of what you see in the latest sails with people heavily involved in the mast design theory but when it is more fully interrogated it
big top mainsails and large roach headsails would process. The trimmers are the ones who really doesn’t look as promising. A key point for any
not have happened if batten and mast technology see how the mast is performing by the sail shapes new project is to establish ways to honestly and
had not kept pace. You want sails to achieve cer- being achieved. They see how it twists, how objectively evaluate different ideas and to cor-
tain shapes and be effective through a range of rigid it is going through waves and how the bend rectly allocate enough time to optimise a new
conditions. In the ideal world you’d have sails is achieved to match the mainsail set-up. concept.
that went through the full range, which could You can achieve a lot with the spar through Obviously you can nearly always improve
change shape in the correct way with the chang- different orientation of the fibres or geometry so things over time but at some stage you have to
ing loads and yet were light enough and strong the priority at the outset is to determine what go racing. Yet time and again you see radical
enough. Unfortunately the materials and con- properties you want to emphasise. How much ideas consuming a lot of time and not really
struction don’t permit this yet so you have to bend is good? Where would you like the bend? delivering much in terms of results.
build sails for a fairly specific range. How should the spar perform as the wind It’s fundamental to identify whether you’ve
That said, the progress of thread-oriented increases or decreases? got the time and resources. Often it is much
sails since the 1992 Cup has been huge. Every There are probably only two or three teams wiser to concentrate on the basics of designing a
Cup you go through the loop of determining in Valencia who have what I imagine to be a good boat and then learning how to tune it and
what fibre should be placed where to achieve the pretty good mast programme and that’s directly sail it properly.
desired shapes and range. linked to the calibre of the people onboard the And this is the absorbing thing about watching
Some teams go to a lot of trouble to hide a lot boat. The difference in performance between an some of these campaigns. There still seems to be
of things, such as the thread patterns in their off-the-shelf spar and one created by a team a lot of time wastage yet often the choices you
sails. It’s pretty pointless for the same reason as really on top of their development programme face might result in a minor speed difference. I
trying to hide the hull! I think it’s hard enough is massive. I’ve seen two-boat tests where the reckon on 80 per cent of the occasions where
trying to understand these things within your only variable has been a mast swap, and it’s you are choosing between two options you
own team in the time available. It’s actually very reversed the performance of the boats. The might be better to toss a coin and move onto an
rare that somebody will come out with an idea slower boat has become the faster one and vice item of greater significance.
that you want to adopt. Normally there is some versa. A good ACC spar can really make this Some, but not all, of the decisions in the
sort of logical progression to each team’s devel- much difference. remaining 20 per cent will make a measurable
opment and it is difficult and often unwise to You can’t isolate the spars from the entire difference. The trick is to recognise and identify
suddenly deviate from that just because of some- aero package but with Version 5 narrowing the which of these will provide the greatest gains
thing you might have seen on an opposition class rule down, I’ve heard that it is much easier and then spend enough time developing those
boat. Most of the teams would be trying to to build a mast that is stiff enough, yet minimum items. ❒
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Marketing
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THE SAME BUT DIFFERENT

Mirko Groeschner is currently heading up the marketing for BMW Oracle Racing
in Valencia. Before that he was doing the same job, also for BMW but on the
world’s Formula One grand prix circuits. His comparison is worth reading...
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The single-product 13
phenomenon that is
Red Bull is the latest
big-name sponsor to
diversify into sailing
from the more mature
Formula One
sponsorship market.
Oracle-backer BMW
is another interesting
example, the German
giant now (right)
going into their
second season as
a fully fledged F1
manufacturer, having
previously only
BMW
supplied engines...
Both sports have matured to the extent that teams

might dream of breakthrough designs, but in
reality are chasing small performance increments.
The design approaches and methodologies are
similar. The teams in both sports attract the best
and brightest people as designers, mechanics or
aero/hydro specialists. And don’t forget the
money invested. Compared with most other
sports, the budgets are huge, although the spend
ratio between F1 and AC is still 6:1, if not 10:1,
on a year-to-year basis.
Formula One is a massive undertaking: 16, 17
or even 18 grand prix venues around in the world
each year starting in March in Australia and
finishing in October in Asia. The logistical
requirements are overwhelming. Within Europe
the teams travel with a fleet of trucks including
their motor homes. At each venue they establish
their pit garages with all the equipment neces-
sary in a day or two. The floors of the garages
even get freshly painted the day before the
mechanics show up to set up the workshop.
After Sunday’s race there is not much time for
celebration, grief or analysis as everyone is imme-
diately busy packing up. By Sunday night the bulk
of each team have disappeared, returning to their
home bases, and by the following Monday night
or Tuesday the trucks are on the road again on
the way to the next GP venue.
When teams travel outside Europe they use
their so-called ‘fly-away kits’ where all the
equipment is stored in boxes suitable for air-
OSKAR KIHLBORG/VICTORY
freight. But this is only the race configuration

as most of the teams also maintain a separate
testing unit that travels to various European
circuits to do the testing during the week, to
say nothing of the work that continues year round
at their team headquarters, which is where most
have their R&D and manufacturing facilities.
All in all, more than 500 people work for an F1
team. In that respect, even our largest AC teams
of about 150 look pretty modest.
REFERRING TO THE AMERICA’S CUP AS Both the America’s Cup and F1 represent the This current America’s Cup cycle has
the Formula One of the Sea has become common- pinnacle of their respective disciplines. The witnessed positive steps towards moving our
place around the waterfront in Valencia. The two technical challenges that the R&D guys face are sport closer to the Formula One model. First, of
sports certainly have more in common than they pretty similar: constrained by strict rules, both course, have been the Acts. In 2005, for instance,
are different. work on prototypes developed and tested to an we sailed in three different countries in Europe
The difference most banded around is that extreme. Whether it is the carbon hull or the and managed to get boats, equipment and people
motorsport appeals to a mass audience and sailing carbon monocoque of the car, the development around the continent. Our bases in Valencia are
to a very fine, but particular niche. But there are of sails or the tyre configuration, a huge effort pretty substantial as headquarters. Not only are
a lot of other similarities and dissimilarities that goes into building lighter, stronger and faster they a great place for a team to work and to
make it worth taking a look behind the scenes for exemplars of their respective disciplines. operate, they offer a variety of possibilities to run
a more detailed comparison. Constant refinement is the name of the game. corporate hospitality programmes similar to those 䊳
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seen in F1. Be a guest of an America’s Cup team,

follow the team training or go out sailing with
SALLY COLLISON
the America’s Cup race crew – all little steps to
market the huge potential of the Cup. Yet there
needs to be a big breakthrough to bring America’s
Cup racing more to the attention of the public.
This will only happen with a continuous racing
series around the globe in the same class and with
GILLES MARTIN RAGET/BMWO

the same people under the same format. We can
learn a great deal from F1’s ability to be that
flexible and quick when it comes to exploiting
the world’s attention.
From a sponsorship point of view there are a
few interesting aspects that mark some of the
differences between the two sports. In F1
people assume that the companies spend their
sponsor money with a clear and defined set of
marketing, PR or sales targets in mind. In the
America’s Cup the assumption is that the compared to Formula One. using the energy of the wind. These elements form
company chief executive has a passion for sailing. Yet this sport has a great deal to offer to achieve part of our energy future and living resources.
The decision to back an America’s Cup team is the same high-level international marketing and
still often seen as indulging the individual business platform as Formula One. America’s 3. International
decision-maker as opposed to a conscious Cup’s strengths include: Sport is regional per se. Not many sporting events
corporate decision. appeal to a wider international audience at one
Yet, in reality, the America’s Cup can present 1. Pictures and emotions time: the Soccer Champions’ League in Europe
a compelling case for corporate sponsorship. Pictures and film sequences showing Cup yachts and of course F1, but what else that takes place
Those who live with the misapprehension that it in action are the most attractive and beautiful more frequently and generates international
is vanity funding don’t realise that sailing has sport footage in the world. This appeals right interest? Companies that operate globally try
recently sold some valuable corporate sponsor- to the heart of people and triggers a whole set to get involved in a sport that communicates
ships and is working hard to step up to the plate of emotional associations. It is the basis and throughout the major markets and can be lever-
as a sport that can withstand hard media and starting point for a positive image transfer to a aged on a wider scene than merely regional.
market research measure. brand that is part of this experience.
But one thing needs to be said as well: while F1 4. Lifestyle on a high level
pitches strongly for corporate money and the sport 2. The sport is clean The luxury goods sector and premium consumer
adapts and changes its programme every now and Especially after the warmest winter in Europe for goods segments have grown substantially over
then, the America’s Cup and their teams still need decades, the environmental factor becomes more the past 10 years as Western economies have
to be discovered. The business and marketing important everywhere. Technical sports with zero grown further and additional powerful industries
power in the America’s Cup still lags far behind emissions present a chance to be leveraged by com- in Asia have come up, generating more and more
its potential. The number of agencies, for instance, panies who want to position themselves in that area. affluent people.
working on concepts for AC teams is still very low Sailing is a clean sport in the waters of this world The success of international brands such as
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15
GILLES MARTIN RAGET/BMWO

Opposite, top: the introduction of the
Louis Vuitton Acts has proved a big
bonus in terms of opportunities for
sponsor and corporate hospitality;
note the extreme jib roach on SWE 73.
Opposite and above: on their return to
Valencia BMW Oracle wasted no time
in lining up their extensively rebuilt
USA 87 with the newer USA 98.
Left: the arrival of China in the Cup
has greatly excited the marketing
men… if Chinese interest is sustained
global programme. We should be fair and give

the America’s Cup some time to rearrange some
of the pillars that support the structure.
At the same time, of course, with all the
willingness to change, we have to make sure that
Louis Vuitton, Prada, BMW or Moët has been The media values in F1 are unbeatable and the we maintain the dignity, traditions and grace of
built mainly on careful identity-driven marketing. best answer to the question of sponsors’ ROI. the America’s Cup itself as the oldest trophy in
Sailing, especially the America’s Cup, represents Europe has been very good for the America’s international sport.
an image that is highly attractive to the target Cup. It is a sports continent with so many differ-
groups as the brand content is combined with the ent nations living so close to each other that all FIVE THINGS I’D DO IF I HAD THE CHANCE
sport’s lifestyle elements. support an attractive event like America’s Cup 1. Make sure the wind comes in at exactly
These four elements alone form a strong basis sailing. We have found a lot of new friends here 12 minutes before the start of a race so that we
for a successful marketing platform for the future. for the Cup, but we have still not done enough to don’t suffer from postponements or
However, the sport needs to develop the concept help them understand the ‘sporty’ appeal. cancellations any more which kill TV interest.
further from within, gain more supporters to F1 racing seems easier to follow: 60 to 70 laps 2. Decide on the format and plan for the next
get the ideas out and win more corporate clients around a racetrack. In fact, match racing is very America’s Cup before the start of this LV Cup
from other sports. But one thing needs to be said: similar: 70 minutes of upwind and downwind to establish more transparency and certainty
we are not talking here about the occasional sailing. We must create a language that does not for our corporate sponsors.
champagne reception, or the one-boat christen- depend on ‘prestart penalties’ or ‘luffing rights’ 3. Develop a language and terminology that
ing event. Marketing is permanent and pervasive or other obscure terms (sometimes these expres- even my non-sailing parents can understand.
and requires a longterm vision, the right concepts sions, hard enough to understand in English, are 4. Get one week of well-produced AC match
and persistence to follow through. adopted untranslated in other languages, which and fleet racing live on the major networks in
In this respect, our sport needs more conti- makes them even more incomprehensible). We the world and see how many more fans this
nuity and more racing in all parts of the world. also need to better exploit all the possibilities that sport can generate.
That will create the audience and the TV and modern TV technologies offer. 5. Put up jumbo TV screens in all the primary
media results – measured as return on invest- F1 has undertaken a lot of significant changes locations in the world and show AC racing live
ment (ROI) – which are already on the upswing. in the past 20 years to develop its very effective from Valencia. ❒
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T HE D EFENCE
16
Inside Alinghi
No one will know until the 32nd America’s Cup match begins whether the
Alinghi team have managed to make the same jump they achieved in 2003,
when they went into the 31st Cup match in Auckland what transpired to be
nearly three years ahead of their rivals in terms of development and sailing.
Tim Jeffery looks at their strengths… of weaknesses he found few
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Wisdom… The Alinghi 17

story started back in
2000 with the new
team using the much
modified canoe body
of the Philippe Briand
design that competed
in the 2000 Louis
Vuitton Cup (right) in
this experimental
twin-keel configura-
tion. However, Alinghi
GILLES MARTIN RAGET

had identified that
though in Auckland
the boat’s abilities had
been ‘confusing’ the
actual hull was quick
balking at the handover of the leadership of the

New Zealand team; which is how they found
themselves in New York, along with Canadian
fishing tycoon John Risley whom they’d asked to
become one of TNZ’s new trustees.
Having decided that the old trustees had no
intention of letting them run the sort of TNZ
they wanted, the pair had shaken hands on
creating a wholly new Cup enterprise from
Europe. However, heading out to dinner to
toast the arrangement the Swiss were still not
entirely certain that they’d landed the most
successful Cup duo of all time. ‘Why aren’t you
coming? enquired Bonnefous as they walked
to supper. ‘We are!’ replied Butterworth. A
parallel conversation was going on ahead
between Bertarelli and Risley. ‘I don’t think
they will come,’ offered Bertarelli. ‘They will!’
was Bonnefous’ quick response.
And 33 months later they had won the
America’s Cup. They had achieved what only
Bill Koch had done in modern times: victory
from a cold start by a first-time team.
In truth, Coutts and Butterworth were running
hot. They had done two Cups, had won them both
THIERRY MARTINEZ/ALINGHI
5:0 and they knew the game. Simon Daubney,
Warwick Fleury, Murray Jones and Dean Phipps
came with them, not just the nucleus of a crew
who had sailed together for 10 years, but skilled
and experienced men who knew what made Cup
boats tick and how to make them beat faster.
Alinghi were quite late into the hiring market
yet, amazingly, Rolf Vrolijk had been over-
looked by other teams, largely because his talent
had been masked by the shambles of the 2000
Spanish team. Vrolijk brought with him Manolo
BEFORE 2000 ALINGHI MEANT LITTLE OR referred to as the man who ended the USA’s Ruiz de Elvira and one by one the team grew out
nothing outside the circle of lake racers on Lac 132-year grip on the America’s Cup, so from its core, people brought in because they
Léman. Ernesto Bertarelli’s name was better Bertarelli is the first European to have won the were known personally or because Coutts took a
known in sailing for his attempt to turn Pierre world’s oldest sporting trophy. But while Bond’s very long, hard look at them first.
Fehlmann’s Farr-designed fleet of failed Grand tenure lasted barely three and a half years there is Coutts is no longer at Alinghi. A rumbling
Mistral round-the-world Maxi One-Designs good reason to think that Alinghi can successfully disagreement with Bertarelli about how Alinghi
into an inshore series. defend what they won. and the 2007 Cup should be run turned to
Now in any busy city you’re sure to see The Alinghi America’s Cup story really went breakdown and divorce by early summer 2004.
Alinghi-branded clothing. This is just one point live in New York. Bertarelli and his longtime Yes, Coutts is irreplaceable. In Butterworth’s
on the success index achieved by Bertarelli. associate Michel Bonnefous had met Russell words he is ‘the best there is at this game’. He’s
Another seems to have been his decision last Coutts and Brad Butterworth in Auckland not saying that because they are such close friends
year to sell to Merck for US$13 billion a during their preparations for Team New either. And, yes, morale and motivation dived
majority of the Serono pharmaceutical/biotech Zealand’s 2000 Cup defence. Coutts continued inside Alinghi. How could it not be so when the
company founded by his grandfather. The the dialogue on a trip to Switzerland after skipper and boss have such a deep dispute?
proceeds were cash, not paper. And he still steering TNZ to their second successive win in Grant Simmer, Alinghi’s managing director,
holds a nice chunk of stock as well. early 2000… despite flying into Zurich instead admitted in 2004, ‘The team were struggling…
Even set against this business success it is of Geneva by mistake. grieving somewhat with Russell leaving.’
Sunday 2 March 2003 for which Bertarelli will be In the weeks following TNZ’s 2000 victory Simon Daubney is one of the irreplaceable
forever defined. Just as Alan Bond is always Coutts and Butterworth were frustrated, talents of the modern Cup. A sail-trimmer, yet so 䊳
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THIERRY MARTINEZ/IVO ROVIRA/ALINGHI/GILLES MARTIN RAGET

Key players all (clockwise from top left): helm-candidate Peter Holmberg, engineer and navigator Mike Drummond,
trimmer supreme Simon Daubney, skipper Brad Butterworth, chief designer Rolf Vrolijk, former East German Olympic
sailing legend Jochen Schümann, Australia II veteran Grant Simmer and the man who put it together – Ernesto Bertarelli
much more. He rolls up his sleeves and gets question. No doubt Alinghi are rather hoping
immersed in the design process ashore and is the
heartbeat of the crew afloat. ‘It still amazes me
that even with all the accolades Russell has
‘TWO OR THREE they won’t have to race their socks off to retain
the Cup because Vrolijk & Co will have put a
pretty darned good machine under their feet.
received people don’t get the complete picture of
how good he is at this game, not just on the
TIMES EACH DAY One thing that seems sure is that it won’t be
Coutts driving. He and Bertarelli stayed in touch
water,’ he explains. ‘I find myself thinking two or
three times a day when we are making decisions
“What would Russell say or think or do here?”’
I THINK… WHAT post-divorce and did discuss a return at last
summer’s Farr 40 Worlds; but some of the old
rub-points were still there and the discussion
What set Alinghi back on track was continu-
ing success on the water. Their two 2003 ACC
WOULD RUSSELL was short.
The other question, and the one that really
boats, SUI 64 and SUI 75, remained a step ahead
of any other team even two to three years later, DO OR SAY HERE’ matters, is how good are the new Swiss boats,
SUI 91 and 100? Only Alinghi know. For all the
with Simmer confirming that Alinghi had still
had ‘a few things that we wouldn’t use yet
because they are potentially significant…’
– SIMON DAUBNEY much vaunted ‘show’ of the Act regattas and
how they have not only brought racing to a
wider public, but also mixed the standard of the
Going into the 2003 Cup Alinghi were the challengers, the defender has gained hugely by
cutest team at using the hull change allowance. the races. That’s what we love doing and this has them. It’s one of the benefits of winning the Cup
Along with chopping up the old behAPpy – with- genuinely shone through.’ – you fashion the next one as you like.
out prior approval, for which they were fined – Just why Alinghi are so strong is that where Alinghi have had a good look at most of the
they managed to get about seven iterations of an there were weaknesses – and probably only new boats and new ideas from the challengers
ACC canoe body out of three hulls. It’s hard to insiders had spotted them – they were quickly while giving little away themselves save their
credit that they can have lost the knack of using reinforced. An already outstanding spar and new trim set-up seen in 2005. Otherwise
full scale to such good effect. Certainly, in structures team were boosted by American Kurt they’ve raced both 2003 Cup-winning SUI 64
converting their boats to Version 5, they did not Jordan. The theoretical design modelling and and SUI 75 and it took until the latter half of the
use the full 60 per cent of permissible hull analysis were taken to new levels with the arrival 2006 season for the current Emirates Team New
changes in their first shot. of Dane Michael Richelsen. Mike Drummond, Zealand’s first new boat, NZL 84, to show that
Yet Coutts’ departure has made those outside engineer and navigator discarded by the recast here were the first team to actually catch up to
Alinghi see just how good this team are, because 2007 Team New Zealand, was readily snapped where Alinghi had been three years before…
it has made them look beyond the obvious star. up and reacquainted with his 1995 and 2000 It is such a nice position to be in, Coutts or no
It’s ironic that Bertarelli’s single most important Team New Zealand team-mates. And so on. Coutts. There’s a sureness of touch about most
Cup-winning decision was to hire Coutts and The vital area where Coutts’ shoes cannot be things Alinghi do. Confidence is too one-
that Coutts’ legacy is the team still in place. filled is behind the wheel. Before he left, Peter dimensional a word for it, but you feel that in
‘We have some real experience in our group, Holmberg had already been hired as B-boat everything they can control they’re reasonably
great relationships and strong friendships that driver. Attempts to lure James Spithill faltered happy with their own work. And nothing from
have gone through a lot of things together,’ because he wanted to bring his own core crew the challengers has come remotely close to
admits Brad Butterworth, who was named with him. And after Coutts had gone, Ed Baird spooking them.
vice-president and eventually skipper. ‘That’s was brought in as another helmsman. As Daubney puts it: ‘I’ve got a healthy
been able to hold our group together. We’re all Who will steer come Race 1 of the 32nd respect for the sailors on the other teams. But I
here for one reason: to do the regatta and win match on Saturday 23 June? It is a very good think we stand a good chance, yeah.’ ❒
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WWW.BLUEGREENPICTURES.COM
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Teams
20
NO
WHITEWASH
Though Alinghi are the short-odds favourite to win
the 32nd America’s Cup, it’s unlikely to be plain
sailing for the Swiss team. Tim Jeffery assesses
the line-up of challengers and the challenges, on
and off the water, they each face
THIERRY MARTINEZ/ALINGHI
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22
THE TEAMS track record of the Kandlers, Stéphane and his Franco-German
father Ortwin, who became wealthy as a lawyer in the early days
THE DEFENDER of Airbus Industrie.
Alinghi The family have spent a lot of money in yachting over the past
Country Switzerland decade with projects such as the radical wing-masted Juan
Yacht club Société Nautique de Genève Kouyoumdjian-designed Admiral’s Cupper Crazy K-Yote, and
Team owner Ernesto Bertarelli SUI acquiring the rights to the One Ton Cup. They have a record of
Skipper Brad Butterworth NZL not quitting.
Helmsman Peter Holmberg USA, Ed Baird USA But what was hoped to be a major team has been scaled down
Designers Rolf Vrolijk NED, Dirk Kramers NED, to a one new boat operation. Designer Bernard Nivelt has not
Manolo Ruiz de Elvira ESP had much budget for testing either, though Areva did buy TNZ’s
Sail numbers SUI 64, SUI 75, SUI 91, SUI 100 design data from the 2000 Cup as well as the team’s 2000
Can Alinghi carve themselves out a second piece of history? Before boats NZL 57 and 60 so had Version 3 best practice to hand.
them Team New Zealand had been the only challenger to win American Dawn Riley is the team’s general manager working
the Cup (1995) and successfully defend it (2000). And the along with Kandler. In the summer of 2006 the longterm skipper
comparison with TNZ is apposite. There’s a sense of destiny Thierry Peponnet was replaced by fast improving match racer
waiting around the corner for a rematch of 2003 when Alinghi Sébastian Col.
snatched the Cup away from New Zealand.
When Swiss pharmaceutical/biotech billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli BMW Oracle Racing
hired Russell Coutts, Brad Butterworth, Warwick Fleury, Murray Jones, Country USA
Simon Daubney and Dean Phipps away from Team New Zealand in Yacht club Golden Gate YC, San Francisco
2000, he bought himself the best skipper, tactician and sail trim- Team owner Larry Ellison USA
mers in the business. ‘The Tight Five’ as Butterworth calls the asso- Skipper Chris Dickson NZL
ciates with whom Coutts sailed to three successive Cup wins. Helmsman Chris Dickson NZL
If there is to be a rematch, then there’s a new twist. Alinghi Designers Bruce Farr NZL, Juan Kouyoumdjian ARG
are now without Coutts. And had TNZ been part of the UK’s image- Sail numbers USA 71, USA 76, USA 87 and USA 98
obsessed political landscape then they would have been branded On paper Larry Ellison’s second challenge is the strongest from
New Team New Zealand. a field of 11. The budget is huge, estimated to be over US$200
For 2004, 2005 and 2006 Alinghi’s boats, SUI 64 (the 2003 million, and the scale of operation enormous particularly on the
Cup winner) and SUI 75, remained at the top of the class, technology side.
proving that the Swiss team were half a generation ahead in Ellison is an unusual owner. He spends little time with the team
their hull/ rig/appendages combination. Having sucked in all the in terms of management or public relations. One can only guess
information they could about the challengers, Alinghi then what BMW’s top brass from Munich thought when the team’s first
spent this winter in Dubai turning the wick up on SUI 91. And new boat, USA 87, was launched in 2006. Ellison did not
before the team returned to Valencia, Bertrand Cardis’s Decision attend or even send an Oscars-style ‘I’m sorry I can’t be with
SA had delivered the second new boat, SUI 100. you in person tonight’ video message.
It’s hard to believe that Dubai won’t be hosting some slice of And conforming to the protocol of diplomacy, Ellison’s absence
the Cup in future given Alinghi’s connection and Emirates’ meant that top-level personnel from BMW couldn’t be there either.
backing of TNZ. No matter how great a loss Coutts is from It was very annoying for a company that is a US$55 million
behind Alinghi’s wheel, the Swiss team are a short-odds favourite sponsor, is very aggressive in its sports marketing and likes to
to defend. The evidence is pretty compelling… stamp its corporate image firmly on its activities. Shades of the
They’ve had three years’ checking in to the challengers’ fleet uneasy relationship between BMW and Williams before the Germans
and have not been found wanting; there’s continuity among all bought out Peter Sauber’s squad in order to have a Formula 1
the key personnel (Butterworth, Schümann, Simmer, Daubney, team of their own perhaps?
Vrolijk, Kramers, Fleury, Jones, de Elvira, Cardis and so on); the Yet if Ellison wants to sail he is automatically in the crew. At
structure of the game is heavily stacked in their favour, having the Allianz Cup match race event in San Francisco in Sept-
only to optimise their boat for June/July conditions in Valencia ember 2006, Ellison requested a place in the draw, trained for
where the challengers have to multi-mode and/or split their two two weeks with Gavin Brady, but still refused to allow TV cameras
boats between the April/May conditions of the Louis Vuitton onboard despite this being a standard World Match Racing Tour
trials and the Cup itself; finally the challengers’ schedule is brutally rule to give sponsors value (of course the event’s main sponsors
compressed. The weak teams quickly fall by the wayside and were Oracle themselves and the team’s second-tier backer
the strong ones have no breathing space if they hit setbacks Allianz). If you are a billionaire only the golden rule applies
with either their men or their boats. apparently: he who has the gold makes the rules.
If BMW Oracle win the America’s Cup, we’re in for a really
THE CHALLENGERS interesting time. But victory is harder to see than it was a year
ago. If TNZ don’t block BOR, then Alinghi will.
Areva Challenge Ellison’s contact with the team is through Chris Dickson. The
Country France dialogue is frequent and the two are, seemingly, on the same
Yacht club Cercle de la Voile de Paris FRA symbiotic wavelength. Ellison knows all about the rough and
Team owner Stéphane Kandler FRA tumble of the corporate world and his counsel to Dickson in
Skipper Sébastien Col FRA 2005 would have been fascinating to listen in on.
Helmsman Sébastien Col FRA There is no dressing up the fact that BMW Oracle had a
Designer Bernard Nivelt FRA difficult time back then. John Kostecki left and others took time
GILLES MARTIN-RAGET/BMWO
Sail numbers FRA 57, FRA 60, FRA 93 out, including key sail designer/trimmer Ross Halcrow and
This is the K Challenge that became the Areva Challenge after tune-up driver Gavin Brady. They did not like Dickson’s 365-
France’s major electrical and nuclear engineering company came day a year approach. Other senior people went through similar
aboard as sponsor. Areva sponsored another French team, le Défi, soul-searching to discover if they wanted to continue in the face
in 2003. of Dickson’s micro-managing.
There had been serious concerns that this team might not make Halcrow and Brady came back. Most others stayed. Since
it into 2006 because of funding. But if there was one thing that then Dickson has lightened up onshore while losing none of his
made it seem likely that K Challenge would survive it is the focus on the water, which has created a much better atmos-
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YOUTH VERSUS EXPERIENCE still maintaining a level of strength and fitness greater than newcomers
who are 15 years younger. There’s no better example than BMW
– CHRIS DICKSON, Oracle’s crew boss Craig Monk.
BMW ORACLE Bottom line? The old bulls are tough to beat and only the best and
most committed of the youngsters will make it to the top.
I have wonderful memories of my first America’s Cup experiences in It’s the same deal off the boat. The design, boatbuilding and opera-
Fremantle in 1986-7 with the New Zealand Challenge, both on and off tions side of the programmes draw on experienced people. For exam-
the water. And the lessons learned are still valid today. ple, Bruce Farr, Mark Turner and Laurent Esquier in those areas of
Dennis Conner was there determined to win back the Cup. John BMW Oracle Racing bring decades of Cup experience between them.
Bertrand and Peter Gilmour were with two of the four Australian By my count there are something like 20 ACC boats sailing here in
teams. John Kolius skippered a big New York YC effort to regain the Valencia and 340 crew. In theory it sounds like plenty of opportunity
Cup. Tom Blackaller, Rod Davis and Buddy Melges headed other for today’s young sailors to get into this game. The route’s the same
American teams. now as it was for me: go and win in junior racing, then in youth rac-
I got noticed because I was a 24-year-old newcomer skippering ing, Olympic classes and then get a top reputation in circuit racing
New Zealand’s first challenge. It made little impact really. such as the Farr 40s or TP52s and in match racing. There are more
I was there for the racing – so what and who people were talking opportunities today than ever before and so it’s easier to be a pro sailor
about didn’t concern me. Maybe that’s – which is maybe why the best older
why I am still around 20 years later! sailors stand out more than ever!
We had a great run through to the We have trialled and taken on several
Louis Vuitton Cup final. Our fibreglass young sailors who have proved to have
12 Metre KZ-7 was fast in the moderate the potential and it is great to see them
conditions and hung in in the light. Tom grasp the opportunity and keep growing.
Blackaller’s boat was faster than KZ-7 but Carl Williams, for example, is one we
with bow and stern rudders they couldn’t identified and employed early and he is
turn corners, which was kind of lucky for now Star World Champion!
the rest of us. If you are truly committed to becom-
It was still very unusual then for boats ing an invaluable team member you’ll
from the challenger and defender camps to take on any task – even if it means wet-
line up, but we also sailed a bit against the sanding at 6am. I spent some time in the
Aussies and caught some flack for it. We New Year around the 420 Worlds at
thought we were pretty similar to the Kook- home in Takapuna and met teenage
aburras and backed ourselves against them. sailors from around the world who are
I thought Blackaller would be very already working hard and have raised the
even with Conner’s Stars & Stripes because level since I sailed 420s 25 years ago. It’s
of his speed edge on us. But in the semis, great to see that young passion for the
of course, Blackaller went down in sport. And you can recognise early on
straight races, which showed there’d been when and if a sailor has what it takes.
an improvement on Stars & Stripes… She Each campaign I have been involved with
was always faster in a breeze and in the has brought valuable lessons and achieve-
finals they were really optimised for the ments. The learning curve was steep in
20kt-plus stuff. She was longer, heavier, 1987, but that first New Zealand Challenge
with a much higher prismatic than KZ-7 went all the way through to the Louis Vuit-
and in the strong conditions significantly ton Cup final when nobody thought a first-
faster. time team could do it. We were there to
Guess what? In the finals we got heavy win and felt we could win so at the end we
air that suited Stars & Stripes. So although were very disappointed. Now we recognise
Dennis’s team beat Blackaller 4:0 and that we performed to our full potential and
went on to beat Kookaburra 4:0 we took one race off them and came went further than all but one of our competitors, many of whom had far
close in another when they blew out a jib. greater resources and budgets and much more experience.
In hindsight, KZ-7 was pitched too far down the wind range for the I also derived great satisfaction from building the Japanese Nippon
conditions we got at the end. She was too short, too light, had too low Challenge team from nothing to a Louis Vuitton Cup semi-finalist in
a prismatic and too much sail area. If we sailed the regatta again today 1992. The following Cup in 1995 I established my own team and,
in the same boats, the result would be the same. For a first-time effort, although we had a very small budget and a one-boat campaign, TAG
though, you’d have to say we did OK. Heuer also made it to the final four in the Louis Vuitton Cup. Finally,
Some of those same Kiwis I sailed with on KZ-7 – Brad Butter- in 2003, it was very satisfying to come in late and turn around Larry
worth, Mike Quilter, Simon Daubney and Andy Taylor – are here in Ellison’s Oracle BMW Racing team and take that all the way to the
Valencia, still in the game. Here’s the reason: the America’s Cup is the Louis Vuitton final.
pinnacle in our sport because it relies so heavily on skill and experi- In all those teams, however, winning was the objective, and it was
ence. My generation have been fortunate because we started as possible. Even though for various reasons the odds were against us, we
professionals in our early 20s at a time when the sport was only just still had a chance to win and made the absolute best of that chance. We
starting to turn professional. In essence, we were among the first in kept to the objective, worked to our strengths and never gave up.
the game. Yes, we were the least experienced at the time but that was Perhaps that is what stands me apart from some of our career profes-
because we were also the youngest. sionals. I have never been there for a career, only to win.
Today we are at a similar age to where the top names were 20 years I believe this is what stands this present BMW Oracle Racing team
ago, but we have the advantage of having been devoted full time to apart. We have had the time and the money to work ourselves into a
yacht racing for the best part of 30 years. And there are key roles in a position where we are at the highest level in all areas, combined with
Cup crew – helming, trimming, tactics and navigation – where experi- that same drive and dedication to winning that I have always maintained.
ence is a greater priority than physical ability. It puts us on a very nice footing to go yacht racing. I am very happy
You have sailors who were the best of their generation as junior and with where we are at and with what we are. And I am looking forward
youth sailors and who can now draw on 30 years of experience and to the competition.
maturity. In the more physical positions you have the real professionals Chris Dickson, skipper
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phere. The boil has been lanced and it seems as if the team
collectively said to themselves ‘we are a vastly experienced
group of people with all the backing we could hope for. For
many of us this is our best chance of winning the Cup, so let’s
knuckle down.’
More than anything BMW Oracle’s chances will be down to
how fast their boats are. For three years they were the leaders of
the challenger pack but that ended when their first new boat,
USA 87, appeared in July 2006.
Ian Burns has a big technical team under him but this boat
was credited largely to Bruce Farr. She stood out through having
very unusual volume distribution with displacement, rig and
appendages crowded into the front. She had some nice traits
too: a fast rate of turn and nimbleness. What she lacked accord-
ing to rival teams was outright speed. Ouch!
The question had to be asked: had the biggest design effort
in modern America’s Cup history set off down the wrong path?
If so, had BMW Oracle sunk back into the pack instead of lead-
ing it… and what did this say about the programme itself?
Juan Kouyoumdjian, emboldened by his Volvo Race success,
made no secret of the fact that the team’s second boat had
more of his signature on it. Meanwhile, USA 87 spent the winter
having a massive redesign and rebuild. So there are two possibilities.
Had the team developed two ‘best solutions’ concurrently? Or had
they got Boat 1 wrong and it had failed to deliver at full scale
any promise that it had shown on-screen and in the tank?
It had to be the latter. From a position of leadership, Dickson’s
team have to fight back before they can move on again.
China Team
Country China
Yacht club Qingdao International Yacht Club
Team owner Le Défi FRA and Chaoyang Wang CHN
Skipper Pierre Mas FRA
Helmsman Pierre Mas FRA
Designer Daniel Andrieu FRA
Sail numbers CHN 69, CHN 79, CHN 95
If there’s a market for America’s Cup futures, the Chinese are
buying and so are America’s Cup Management. The story of China
Team is not about 2007, but what might happen in the future.
Regattas in China? A low-scale sighting shot followed by a
mighty Chinese challenge in AC 33 and 34?
So for 2007 China enters the Cup for the first time? Well, yes
and no. China Team are the maiden challenge by a Chinese
yacht club, previous efforts from Hong Kong having come to noth-
ing. This one materialised largely because the old French team
le Défi, owned and operated by Luc Gellusseau, Pierre Mas and
Xavier de Lesquen, has upped-sticks and transplanted itself.
The trio were involved in the 2000 and 2003 Cups, making a
living, being part of the Cup, but always doing it the hard way
and without really making an impact. ACM were super-keen to
raise interest in the Cup in the fast-growing Chinese market (though
there are fewer than 2,000 yachts in China) and weighed up China Team
several options during exploratory visits.
Le Défi became China Team when part of it was purchased by
Chaoyang Wang, who heads a venture capital firm and who Helmsman Karol Jablonski POL
based the challenge out of Qingdao, venue of the 2008 Olympic Designers John Reichel, Jim Pugh and Scott Graham USA
Regatta, for the first three years. But even in 2005 this team Sail numbers ESP 65, ESP 67, ESP 88, ESP 97
did not have enough new clothing to go round. The team’s – admit- Alinghi brought the Cup to Europe but, with the Swiss selling
tedly interesting – new boat was built at Dong Guan, a city north the hosting rights to Spain, Desafío Español find themselves in
of Hong Kong, in a new facility operated by famous Australian the novel situation of being home team. When mayor Rita Barbera
raceboat builder John McConaghy. embraced the Cup after it had been flown in from Geneva the
And at the end of 2006 there was another positive develop- same day Valencia was declared winner of the bidding process,
ment when Frank Pong, a keen yachtsman and wealthy devel- you would have thought that Spain had won the Cup anyway.
oper of shopping malls, joined the team. But to get this team off the ground much squaring of Spain’s
regions and cities, with their very strong cultural and political
Desafío Español identities, had to be done. It took the intervention of King Juan
Country Spain Carlos to combine a Valencia team with a Barcelona one into a
Federation Real Federación Española de Vela national effort. The trouble with this is that the challenge was
Team leader Agustín Zulueta ESP made through the Spanish sailing federation and not a yacht
Skipper Luis Doreste ESP club as required by the Deed of Gift. No one has protested the
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King, however, or the Swiss for accepting it but the legality of Iberdrola, who produce ‘green’ electricity with wind generators.
the challenge may yet be tested before the jury.
Once the Spanish team were established they developed Emirates Team New Zealand
quickly. Poland’s Karol Jablonski, who is both a former world Country New Zealand
match racing champion and ice boat world champion, was hired Yacht club Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, Auckland
when the proposed Toscana challenge from Italy failed to materialise. Team leader Grant Dalton NZL
The Laurie Davidson OneWorld boats and design package from Skipper Dean Barker NZL
2003 were bought, though for probably less than the original Helmsman Dean Barker NZL
US$25 million asking price and Reichel-Pugh hired as designers. Designers Marcelino Botín ESP and Clay Oliver USA
Spain has an abundance of talent but little prowess in match Sail numbers NZL 81, NZL 82, NZL 84, NZL 92
racing. But once the team were up and running they used the Into the dismay and disarray of Team New Zealand’s 2003
home advantage strongly by spending a lot of time sailing, drubbing (a boat swamping, a broken boom and a broken mast)
slowly catching up the fast-starting teams such as Alinghi, stepped the one person who had the profile in New Zealand to
BMW Oracle and Luna Rossa. turn things around: Grant Dalton.
In an era when nearly every ACC boat is carbon black, the Span- For over a decade Dalton lived in the shadow of New Zealand’s
ish have gone lime green, acknowledgement of primary sponsor iconic yachtsman Sir Peter Blake, either sailing alongside him 䊳
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(on Lion New Zealand) or against him, most memorably aboard man Kevin Shoebridge. It wasn’t without a hiccup or two.
Fisher & Paykel against Blake’s Steinlager 2 in the 1989/90 The key appointments were American Terry Hutchinson as
Whitbread Race. Blake bowed out of the America’s Cup following tactician and British triple Olympic medallist Ben Ainslie as the
the team’s successful 2000 defence and, in truth, was its B-boat driver. An alternative choice of tactician, John Kostecki,
leader and figurehead more than he made a telling contribution and outstanding sail trimmer Ross Halcrow were publicly aired
in terms of world-beating boats. by Dalton as potential candidates but their deals were never
This was the essence of Russell Coutts’ role and when he, consummated.
Brad Butterworth and others quit in the months following the The Barker/Hutchinson relationship is fascinating to observe.
successful 2000 defence TNZ simply weren’t the same force One quiet, the other a stream of consciousness; one unexpres-
any more. They missed Coutts’ obsessive drive and experience sive, the other demonstrative. But it’s an afterguard that’s a match
and that of his trusted lieutenants. for anyone when it hits the straps; and the crew, a mix of old
Dalton has credibility in New Zealand. The government had hands and young guns, are really impressive too.
already pledged support and negotiations with a new title sponsor Andy Claughton, of Southampton’s Wolfson Unit, moved from
had started when Dalton took over in July 2003. Raising money consultant to design co-ordinator. He hired Spain’s Marcelino
was paramount for the team and Dalton launched into the role. Botín, whose design partnership with Shaun Carkeek has been
Dean Barker remained as skipper/helmsman but, rather than super-successful with innovative IMS boats. To this we can add
let Barker pick his team, Dalton did it along with his right-hand successful ACC boats as Botín’s NZL 84, the team’s first new
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CARLO BORLENGHI/ACM
Italian industrialist Marco Tronchetti Provera was encouraged by
Francesco de Angelis to buy into a ‘refreshed’ Luna Rossa Team,
and in doing so he assured the team of their third Cup challenge
with the new season’s fashions. Bertelli, the business brain of

the husband/wife team that runs the eponymous fashion powerhouse
(Miuccia Prada is the granddaughter of the founder of a one-
time small artisan leather goods producer), said in Auckland 2003
that he would not challenge again.
Having beaten all other challengers in 2000, Prada were only
the third best challenge team three years later, trumped by Alinghi
and OneWorld in the final stages of the Louis Vuitton Cup. On
the way, Bertelli fired designer Doug Peterson and ordered a
‘knuckle’ bow to be put on the boat, sketching it out himself in
a wonderfully theatrical flourish. So who changed his mind?
Francesco de Angelis did. He spent 2003 and early 2004
quietly planning a new son-of-Prada syndicate. The name was
changed to Luna Rossa and Italy’s most successful business-
man of the moment, Marco Tronchetti Provera, was asked to
join in and bought half the team. He’s married to the daughter
BLUEGREEN
of the founder of the Pirelli tyre company and until November

2006 was chairman of Telecom Italia.
De Angelis then took the significant step of handing over the
helm to Australian James Spithill, probably the best match
racer in the world after Russell Coutts. Good enough in 2003
boat, had elevated TNZ to top-team status at the end of 2006. for Peter Gilmour to hand the wheel to Spithill at OneWorld.
Compared to that of the other major teams, TNZ’s budget remains Spithill had since also been courted by Coutts and Butter-
tight, stretched further by still operating from an Auckland base worth to join Alinghi, but the young Aussie paid the ultimate
in the off-seasons. The second boat may yet prove to be from compliment back by saying ‘only if I can bring my guys’. The
the same tooling, a slightly different wind-range variant of the men in question were the likes of Ben Durham and Joey Newton,
first with other refinements. who had progressed with Spithill through Syd Fisher’s Young Aus-
tralia in 2000 and OneWorld in 2003.
Luna Rossa Spithill had seen how Coutts’ success was underpinned by
Country Italy keeping his nucleus of Daubney/Fleury/Phipps close. At OneWorld
Yacht club YC Italiano, Genoa Spithill had also hooked up with the American McKee brothers
Team owners Patrizio Bertelli/Marco Tronchetti Provera ITA Jonathon and Charlie and wanted them to be aboard. But the
Skipper Francesco de Angelis ITA Alinghi ethos does not favour the idea of a team within a team,
Helmsman James Spithill AUS so no deal with Spithill came together.
Designers Bruce Nelson USA, Claudio Maletto ITA All of which makes the assimilation of Spithill’s Aussies into
Sail numbers ITA 74, ITA 80, ITA 86, ITA93 Luna Rossa all the more interesting for, after two years, Torben
This is the third Prada challenge in succession but the name Grael was reintroduced into the mix at the back of the boat. Grael’s
change is more than simply a case of changing the window display talent is very special and very individual and perhaps de Angelis 䊳
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MAX RANCHI
Never dull… top Italian sailor Vasco Vascotto with the easy-on-
the-eye Paola Brunelli. Vascotto continues his long relationship
with owner Vincenzo Onorato as skipper on Mascalzone Latino
understands it best. Where other sailors see risk Grael sees certainty
and in terms of being able to read a breeze his percentages are
eerily high. Spithill will probably be the most feared helmsman
on the startline.
Luna Rossa’s prospects are downgraded by their canoe bodies.
Good, but nothing that seems to excite their rivals.
Mascalzone Latino Team Capitalia

Country Italy
Yacht club Reale Yacht Club Canottieri Savoia, Naples
Team owner Vincenzo Onorato ITA
Skipper Vasco Vascotto ITA
Helmsman Flavio Favini ITA, Jes Gram-Hansen DEN
Designer Harry Dunning USA
Sail numbers ITA 66, ITA 77, ITA 90, ITA 99
Vincenzo Onorato is a breath of fresh air in the Cup. He makes
a tidy sum of money and loves to go racing. His Moby Lines is
one of the Mediterranean’s biggest ferry companies. Although
his first challenge team was at the low end of the food chain in have the budget for two new boats, have put in a lot of time on
Auckland he managed to make money out of it by running a the water and the Vascotto, Favini and Gram-Hansen combina-
small, lean operation and landing substantial sponsorship from tion is one of men on the march.
Telecom Italia.
He is a passionate sailor as well, with 2006 being a special + 39
year, hiring Russell Coutts as tactician and winning the Farr 40 Country Italy
Worlds, beating a strong fleet that included Alinghi boss Ernesto Yacht club Circolo Vela Gargnano, Lake Garda
Bertarelli. In a sense, this team are reminiscent of the Coutts Team leader
and Butterworth-led TNZ when they raced as often as they could /owner Lorenzo Rizzardi ITA
in boats away from the Cup, to learn and to sharpen up. Skipper Luca Devoti ITA
Onorato’s team have one of the best chances of any of the repeat Helmsman Iain Percy GBR
teams of kicking on and making the most progress from 2003. Designer Giovanni Ceccarelli ITA
It couldn’t be any other way, since in Auckland Mascalzone Latino Sail numbers ITA 59, ITA 85
were the first challenger to be eliminated with a 0-8 record. +39 were the first team to follow BMW Oracle to lodge a challenge
Even le Défi managed 1-7. and initially looked to have the makings of a strong group. However,
But compared with Victory and le Défi/China Team, Mascalzone not much was known about the resources behind the team and
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three years later there is still almost complete mystery. powerful industrial and financial interests, work with the island
FRANCESCO FERRI/KOS
Even senior members of the sailing team don’t know where of Sicily in the south which is a law unto itself?
the money comes from. What they do know is that +39 seems Also setting this new team apart is its sailors. They were
to lurch from financial crisis to crisis, with money arriving at the assembled by Luca Devoti, silver medallist in the Finn at the 2000
11th hour to keep it afloat. Sydney Olympics whose company is a leading builder of Olympic-
All along progress has been interrupted by a cashflow that’s class boats. Mostly they are young, Cup first-timers straight out
subject to faulty plumbing. At various times the Italian tech- of the Olympic classes, led by Briton Iain Percy who won gold
nical team, Anglo-Saxon sailors and Latin sailors have even ahead of Devoti.
gone on strike because of monies owed. ‘What’s so difficult about the America’s Cup?’ said Devoti (who
In the final weeks before the start of the Louis Vuitton trials since then appears to have found the answer). ‘You watch! We will
the crew’s back-pay was said to stand at four months… and have a team of young, hungry athletes who really know how to sail!’
growing. And while there was a new mast for the boat, there was The new boat never raced in 2006, so +39’s form is pretty
not enough money for the rigging. The absence of a Travelift at much unknown. In a sense, Percy and his tactician Ian Walker
the base is emblematic of a hard-up operation. have nothing to lose. They will take risks on the racecourse,
If it’s well resourced in one area, it’s intrigue. How does an won’t be afraid of anyone and would love to take down a
enterprise from Lombardia in the north, home to Italy’s most major opponent. 䊳
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Team Shosholoza Jason Ker, creator of very successful IRC yachts, is tackling his
Country South Africa first America’s Cup with no real money to hire experienced
Yacht club Royal Cape YC, Cape Town consultants or carry out extensive testing. His RSA 83 was the
Team leader Salvatore Sarno RSA first new Version 5 boat to hit the water.
Skipper Mark Sadler RSA It took a long time to sort out her teething problems, such as
Helmsman Paulo Cian ITA having working rig hydraulics, but she proved a decent enough
Designer Jason Ker GBR boat. Over the winter she’s had a complete makeover with more
Sail number RSA 83 than a passing nod to NZL 84.
If anything symbolises the changing face of the America’s Cup The crew have had to learn not just how to race such a big
it is Shosholoza, not just the first South African team but the boat but carry out the intricate manoeuvres. And there has been
first from the continent of Africa. an obvious shortage of match-racing skill.
In fact, this is a highly symbolic challenge for it celebrates Salvatore Sarno, a director of the huge MSC shipping line,
the huge political changes that have taken place in that country. has shown his impatience with a revolving door of helmsmen
Yachting used to be for the privileged few and, although this and tacticians. Andy Green GBR, Chris Law GBR, Ian Ainslie
has not changed much as yet, there are many team members RSA and Dee Smith USA have come and gone. Italy’s Paulo
who could never have dreamt of sailing on any sort of boat, Cian, one of Mascalzone Latino’s helmsmen in 2003, is the
never mind an America’s Cup yacht. Even most of Shosholoza’s current helmsman with another Italian, Tomasso Chieffi, his
white crew-members hadn’t raced a yacht bigger than 35ft before tactician. South African Mark Sadler is skipper.
this challenge was launched. But this is one team where you can – and should – separate
So Shosholoza are all about being a force for good and of creating the results from how the team are viewed. First or last, Shosholoza
opportunity. Whether they can also be a viable competitor is are sending a clear message about inclusiveness, opportunity and
another question. The hurdles are considerable. British designer aspiration that will resonate back home in South Africa.
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Victory Challenge
OSKAR KIHLBORG/VICTORY
trying to run an under-resourced campaign. It wasn’t the step
up he’d wanted for his second go at the Cup. His training boat,
the old Mascalzone Latino from 2003, was not fast and the
team were short of spares, sails and sailors with experience.
Even the new boat, GER 89, won’t have made life easier for
the sailors. Informal testing with other challengers didn’t go
well, with talk of the boat having a dreaded balance issue…
Victory Challenge
Country Sweden
Yacht club Gamla Stans Yacht Sällskap, Stockholm
Team leader Hugo Stenbeck SWE
Skipper Magnus Holmberg SWE
Helmsman Magnus Holmberg SWE
Designer German ‘Mani’ Frers Jr ARG
Sail numbers SWE 63, SWE 73, SWE 96 BLUEGREEN
It would be wrong to say this is an ongoing operation from 2003.
The Swedes went into hibernation until the end of 2004. The
cost was losing some key sailors to other teams while the burden
United Internet Team Germany of funding the challenge once again fell upon Hugo Stenbeck,
Country Germany the 26-year-old who inherited his father’s big Swedish media
Yacht club Deutscher Challenger Yacht Club operation suddenly in 2002 when, tragically, he died of a heart
Team owner Michael Scheeren GER attack just before the Louis Vuitton Cup.
Skipper Jesper Bank DEN The younger Stenbeck perpetuated Jan Stenbeck’s vision but
Helmsman Jesper Bank DEN had hoped to find sponsorship easier the second time around,
Designers Fietje Judel, Torsten Conradi especially as his family’s Modern Times Group have radio and
Sail numbers GER 72, GER 89 TV reach throughout Scandinavia and the free Metro newspaper
This team began life as Fresh 17 using the specially formed DCYC that is now found in many European countries.
to challenge. This is the first German challenge to make it to the The funds only arrived at the end of 2005… just after Stenbeck
competition as two previous efforts were abandoned before the courageously decided to carry on anyway. New backing came from
racing began: the lavish, Daimler-Benz-backed Aerosail campaign Austria’s Red Bull sports drink billionaire Dieter Mateschitz,
of the 1990s and the illbruck campaign that was halted in who likes his teams to have a youthful and unconventional feel;
2002 with their Richelsen design nearly complete. the branding of MTG’s Metro is now carried by Mateschitz’ Red
Lack of money held this effort back as well, until Michael Bull Racing Formula One team.
Scheeren, whose 1and1 and GMX brands are two of Europe’s Victory were over-achievers in Auckland, the best small outfit
biggest internet service providers, stepped in. He bought the behind Alinghi, Oracle, OneWorld and Prada; however, for 2007
shares of the challenge and injected US$35 million, but not with- it is hard to see that they can have spent enough time and
out the ownership first being fought over in the German courts. money to do any better.
Danish double Olympic Soling gold medallist Jesper Bank left Like Alinghi, the Swedish team did winter in Dubai, which arced
the Victory Challenge to head up the German effort, but even up their campaign. Along with the Spanish, they are still poised
the jovial Bank has found it tough to conceal his frustration at to pounce if one of the big teams falters. ❒
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A passion to keep winning:

It’s common to all champions.
Photo: Daniel Forster. © UBS 2007. All rights reserved.
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At UBS, we understand that staying on

top is no easy task. As main partner
of Alinghi, the reigning America’s Cup
defender, we share its commitment
to intense preparation and supreme
teamwork as it seeks to retain its title in
2007. Working closely with you, we take
the time to understand your financial
situation in detail. So that you feel
confident in the investment decisions
you make. We know the value of
thinking – and acting – ahead. It’s one
of the great strengths of “You & Us”.
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THE LIMITS O
36
Production editor Tim Jeffery gives a pre-event scorecard with marks out
Helm-start Helm-race Tactician Afterguard Management Budget Hull design
Alinghi 8 9 10 9 9 9 10
Emirates TNZ 8 8 9 9 7 6 9
BMW Oracle 6 8 7 8 7 10 8
Luna Rossa 10 9 8 9 8 8 6
Desafío Español 4 5 6 6 6 7 6
Mascalzone Latino 4 6 7 6 4 5 6
Victory Challenge 6 6 5 4 6 4 5
Areva 4 5 5 5 5 3 2
Shosholoza 3 4 6 4 2 5 5
United Internet 4 8 4 4 4 2 1
+39 3 6 7 5 1 1 4
China Team 1 2 4 4 3 2 1
Notes
Helm-start Prowess in the prestart
Helm-race Both speed and accuracy around the track and boat-on-boat skill
Tactician The ‘Terry Hutchinsons’ of each team
Afterguard Collective strength epitomised by Alinghi’s Butterworth, Schümann and Jones
Management The single most important factor
Budget How much, when it was available and how it was spent
Hull design Canoe body, design team, R&D, resources
Structural design Stiffness, fairness and weight
Sails Size and ‘smartness’ of the programme
Rigs Scale and ‘smartness’ of the programme
Boatbuilding Converting the designers’ and engineers’ work
Training Time on the water and how it was used
Knowhow A team’s intellectual capital, including knowledge and experience
2006 form Race results last season and form demonstrated
Nous The X-factor: is Butterworth shrewder than Dickson or Dalton?
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37
of 10 on how he sees this year’s AC candidates stacking up on key aspects

Structural design Sails Rigs Boatbuilding Training Knowhow 2006 form Nous TOTAL
out of 150
9 8 10 9 9 10 10 10 139
9 9 9 9 9 9 10 8 128
10 9 10 10 9 9 9 7 127
8 9 9 8 8 8 8 8 124
6 7 7 7 8 5 5 5 90
4 5 5 6 5 4 4 5 76
3 5 5 7 4 5 5 4 74
4 3 5 5 6 5 3 3 63
3 4 4 4 4 2 4 3 57
3 3 3 4 3 2 3 3 51
2 3 5 3 1 3 2 3 49
2 2 2 5 2 4 2 2 38
Happy in 2003, as Alinghi CEO

Ernesto Bertarelli brings the
America’s Cup home to
Zurich… and favourites
again in Valencia in 2007
GILLES MARTIN-RAGET
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AERO
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MAKING IT
‘Genius’… this simplest of descriptions is Dennis

Conner’s and the subject is Tom Schnackenberg,
the popular aerodynamics and engineering talent
who has now been immersed in the Cup for well
over 25 years. Sail designer to Australia II, Team
New Zealand 1995 and 2000 and currently a key
consultant for Luna Rossa, Schnackenberg talks
through the evolution in aero-design that has
come to dominate current ACC performance
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GILLES MARTIN RAGET

F
or people to appreciate rigs and in the direction of flow. The resultant force, with
sails it is important to have a these two components, acts in a direction at an
basic understanding of yacht angle to the flow, and the angle whose tangent is
science. I have heard a lot of (D/L) is defined as the ‘Drag angle’ (see Figure 1
nonsense talked over the years on page 45).
by quite successful sailors and it The smaller the drag angle the better – small
doesn’t hurt to review the drag saves fuel, extends the range of the aircraft
basics. and increases the chance of finding a safe place to
A sailing yacht is an interface vessel. We take land in the case of an engine failure.
advantage of the wind on the water to move Let’s return to our boat, with water coming
through both media and have fun in the process. from the front and air from the side. The air flows
Upwind, the performance is governed largely by over the sails, producing lift and drag, and now
drag created by the air moving on the sails and the lift acts square to the heeled centreline plane
the water flowing past the hull. (Downwind, the of the yacht as well as to the onset flow. The
two drag forces oppose and sail drag actually helps water flow provides a force to oppose this. We
to push the boat along) set the trim tab and rudder at angles to the flow
To study the forces when sailing upwind, we and this bends the onset water flow. The resultant
CHRIS CAMERON/ETNZ
should move to a reference frame in which we force is also square to the heeled centreline with
are on the yacht and all we experience is the wind the lift acting abeam and the drag straight aft.
and water – each moving relative to the boat. The The two drag angles for the air and water add
water comes from in front at about 9-10kt and up to the apparent wind angle and they are
the air from quite a narrow angle to the bow of roughly equal. This elegant result was for me one
about 20 degrees and with a speed of, say, 20kt. of the breakthroughs in my understanding of yacht
The water speed is the boat speed. The wind science. Figure 2 shows these angles for 30 degrees
coming on to the yacht is called the apparent apparent; you should be able to prove the above
wind. In our example the apparent wind angle is study of aircraft flight. With an aeroplane in level result from the diagram, remembering that the
20 degrees and the apparent wind speed 20kt flight, the air flowing over the wings and fuselage lift is always at right angles to the flow.
(leeway I have ignored – it is close to zero for an lifts the plane and pushes it back. Aerodynami- Another easy result to determine is that when
ACC yacht in any event). These fluid flows create cists defined ‘lift’ as the vertical force that keeps we break the aero force into two components
opposing forces, the water trying to push the boat the plane in the air and ‘drag’ as the horizontal relative to the boat (forward force and side force),
backwards and the air at an angle providing a force that slows the plane down. it is easy to see that the forward force from the
driving force to push it forwards. These definitions survive into other flight total aero package is equal to the drag force from
I want to define and use a few terms (lift, drag, regimes, such as climbing, descending and aero- the hydro package, and the aero side force is equal
drag angle) and will start with the aeroplane batic flight. Lift (L) is always the force at right to the hydro lift force from the water over the
analogy, because these terms originated in the angles to the onset flow and drag (D) is the force hull and appendages. 䊳
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One of the most obvious developments in ACC rig
design has been the evolution of the square head
mainsail; it is also the development that has most
visibly trickled down to mainstream classes (though
having used fathead sails for years, our windsurfing
friends can be excused for asking: ‘What kept you
so long?’). Design moved forward slowly towards
bigger heads between the 1995 Cup in San Diego
(right) and the 2000 event in Auckland (left).
However, after the first successful New
Zealand defence things really started to roll,
with a big step up to the profiles of 2003
(previous page) culminating in the 2007 rigs
seen here (lower left) on Emirates Team
New Zealand’s Claughton/Oliver/Botín
design NZL 84. Also for this year’s event
we have seen an explosion in genoa
roaches, aided by the liberalising
move to Version 5 of the ACC rule
and major progress in inflatable
batten technology
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42 It follows from this that if you could design the

hydro package or the aero package to reduce the
respective drag angles, the apparent wind angle
would also fall. Then the boat would sail closer
to the wind and would have a better chance of
being first to the weather mark.
Polar curve/target boat speeds

First, a definition of two well-known terms:
䢇 True Wind Angle is the angle between the
track of the yacht through the water and the wind
direction across the water.
䢇 True Wind Speed is the speed of the wind over
the water.
For each true wind angle and true wind speed
the boat has a potential best speed. We can plot
this best speed against true wind angle in a polar
chart where the true wind angle is zero up the
page and 180 degrees down the page and the
radial co-ordinate is the best speed, also known
as the polar speed (see Figure 3, Page 45).
For ocean racers every point on this polar chart
is interesting. For AC sailors, who race up and
downwind, only the portions near the top and
bottom are important. Two points on each polar
are especially significant. These are where the
graph goes level and they represent the points at
which the boat is sailing the most efficiently if you
want to go upwind or downwind.
Remember that the boat speed is the distance
of the polar chart from the origin of the axes. The
component of the boat speed that is directed
upwind or downwind is called the VMG (velocity
made good) and the speed at which this velocity
is achieved is called the target boatspeed.
GILLES MARTIN-RAGET
For each different wind speed there is another
polar and of course there are more variations for
a given wind depending on how rough the water
is, and so on.
Upwind and downwind the boats normally
race close to their target speeds, but there is also
lots of ‘wallying’ where the boats deliberately sail
faster or slower than normal targets to position
themselves better tactically and for the new faster and feathering the sails, more interference
expected breeze.
Sails and the America’s Cup

between the sails (backwinding in the main) and,
of course, more fuss around the bow.
The ACC class rule closely specifies the sail area,
‘THIS ELEGANT
The ACC Rule provides for quite a large sail area, but allows freedom on how this area is distributed.
given the drag and stability of the yachts. So the So teams experiment with different sail profiles, RESULT WAS ONE
sails tend to be set quite flat compared with boats including in recent years quite large flat tops to the
of lesser performance or with smaller sails. These
flat sails are quite efficient, and so are the slender
mainsails, and even wide heads on genoas, now that
battens are permitted on genoas.
OF THE BREAK-
hulls and deep keels. The boat sails close to the The rated area of about 320m2 is split between
wind with the sails sheeted close to the centre- the mainsail and the foretriangle, and maximum THROUGHS IN MY
line. The apparent wind angle is only about 18 spinnaker area is now 1.6 x the rated area or
degrees and doesn’t change much over a range of 512m2. The mainsails are measured using a
wind velocities, especially in flat water (typical Simpson’s Rule to approximate the area between UNDERSTANDING
of a building sea breeze or offshore gradient). the top and bottom girth stations and
As the boat goes faster the hull drag angle goes
up (mainly due to wave resistance) and the sail
incorporating an allowance for the foot triangle
area created by the foot droop at the back. Teams
OF YACHT SCIENCE’
drag angle goes down, mainly due to smaller have experimented with different J-dimensions
induced drag associated with the reduced lift as and come to a sort of consensus, and I would
the sails are flattened and the boat feathered. The guess that most J-dimensions in Valencia are the basis of efficiency rather than simply trying to
total forces go up, of course, and heel angles between about 8.25m and 8.5m. maximise total surface area.
increase to a practical maximum of 30-35 The top girth of the mainsail is actually measured Efficiency is achieved, as in normal sails, by a
degrees. In about 10kt of wind the boat will be 500mm below the head point so the sail area above judicious combination of camber and twist and to
heeling 27-30 degrees and sailing to a target of, this is free area. Another ‘freebie’ in the sails’ rule help achieve this there will be a couple of differ-
say, 9.5kt. is achieved by having a little extra roach at the 7/8 ent mainsail designs to cover the wind range. The
From 11kt to 20kt the increases are relatively height which is in between two girth measure- boom plan area is effectively part of the mainsail
small and not so noticeable to the viewer. What ments. Neither of these factors is hugely significant area and for this reason all booms are close to max
you can see are the visible clues of the boat going in itself and sail designers choose a sail profile on dimensions allowed.
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43
FRANK SOCHA/BLUEGREEN
The highs and lows of America’s Cup sailing… Tom Schnackenberg was a pivotal figure at the heart of Team New Zealand’s successful
2000 defence (above) but he cast a lonely shadow as the beleaguered head of design and engineering during the failed 2003 effort (left)
Velocity Prediction Program (VPP) headsail sheeting angles. This requires some forbid it during a race. If you want to sail upwind
About 25 years ago people started to think adjustment by the trimmer, especially in over- without topmast backstays you need to continue
scientifically about the idea that different boats powered conditions or when the sailors are trying like this throughout the race.
need different sails and this concept is continuing. to sail over target and they might like to move On upwind legs you will see crew members
One of the key ingredients is the VPP, which genoa leads outboard. wearing low windage clothing and settling
provides force and moment information as well themselves in the boat to present the least area to
as velocity predictions. Aero drag the incoming wind. The man up the rig is an
Input to the VPP includes boat dimensions and The two main sources of aerodynamic drag are: obvious handicap from a pure performance point
weights, centres of gravity and so on. It can 1) Windage drag, from mast, rigging, hull, crew of view upwind, but the improved ability to see
include tank test results (scaled to full scale), wind and deck hardware. the wind on the water, especially in light airs, is
tunnel results, CFD predictions, estimations of 2) Induced drag from the fact that the sails create a bigger benefit and so we see them up the rig
added resistance in waves and so on. The output lift and disturb the air. routinely in winds less than about 10kt.
includes a full set of polars for a range of wind Both are similar in magnitude, so designers and Induced drag (Di) is all about sail shape and
speeds, and intermediate calculations for indi- sailors spend a lot of time on both. trim. In its simplest form it is given by:
vidual force components such as windage, To reduce windage, designers try to make the
induced drag and so on… rigging elements as small as possible. The rules Di = const * L2 / V2 / B2
All designers, including sail designers, study demand that standing rigging is round in section;
these detailed outputs to see just what forces the otherwise all the shrouds would be streamlined L is the lift force and is in the hands of the
boat is expecting from the sails (and appendages like keels and spreaders. During the 2000 Cup trimmers and helmsman; V is apparent wind
for that matter) and then go off to see how best Team New Zealand removed the topmast back- speed and is part of the environment; B is the
they can produce them. stays upwind, and reinstalled them for the runs effective span (rig height) and is in the hands of
There are compromises everywhere and one (they are only needed downwind, to support the the sail designers and trimmers. When trimming
obvious factor in the ACC world is that the boats mast against gennaker loads on a run). This rela- the sails and sailing the boat, sailors think about
have tended to become narrower over the years tively simple action saved a few kilos of drag and the two elements they can control: the total lift
and this is starting to have an impact on the became a standard practice, but now the rules (how hard to work the sails) and the effective span 䊳
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44 (how to make the rig look as tall as possible to

the wind).
When you see one boat heeling more than
another, it is not necessarily because it is less
stable – it may well be the choice of her crew to
‘power up’ more than on the other yacht.
Conversely, a boat sailing more upright may be
partly this way because the sailors prefer this
amount of power rather than indicating a
particularly stable boat.
Another important factor here is the degrada-
tion of the sailing geometry when the boat heels
more. An increased amount of the side compo-
nent of the wind gets spilled up the rig and she
has to bear away slightly to maintain the same
onset apparent wind angle. Being able to sail more
upright is the main reason that more stable boats
go better upwind, all other things being equal. It
doesn’t matter much in light airs, but becomes
increasingly important as the heel angle increases.
Sailors and sail designers will change the
camber, twist and sheeting of sails in an effort to
‘go faster’. The equilibrium between heeling
moment from the sails and appendages, and right-
ing moment from the bulb weight, forms natu-
rally and results in a particular heel angle. You
can choose the heel angle you desire. There is the
option of bearing away a little to fill the sails,
increasing heel, or heading up a little to reduce
sail forces and heel angle.
Then you make sail trim adjustments to suit
your choice. ‘Powering up’ normally involves
deepening the sails and perhaps sheeting harder
as well as leaning on them (bearing away) and,
conversely, if we want to reduce heel angle, we
flatten, ease and point close to the wind...
It is amazing how subtle changes can speed up
the yacht. Once you have selected the heel angle,
there are still many options – moving the traveller
up or down, and compensating with mainsheet
tension, changing mainsail depth with butt and
check-stay, jumpers and outhaul; changing headsail
depth with runner, lead movement and so on are
continual. We learn from our own efforts through
testing, and also by studying others.
The other element of balance that is always of
interest to sailors is the helm balance and this is
strongly governed by the sail trim. A tight main America’s Cup budgets have always encouraged rig development: this 1970 shot by
and easier genoas will move the CE aft and Stanley Rosenfeld shows the innovative spar successfully trialled by the 12-Metre
require more weather helm. Trimming the genoa Intrepid, featuring a titanium upper part (note the change in surface finish) as well as
into the shrouds and/or flattening and twisting the first lenticular rod rigging. Genoa construction still had some way to go, however…
the main will move the CE forward and ease the trimmers which can run contrary to these two! of what you can build, given the fact that sails need
helm. Sailors suspect there may be an optimum Once the designer has an idea of the shapes he to be flexible, and there are severe limitations on
combination of relative mainsail and genoa power wants, he next has to produce them. There are a how you can sheet them.
for each sailing situation and there is quite an number of finite element analysis (FEA) programs
effort made to ensure good helm balance so that that solve the structural questions as to how a sail Sailvision
sail trim is not compromised to suit the helm. may deform under different conditions of wind The ability to know just what sail shapes you are
There is still a lot to learn. loading, mast bend, sheet tension and so on. using, while racing, is a big factor in getting good
Finally there are the production tools, which performance. Many of the AC teams employ
Sail design tools accept as input the ‘moulded’ three-dimensional variants of what we call ‘sailvision’. This has been
Sail designers are very busy running computer shape and details about the construction, and then an ongoing effort since the 1980s in Fremantle.
programs these days. To determine which sail produce commands for plotter/cutters and also With sailvision you shoot digital pictures of the
shape is right for the boat they have various tech- moulding machines such as the 3DL machine. main and genoa and pass these to a computer
niques, used after absorbing the VPP suggestions: All these programs get better each time, and in program which detects the stripes automatically
䢇 Computational Fluid Dynamic solutions, which particular the CFD programs are now coming into and calculates the shape and twist angle of the sail
simulate various flow states and calculate the their own as computers become faster and the at the stripes. There are a variety of techniques
resultant forces and moments. software is refined. and different teams use different coloured stripes
䢇 Wind tunnel tests on model sails, which can One problem, of course, is that the CFD may on their sails (and at different locations). This will
parallel the CFD solutions and also provide forces well suggest as ‘best shapes’ those that are the coincide with different lens filters and software
and moments. hardest to achieve, and so designers and trimmers recognition programs.
䢇 Full-scale testing and feedback from the often work in concert to stretch the boundaries The yacht has to carry around the weight of the
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45
Fig 3
rotation and twist are heavily restricted by the

rules and the mast still represents an upwind
Fig 2 obstruction to the clean flow over the mainsail.
This is not such a feature in the lower 80%
where the mast and main are in the exhaust of the
Fig 1 genoa, but above, where the onset flow is at about
20 degrees to centreline, it is significant. Masts
may now rotate +/- 2 degrees at the deck and this
can be exploited to reduce the windage high up.
Sailing downwind
Downwind sailing is much more varied than
upwind and the sails are radically different for dif-
ferent wind speeds. In light airs, because the boats
have so much sail and are easily driven, they travel
faster than the wind speed and the apparent wind
comes from well forward of the beam. The gen-
nakers are cut flat and small to suit these forward
angles and designers work to minimise the total
aerodynamic drag (seesee Figure 2, above).
above
lenses, wires and computers, but knowing the sail close to the max. We are also now allowed to As the wind increases the apparent wind for
shapes better makes it all worthwhile. While test- use higher-modulus carbon in masts and the optimum sailing moves progressively aft and we
ing you can transmit the information between the minimum total rig weight has been lowered, so can use bigger and fuller sails for more power.
yachts so you can speed up the learning a lot and masts are a lot better than before. This is a subtle shift and sailors are constantly
improve the quality of testing. When racing other Over the years constant harassment by the probing for the best solution. You will often see
teams, you know about your own sail shapes but sailmakers has finally resulted in rigging design two boats racing with different-sized gennakers
are relying on simple visual observation to guess that is no longer seemingly aimed at destroying on the same run. In fresh winds the apparent wind
what the other boat is doing. the sails. The spreaders and end cup fittings are comes from aft the beam and the biggest possible
There is a lot of work in maintaining these nicely streamlined and form a very well-designed sails are set.
systems in the rugged environment of a yacht, impact point for sails. Even here there is plenty of room for experi-
and it is difficult for the software to recognise the One feature of AC rigs is the detailing at the ment as downwind sails are also measured using
stripes and not get fooled by other lines and top spreader for setting the genoa. For many years a form of Simpson’s Rule that allows trading off
shadows on the image. For these reasons, I believe the top spreader and upper shroud elements were one dimension for another as long as the sail does
it may still be a while before we see sailvision as seen as a nuisance by sail designers. They asked not exceed the max area under the class rule:
a consumer item! for narrower and narrower shroud envelopes and
these were limited only by structural considera- SSA = (SLU + SLE) * (SF / 12 + SMG / 3)
Spars and sails tions. Inevitably the sails still pressed against the must be less than about 512m2
Every sail designer knows that the mast is only top spreader and so people started shaping the
on the boat to make the sails look good and end of the spreader to improve the impact on the Now the sail drag actually helps to push the
increasingly these days the design of mast and sails sail. Now with largely overlapping genoas, these boat forward and when downwind in, say, 16kt
is integrated. Masts are no longer built to the ‘flippers’ extend well aft while sailing upwind and of wind, the forward force is created almost
minimum rule dimension. Initially, in the 1992 San fold away for downwind sailing. entirely by sail drag.
Diego America’s Cup, masts were made to the min- A few teams have been experimenting with You can see that the design of downwind sails
imum dimensions for windage reasons, but soon the jumper-less rigs and, if successful, these may is an arcane science indeed, one not helped by the
sail designers started demanding stiffer masts and it become a feature of the class. difficulty of full-scale testing. Because the boats
made sense to increase the dimensions a little – you I talked about rigging in the section on move downwind at nearly wind speed, puffs tend
can make the mast walls thinner and increase the windage, but the windage of the mast itself is to linger with them and so skew testing data. The
bending stiffness without increasing the mast weight. worthy of a little discussion here. If the mast were downwind polars are also very subtle and radically
In the 2000 Cup the masts got quite big for a perfectly lined up with the leading edge of the different sailing styles may result in the same
while and now there is a maximum dimension as main then the lateral area of the mast could also downwind VMG... For the scientist sailing
well as a minimum, with most of today’s masts be considered part of the mainsail area, but remains one of the tougher games to play! ❒
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46
In conjunction with his structures and build team, led by

Thomas Hahn, Christoph Erbelding and Ingo Raasch,
International 14 guru and BMW Oracle Racing build director
Paul Bieker looks at what goes into the engineering and
No more
construction of a state-of-the-art 2007 ACC yacht
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bananas
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PHOTOS GILLES MARTIN-RAGET
Previous page: ‘the boat is turning into a banana’, words immortalised by commentator Peter Montgomery as oneAustralia split in two
in San Diego in 1995. There have been numerous failures as teams found the limits of ACC technology; spars have collapsed (left) but it
E
is keel and hull failures – such as the capsize of France 3 in 1995 (above) – that grab headlines. Meanwhile, designers have tested the
engineers with novel foil configurations including Farr’s super-skiff, NZL 20 (top left) and the Briand/Van Oossanen behAPpy (top right)
arly in 2004 it was structures and Bruce Thompson on rig structures. machine) until it finds an ‘optimum’ structure for
agreed that the 2007 A major focus of the BMW Oracle structural the defined load cases. This optimum solution is
America’s Cup campaign design effort was the evolution of an efficient basically the structure with the minimum deflec-
of BMW Oracle Racing composite analysis and design process. The goal tion for a given amount of material used.
would build their boats was to inspire structural design concepts with The process sounds much simpler than it
and do the structural computer analysis rather than simply analyse a actually is. Defining the balance of load cases for
design in Seattle, preconceived design. This requires a fast, reliable which the optimisation is run, choosing the
with BMW automotive and flexible methodology that can master the configuration of the design space and its mesh, and
contributing engineering complexities of composite structures without so on, can all drastically affect the result. Some-
support. creating models that are too unwieldy to evolve. times it can take weeks of patient adjustment and
The prospect of checking just to get one case to run properly.
having this support was Topology optimisation The results of the topological studies are often
both exciting and a little unsettling. I knew that Topological analysis is a very interesting way to quite beautiful and/or strange, sometimes taking
the arrangement would give us access to some of use FEA analysis for general inspiration rather than on an organic or naturally grown appearance!
the most skilled engineers and advanced software concrete results. A two or three-dimensional The challenge for the designer is to try to
tools available. However, I also knew that this design space is defined within an FEA model understand the most important characteristics of
would be their first experience with the fast-paced complete with load and boundary conditions. the topological results and to develop concepts
and risky world of high-performance composite For instance, one can take the FEA model for for feasible structures that express those charac-
yacht engineering. the complete yacht and remove all the internal teristics. This is one of the most fun aspects of the
BMW provided three engineers to work with structure associated with the keel and/or mast structural design process but it can often be quite
BMW Oracle Racing: Ingo Raasch, a specialist in loads. One can then define a volume (design a challenge, especially in the areas of the yacht
topological studies and FEA optimisation; and space) within that model where these structures where the loads are complex!
Christoph Erbelding and Thomas Hahn, both existed and the structural properties of the mate-
highly experienced in computer-aided structural rial that will be used to build a structure within Property optimisation
design and computer programming but also with that space. The engineer then specifies the per- After performing the topology optimisation, the
a strong background in project management. All centage of the design space that will be filled with challenge for the designer is to try to understand
three moved to the structural design office in structure and the topological optimiser iterates the most important characteristics of the topo-
Seattle to work with myself on hull and appendage (sometimes for a very long time on a very fast logies and to develop concepts for feasible
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49
Figure 8
Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3
Figure 6
Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 7
structures that express those characteristics. This weight out of the bulb to increase the waterline Figure 1: topology result of a keel and mast
can often be quite a challenge! The most promis- by stiffening the hull with extra carbon in the hull frame study (omitting hull/deck/cockpit)
ing of these concepts are then refined using and deck. The result of these calculations shows Figure 2: the same topology result with
property optimisation, in which characteristics of the designer where and how much stiffening is less of the design space used for structure
the structure (such as thickness, fibre orientation, required on the boat to maximise performance. Figure 3: property optimisation with
diameter and so on) can be set as variables and a An example of such a distribution is shown in typical ACC structure post-optimisation
performance objective is defined (strength or Figure 3, where the Rule Laminate Thicknesses Figure 4: a comparison of the strain
stiffness vs weight, and so on). are shown in grey and the amount of additional distribution on initial and optimised hull
A perfect example for this kind of optimisation stiffening is shown in blue and green. Achieving Figure 5: comparison of strain distribution
is the longitudinal stiffening of the boat. The quan- these optimised distributions by manual iteration on an initial and optimised ACC hull shell
tity and the area where these unidirectional plies would be very time consuming (and tedious!). Figure 6: typical Failure Index
will be applied are crucial to performance, with Figures 4 and 5 show comparison of the strain distribution on an ACC yacht structure
the objective to achieve the maximum perfor- distribution of a base configuration and an Figure 7: exaggerated display of deck
mance with the minimum amount of weight. So optimised structure. Strain distribution is an buckling mode on an ACC yacht structure
the optimiser modifies the thickness and the fibre indicator of how well the existing structure Figure 8: the boom is shown as another
angle of each ply iteratively to maximise speed works: an even strain distribution shows an effi- example, with sidewall buckling due to
upwind. This is basically a trade-off of taking cient structure without any excessive material. compression the usual cause of failure 䊳
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50 Laying the groundwork

On the detail analysis side there are no commer-
cially available tools that have the speed of
automotive meshing tools as well as the ability to
efficiently handle the complexity of the several
thousand layers of composite in a complete yacht
model. Interactively building these models is time
consuming, sensitive to errors and only allows
minor modifications once finished.
To overcome these shortcomings a process was
developed to allow the efficient analysis of com-
posite structures using the most suitable commer-
cial tools and to complement the areas that were
lacking with our own software development.
Besides the automotive meshing tool ANSA,
MSC/PATRAN Laminate Modeler was used to
apply the composite layers. The solver we used
for static and dynamic linear analysis was MSC
NASTRAN and all non-linear topics were solved
using ABAQUS.
The missing link in the chain was the
automated application of laminates on the virgin
mesh, which was done by our own software,
Laminator. This applies composite properties to
the model, with the desired properties (fibre
angle, material, thickness and so on) and the appli-
cation areas managed in a spreadsheet and mapped
onto the meshed model. Also existing plybooks
could be mapped to new models, hence
drastically reducing model generation time.
In practice, the development of this tool
enabled us to analyse major modifications of the
yacht very quickly. Another important benefit is
the quality assurance of our simulation models.
These models are the only structural strength and
weight verification of the boat prior to sea trials
and therefore the whole campaign is relying on
their outcome. With the output of Laminator
plausibility checks are easy to perform.
Detail design
The final step in the design process is the detailed
design. Structural concepts are determined and
the amount and areas of stiffening are known. The ally tend to be too conservative. ensure that the highest practical level of accuracy
main interests in the design in this phase are: A failure that is often underestimated and was achieved.
䢇 Detailed stress analysis difficult to anticipate in lightweight structures is The 2003 BMW Oracle build team made the
䢇 Detailed connection design buckling. But using detailed analysis models to leap into creating resin-infused carbon/epoxy
䢇 Detecting buckling modes (non-catastrophic predict these phenomena, a catastrophic failure female tools built on computer-machined plugs
and catastrophic) can be avoided. Figure 7 shows a typical buckling at Janicki Industries near Seattle. At first glance,
mode between the mast frame and the forward this methodology seemed to offer a clear
Detecting and resolving weak spots in the final hatch. A lightweight deck beam or a change in improvement in tooling accuracy (tolerances to
structure is the most important step in the overall stiffness of the deck in the critical area within a few millimetres in a 25m mould!). In
structural analysis and design of the yacht. For solves the problem. Using this methodology the addition it made sense to build a high tempera-
composites there are different failure criteria structure could be confidently designed close to ture cured carbon part in a carbon mould (which
available, which are in general a measure of the the structural buckling limit. has a similar thermal expansion coefficient). This
strength of the structure. Failure criteria use Figure 8 shows the boom as an additional reduces the chances of pre-release from the mould
different theories but come up with a number that example for the above described structural design and other distortion problems.
estimates how far the structure is from failure. process. Buckling of the side walls due to com- To our surprise, when we laser-tracked the
Figure 6 (previous page) shows a typical failure pression will almost certainly result in failure of hulls of those boats after they were built, there
index plot. Similar to the strain plots mentioned this long and slender structure and therefore was significantly more distortion than we
previously, the objective here is to get an even dis- needs to be a focus during the design process. expected (see Figure 12). However, by then the
tribution of the failure index (ie as many areas as moulds had been destroyed and it was impossible
possible are stressed to the same percentage of Construction-related engineering to determine at what stage in the build process
failure). Due to the fact that the hull thickness is With the tight design space of the current ACC those distortions had crept in.
determined by the ACC Rule, large areas of the Rule, production accuracy has taken on an even One of the first goals of the 2007 BMW -
yacht can be seen in which the laminate thickness greater importance than in previous campaigns. Oracle Racing engineering effort was to analyse
could be reduced below rule limits. Traditionally, the responsibility for achieving the build process using FEA analysis and attempt
With the availability of a detailed analysis model construction accuracy has rested solely on the to determine how the distortions occur and how
it is possible to access any kind of data needed for boatbuilders. However, careful construction to minimise them.
the final detail design. As an example, the taping of alone cannot achieve the required tolerances, We quickly learned that the world of
components like frames to the hull can be designed especially with high temperature cured prepreg manufacturing related composite distortion is
very efficiently due to the fact that normal and composite structures. arcane and unlimited in its potential complexity.
sheer force distribution are known. When deter- For the 2007 BMW Oracle Racing ACC build There are distortions due to the shrinkage of resin
mining a connection detail, the designer does not effort, the structural engineers worked closely during the cure (both mould and yacht); distortions
need to rely on common assumptions, which usu- with Mark Turner and his boatbuilding team to due to temperature changes during
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Figure 10: Comparison of lateral deflections 51

between different ACC mould concepts
Figure 9: remarkable… new bow and stern

sections were built for the modifications to
USA 87 which were then grafted onto the Figure 11: comparison of vertical
remains of the original hull. The fit was so deflection between different ACC
good that virtually no fairing was required mould concepts
the cure processes (both mould and yacht); is relatively economical and minimises distortion
distortions due to the support structure of the due to gravity and thermal movements. By doing
mould under the effect of gravity and temperature; so we were able to identify and avoid many of the
and, even more difficult to predict, panel distor- distortions that were experienced with the 2003-
tions due to thickness shrinkage of thick laminates. generation yachts. Figures 10 and 11 show the
In short, it is the sort of topic with which it is very theoretical deflection results comparing two
easy to ‘fall down the bunny hole’ –- spending a lot mould concepts with different support structures.
of time and never coming to clear conclusions. The advantages of controlling tolerances to the
Using the analytical tools available through extent that we achieved in our current yachts
BMW and his background in automotive produc- became more obvious to the rest of the team
tion design, Thomas Hahn took on this project. when we decided to do the hull modification to
In addition Paul and Thomas worked closely with USA 87. This modification involved building new
builders Mark Somerville, Tim Smyth and Mark sections of hull that had to match the existing hull
Turner on practical issues of mould production over a long and complex boundary.
and hull detailing. Although we did not attempt These sections were built in Seattle, flown to
to achieve a full understanding of the problems Valencia and spliced to the trimmed 87 hull using
involved in putting an accurate hull in the water, a computer cut jig (see Figure 9). The new parts
we made significant progress! fit the old so closely that basically no fairing was
After some research we decided for the most required and the modified boat was lighter than
part to disregard cure-related distortions and the original – a gratifying result even to engineers
concentrate our efforts on thermal distortions (who are of course used to thinking of the world
of the cured laminates. We started by carefully as potentially perfect)!
testing the thermal distortion properties of the
materials used in the construction of both the Positive partnership
mould and the yachts. These properties were then When BMW’s engineers joined forces with our
used in non-linear FEA analysis to anticipate the AC design programme I wasn’t sure how well
thermal movement of the mould as it is heated they would adapt to the new work and working
and the distortion of the hull laminate as it cools environment. But in the end I think that a nice Figure 12: today’s technology presents
down in the mould from the temperature at balance between careful and comprehensive thorns as well as support for even the best
which it was cured. engineering and creative productivity was boatbuilders… this is a laser scan of one
In addition, we worked with the builders to achieved. It was a great learning experience for of BMW Oracle’s 2003 ACC hulls showing
determine a system for supporting the mould that everyone involved. ❒ deviations from the designed hull shape
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E MIRATES TNZ
52
REASON TO BELIEVE
First they lost their core campaigners to their rivals, then former leader Sir Peter Blake
was tragically murdered. And in 2003 they lost the America’s Cup in a 5-0 humiliation.
Tim Jeffery looks at Emirates Team New Zealand’s remarkable fight back to contention
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CHRIS CAMERON/ETNZ
2006 was the year Emirates Team New Zealand finally shut the
door on the pain of 2003, ending last year (left) kings of the AC hill.
He’s not only ridden his boys hard in this, his first Cup campaign,
but team CEO Grant Dalton (above, with fellow Toyota sponsee
Jarno Trulli) also did a lot to raise the money to let them do the job
Conner, he presented the Cup with grace and humour.

And when Conner bounced back, it was with a San Diego Yacht
Club team that he’d created in his hometown and shaped in his own
image. Conner’s Stars&Stripes brand was born. And the third boat
created by his Nelson/Chance/Pedrick design team was a cracker.
Kookaburra IV crossed Stars&Stripes’ bow only once in a 4:0 defeat.
Feeling the same hurt and powerful need to right a wrong, Team
New Zealand are in Valencia in 2007 hell-bent on crushing Alinghi
just as the Swiss upstarts swatted them aside four years ago.
Except there’s more to it. Where New York and Newport were
mortified at the USA losing the Cup in 1983, most of that vast
country didn’t care. New Zealand most certainly did. Part of this
sense of national humiliation was self-inflicted. Then, and now, it
is an unpopular outsider’s perspective that says that the Kiwis
made it harder for themselves.
Russell Coutts and Brad Butterworth were painted into the bad
guys’ corner within minutes of leaving TNZ and joining Alinghi. The
deeply unpleasant Blackheart campaign was launched against
them with billboard space bought in Auckland to decry them in
public. Blackheart was nothing directly to do with TNZ, yet the
team’s own marketing had been built around the ‘loyal’ theme.
All of this obfuscated why Coutts and Butterworth were disen-
chanted with some of the power brokers in the blind trust that owns
TNZ. It ignored the fact that it wasn’t Alinghi that started hiring
talent away from TNZ but the American OneWorld syndicate whose
CHRIS CAMERON/ETNZ
agent, Sean Reeves, was vigorously recruiting during TNZ’s victory

tour of the country in 2000. As an object lesson in a failed suc-
cession policy, TNZ were a perfect example.
And as for playing the loyal card, Chris Dickson has never been
castigated for sailing for Japan or the USA, other than perhaps by
Peter Blake himself, who in his first Cup campaign in 1992 ventured
the thought that Dickson might have trouble getting back into New
Vengeance is a powerful motivator. Ask Dennis Conner. When Zealand after signing for Nippon Challenge. Blake had the capacity
Australia II defeated Liberty in September 1983 the New York for base emotion, as well as a breadth of admirable qualities.
Yacht Club, in whose name Conner was sailing, treated him woe- All of which meant that Alinghi were focused in 2003 and TNZ
fully. That hot, long night in Newport when Alan Bond theatrically were not. And this was before losing time and belief from mid-2002
raised his arms to the braying throng to lift the skirts on Australia onwards trying to make the ‘killer concept’ of the hula work after the
II’s winged keel was the same evening on which a disconsolate and measurers insisted on opening up the gap between it and the hull.
tearful Conner was found alone on Thames Street. You know the rest. A near-sinking. A duff weather call. A broken
The NYYC, unable to come to terms with losing the Cup after boom. A dismasting. The first response came from the New Zealand
132 years, had its name saved by Robert Stone. While most of the government. Trevor Mallard pledged NZ$33.7 million from the
club’s flag officers and officials couldn’t bring themselves even to national trade and tourism budget. Another unlikely source of funds
acknowledge the Australians’ win and merely wanted to blame was none other than the man who’d been ultimately responsible for 䊳
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54
New Zealand losing the Cup. Ernesto Bertarelli gave TNZ a US$10 started to make an impression right away. Dean Barker was
million loan to ensure the team stayed in the competition. reconfirmed as skipper but Dalton went straight to the international
The man entrusted with getting TNZ back on their feet was Grant market for a tactician, assiduously courting first John Kostecki and
Dalton. He might not have had previous Cup experience but he then Terry Hutchinson for this key role. Another American, Kevin
brought exactly the right sort of focused management that was Hall, came in as navigator.
absent before. Right man, right time. Dalton operates very much in As new coach Rod Davis observed later: ‘It’s a different way to
the Edmund Hillary ‘knock the bugger over’ style, which was prob- form an afterguard. Normally you’d hire a skipper and he’d turn
ably exactly what was needed to turn around the team post-crisis. around and say I want X to be my tactician and I trust Y to navigate
‘Considered autocracy’ is how Dalton describes his management. and so on. For this afterguard Dalton basically went around and
Certainly it has worked in his round-the-world projects, to which picked who he thought were the very best players then we intro-
he brought nothing less than a succession of immaculately duced them all to each other after they had been signed up.’
prepared boats. In a sense, TNZ are rather like Dalton’s Club Med Englishman Andy Claughton was elevated into Tom Schnack-
catamaran project for The Race at the end of 2000. The French- enberg’s former role of heading the design effort in which Clay
engineered, French-designed and French-built boat had major Oliver stayed on and Marcelino Botín was brought in. Botín was an
structural issues before the start. It was a first-generation Giant America’s Cup newcomer but with real pedigree in creating winning
Class design, so this was not at all surprising. But Dalton was boats in the tight IMS regime. On the structures side, Anglo-Ital-
unafraid of putting noses out of joint by bringing in Kiwi engineers ian Giovanni Belgrano was quickly signed up.
to effect the remedies. The most eye-catching departure under the new regime was
TNZ were the same. ‘It was an asset-based environment with a that of Schnackenberg. There’s a story that in some small way
clear canvas,’ Dalton said of what he found in July 2003. He illustrates very well why he was never going to be a Dalton man.
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55
GILLES MARTIN-RAGET
CARLO BORLENGHI/DPPI
CARLO BORLENGHI/ACM
GILLES MARTIN-RAGET
A tough road back for Emirates TNZ, not only the sequence of
disasters that was the 2003 defence (left... the boom is about to
break in Race 1) but there was also major damage to NZL 82 (top)
which was blown over in Marseilles. Skipper Dean Barker (centre)
stayed, 2003 tactician Bertrand Pacé (above) went to BMW Oracle
Back in the Blake era of 1995 and 2000 the TNZ boss noticed an become a formidable in-house opponent. The headline sponsor-
absentee at an important team discussion. ‘Where’s Tom?’ asked ship of the Dubai airline Emirates, whose rapid expansion took
Blake. The reply was that he was off walking one of New Zealand’s them into the Australasian market, was the clinching proof that
fabled trails. Blake threw his head back a little and carried on, Dalton’s TNZ were substantially different from the team headed
mindful that Schnack’s thinking time wasn’t constrained by by Blake.
meeting room walls. It’s hard to imagine Dalton ever seeing things But Dalton’s relentless nature can’t be isolated as the sole
in quite the same way. reason for TNZ’s turnaround. The rump of the humbled 2003
Barker says of the new regime: ‘The biggest single difference is team is still there and you won’t find a more determined bunch than
that we are now incredibly structured.’ And clearly TNZ were a team the guys in the trenches.
in need of a driven person in the driving seat. ‘Anything he takes ‘There obviously had to be a massive clean-out, but the guys who
on, he does at 110 per cent,’ continues Barker. ‘One of his great are still around are all on a mission,’ admits Matthew Mason,
strengths is that he will try to do everything but, when he can’t, or mastman and one of the Kiwis who came home (from OneWorld)
if there’s another way, he’s quite happy to listen.’ to rejoin the likes of Tony Rae, Barry McKay and Joey Allen to
The internationalisation of TNZ flourished under Dalton. Not only restore TNZ’s self-belief. ‘No one would be proud of that [2003]
were there Hutchinson and Hall in the afterguard but also Aussie record so everyone’s pretty passionate about this.’
Adam Beashel. The technical team had a Briton (Claughton), Having got back on their feet, ETNZ displaced BMW Oracle as
American (Oliver) and Spaniard (Botín) at the sharp end. Aus- the top challenging team in 2006 and were able to look Alinghi
tralians Roger Badham and Robert Hooke came in to the met and square in the eye and say ‘we’re ready’. Step one is accomplished.
sail design roles. Then British triple Olympic medallist Ben Ainslie Step two is the big one: keep ahead of the rest of the challengers
was hired as B-boat driver and from uncertain beginnings he has and then take the fight to the Swiss. Just a yacht race? No way. ❒
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M ETEOROLOGY
56
How’s it
blowin’? Jon Bilger became an instant weather guru with his successful
last-minute call to the Alinghi sailing team to switch preferred
sides ahead of Race 3 in the last Cup match. Now in charge of the
meteorology team for the Alinghi defence, Bilger looks at some of the
decisions made in the run-up to the Cup in terms of weather
strategy and information gathering, as well as at the key points to
watch for on the Cup course this summer
GILLES MARTIN-RAGET
Before Alinghi left Auck- end up spending upwards of a million dollars if Prada, Team New Zealand and OneWorld. And
land we were clear that if they were to put eight weather boats out on the we used the AXYS buoy.
we became the defender water for three years. As we were expecting at The thinking in Auckland was very much to do
there had to be a less least 10 challenges for the first Cup to be held your own thing and try to find a competitive
wasteful way to run a in Europe this would have meant a total of advantage.
weather programme. 80 boats. Or US$10 million. We were sure there OneWorld installed a Lidar when money was
There was so much had to be a better way. no object but sold it when the budget became an
duplication. You’d be at Some of the teams had already tried some issue! Lidars can sense the wind field over a large
JON BILGER the top mark and there quite fun alternatives in Auckland. At Alinghi area; airports have them to detect wind shear
would be eight other we used trees to carry weather stations scattered and they’re used for assessing the wind when
weather boats doing exactly the same as you. around the east coast bays and Whangaparaoa fighting forest fires. They’ve been banned under
At Alinghi we started out with four weather peninsula. As the Hauraki Gulf is surrounded by the current Protocol but they are quite a power-
boats and this escalated to eight to match the land it can be quite a frustrating area for ful tool. To work effectively you really have to
effort made by OneWorld, Prada and Oracle. forecasting. During our time down there I kept have two and you need them offset, ideally 90º to
Then Team New Zealand grew to match. It’s on looking at these Norfolk pines onshore, 40m, each other; if you have just one you only measure
extremely expensive to run a weather boat. Fuel 50m, 60m tall, and thought ‘wouldn’t it be great the radial wind speed to and from you. For these
alone costs around US$500 a week, then you’ve to have something on top of that?’ I got laughed purposes the Lidar proved very expensive and
got purchase and maintenance of the boats and at when I suggested it, but it actually turned out didn’t quite have the range required.
engines; and onto each boat you have to put to be quite effective. In Valencia although teams have different needs
people and keep them paid and happy. The other thing we had was a wind profiler on and approaches, we all have to acquire the basic
So looking ahead to this Cup each team could Motutapu Island and we shared that data with raw data. That’s why we asked America’s Cup 䊳
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Emirates TNZ’s first new ACC design, NZL 84,

approaches media co-ordinator Bruno
Troublé’s pet-project, Valencia’s giant
photographer’s buoy, during Louis Vuitton
Act 12 with wind-spotter hard at work aloft.
Valencia has proved a challenging race
course for tacticians and strategists and,
with the front of the challenger pack the
closest we have seen in performance terms
since the inception of the ACC rule, all the
wind-spotters are under extreme pressure
to come up with good information
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Management (ACM) to set up a shared system waters of Valencia and six land-based stations real time.
that all the teams could use as well as race officials. sited on a consensus from the teams. Some teams Before we get to the racing phase the MDS
The Met Data System was written into the requested additional stations both further inland data is fundamental to each team’s design process
Protocol. At first there was a lot of resistance. I and further out to sea but the final compromise as you have to define the wind range you’re
think some of it was simply because it was an seems to be fair on everyone. creating your boat for. Teams have had up to
Alinghi concept, therefore the challengers wanted In addition the race committee vessel and two years’ MDS data plus that from the Port
nothing to do with it! BMW Oracle Racing, for windward mark boat are stations as well as some Authority station on the end of the breakwater
instance, put in a counter-proposal which was other boats that can be moved in case the course with data going back seven or eight years. That’s
just two weather buoys and three land stations. shifts away from the MDS fixed buoys. Built by a total of eight years of information to decide
Not very useful – we’d have all ended up having Glyn Davies and Eduardo Aldaz Carroll, who what is the typical wind strength here in
to use weather boats again. operate the Metereological Data Service under Valencia. What each team does with the MDS
For a while MDS was a very contentious issue. management of the Race Committee, these buoys data is its own business.
Teams threatened to boycott it. But Emirates use sonic devices, rather than a cup and vane, In Auckland Alinghi really focused on weather
Team New Zealand were first to sign up and the which have the advantage that they do not need modelling rather than hiring too many rock stars
others followed. The initial proposed cost of to be calibrated as they have no moving parts. to sit in the boats out in the course area. We’ve
300,000 euros per team – to be deducted from any The Spanish Met Service has a wave buoy carried on with this emphasis on making smarter
eventual profit distribution – was ultimately waived which was already installed. All the data comes use of the data. I’m not sure that the other teams
altogether, at which point everyone, not surpris- into a server at ACM – and the teams simply log did as much in terms of developing their model-
ingly, became a lot keener on the whole idea! on with a user name and password. It is averaged ling as we did in Auckland.
Now there are 21 weather buoys dotting the and sent every 15 seconds so it’s very much Valencia was chosen for wind reliability.
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59
CARLO BORLENGHI/ACM
Above: laying one of ACM’s fixed MDS
weather buoys which stream data that is
accessed by all of this year’s competitors.
Left: a truism of Valencia’s shifty breezes is
that there are no easy matches – last year
saw some big upsets as a light wind died
and then filled back in from an unexpected
direction at the end of a long day’s racing
15-16kt, on the south course there’s maybe

12-13kt on the north course, a 2-3kt variation.
Windwise you’d probably want to sail the
America’s Cup in the south, but the north course
is much closer to the Port America’s Cup and to
all the spectator facilities and so, not surpris-
ingly, this has been the choice of ACM.
Come the Cup in June the chances are that
it’s going to be either an easterly sea breeze or a
southeasterly. There is a small chance of a north-
east wind and very, very small chance of a west-
erly. The nuances between those sea breezes are
quite tricky; whereas in New Zealand we have
quite big wind shifts and big effects, here the dif-
ferences are subtle especially at that time of year.
It’s tougher in April and May to pick these
nuances than in June. So in some ways I’m pleased
Alinghi are not part of the challenger rounds,
but even in June it’s still not easy. We have obvi-
ously been working hard at discerning the patterns
and we’d like to think we’ve got a pretty good
handle on them. Even so, it can be a humbling
experience at times.
Another changing influence during the racing
period is the sea temperature. At the end of
winter it’s 14º but by the end of June and start of
July it will be getting up to 28º. It’s a big change. GILLES MARTIN-RAGET
This means that in April/May there is a lot of
wind shear and because the mast on an AC boat
is so tall the effect is profound.
From this you won’t need me to say that in
terms of moding our boats, the challengers have
a more complex task for racing over several
months than we do as Defender for the Cup
Certainly for the summer months of June, July a big step up from Auckland. match in June/July. In Auckland Team New
and August when we anticipated the America’s The detailed picture is more subtle. At 14.00 Zealand were probably able to make some
Cup would be sailed we could see that Valencia had and 15.00, this year’s races are scheduled to start assumptions about the weather being more
a reliable sea breeze. I’d put the chances of a good relatively late in the day to ensure the best chance settled after Christmas but, as anyone who’s
sea breeze at race start time at 90 per cent. It is of keeping to the race programme. Most of the sailed on the Hauraki Gulf knows, you can get
possible that one race in the Cup may be delayed, time the sea breeze is in by 13.00 and the start anything there. It would have been a bit fool-
but I certainly wouldn’t expect more than that. times allow it to settle. There are different hardy to mode your boat over too narrow a
Obviously it is a different deal in April and regimes, though: if you get an easterly sea breeze range because the Auckland weather is driven
May for the Louis Vuitton Cup. You get a variety it can be lighter and weaker, generally under very much by systems that come across the
of conditions in April in which you can have off- 10kt or 11kt; if it’s southeast, it’s stronger, say country.
shore westerlies or gradient breezes from the 15kt on the course. It really depends on the day In Valencia it’s quite different. There is a more
northeast. Consequently the potential for relia- and whether it’s gradient assisted and driven and targeted wind range you should aim for. That’s
bility is not as high for race starts, around 80 per what strength and direction that gradient is. where the Alinghi weather team earn their keep.
cent – that means 20 per cent of races may be Also there is a difference between the north From the basic MDS data it’s up to us to develop
blown out. But if you compare that to Auckland and south course areas. The south course is the most accurate and reliable model we can.
where there was a tighter wind range of 7-19kt stronger, especially in a southeast direction for a But the weather models and other tools devel-
in which races were allowed to start, the data on sea breeze, which is at its most intense further oped by the weather teams will be a key factor in
the buoy gave you only a 45 per cent chance in the south at Denia, where it is accelerated by a deciding the favoured side of the course... and
summer and in the winter it was down to 28 per combination of mountains and a headland. So therefore determining what side each team will
cent. So in terms of getting races off, Valencia is where you might get an average around, say be fighting for out on the startline. ❒
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H ISTORY
60
Two-boat tuning is nothing

new... this is Sir Thomas
Lipton’s first (1899) challenger,
Shamrock I and Shamrock II,
close-hauled in a speed test off
the English coast in 1901 prior
to Shamrock II challenging for
the Cup later in the same year
CUP MEMORABILIA
Alinghi legal counsel and Cup enthusiast Hamish Ross looks back at
key moments and factors that have shaped the modern America’s Cup
THE OTHER CUPS In the 1960s an almost identical Cup was found in a second-
The America’s Cup was not, as is widely hand shop in North America. It had been presented in 1856 to
supposed, made specifically for the Royal John Heathrote of Staffordshire and his wife by their tenants ‘in
Yacht Squadron’s ‘all nations’ race in 1851. token of their esteem and respectful appreciation of their char-
It was created in 1848 as one of many acter’ (and no doubt in the hope that they would not suffer an
presentation pieces of silverware produced increase in rent).
in Victorian England by the royal jeweller, It is understood that Garrard’s made up to six presentation cups
Robert Garrard. It has no nautical motifs, similar to the America’s Cup, but only the America’s Cup and two
HAMISH ROSS and apart from the inscriptions on the trophy other contemporary cups apparently survive in private hands.
recording the history and the competition for it, there is nothing What happened to these other ‘original’ trophies remains a mystery,
to associate the trophy’s connection with sailing or the sea. but copies have been made for several recent winners.
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“JUST BEFORE THE 1992 CUP

MATCH, SOMEONE CUT THE KELP
AROUND THE RACE AREA,
CAUSING LARGE QUANTITIES OF
SEAWEED TO DRIFT THROUGH THE
RACE AREA… AND KNOWING THAT
AMERICA3 WAS BETTER EQUIPPED
TO DEAL WITH IT THAN IL MORO”
of the match where an obviously faster Endeavour was defeated by
superior sailing on the part of Rainbow.
With the first two races won, Sopwith needed only two more to
take the Cup. Poor sail handling and crew errors played a major part
in Endeavour’s subsequent defeat in the next four races…
WHEN COMPETITION FOR THE CUP WAS ALMOST LOST

In 1956 when America’s Cup racing was planned to be revived after
a hiatus of 19 years, there was a move within the New York Yacht
Club to retire the Cup from racing and consign it to history. The belief
was that time had moved on and the Cup represented the past and
to race for it in smaller yachts would detract from that history.
Fortunately for posterity this move was defeated.
The Cup’s future was again in question in 1983 over the legality
of Australia II’s innovative wing keel. The New York YC first attacked
the keel, questioning Australia II’s measurement certificate on the
REPRODUCED BY CHRISTIAN FEVRIER/BLUEGREEN

basis that she had additional draft when heeled. When the Inter-
national Yacht Racing Union (as ISAF was then called) confirmed
the legitimacy of her certificate, this avenue of attack was closed.
The club then ‘began to suspect’ that Australia II’s designer Ben
Lexcen had not designed the keel, but that it had been created in
breach of the designer nationality rules by Dutch technicians in a
Dutch tow tank where Australia II had been tested. Success has
many authors and suspicions were aroused when Dutchman Joop
Slooff, who worked at the tow tank where Lexcen had tested
Australia II’s keel, allegedly introduced himself as the keel designer.
The New York YC sought hard evidence directly from the tow tank,
but without success – nobody at the facility would admit that any-
one other than Ben Lexcen had designed the keel.
A group of New York YC members, led by some members of the
America’s Cup committee who had previously defended the Cup,
THE CREW STRIKE THAT COST A CUP sought to refuse to race Australia II, but the club lacked any cor-
After the death of Sir Thomas Lipton in 1931, T.O.M. Sopwith picked roboration of the allegation. On 11 September 1983 Alan Bond
up the torch and challenged in 1934 with Endeavour. Sopwith refused to sign a three-page legally drafted certificate of compli-
brought to the challenge a determination to experiment with inno- ance designed to set up a perjury charge if any part was incorrect,
vations used in his aviation background; sails were tested in wind going far beyond the customary simple statement of compliance.
tunnels and new lighter materials were used. Trials went well The following day, onboard vice-commodore Emil ‘Bus’
against the well-proven Velsheda. Confidence was justifiably high Mosbacher’s launch Summertime, the New York YC’s America’s
that Endeavour was fast and would finally lift the Cup. Cup committee met the flag officers of the club. They were to decide
Before sailing for Newport, however, Sopwith’s professional whether they would race Australia II, but, faced with unsubstan-
crew asked for higher wages to make up for lost income caused by tiated claims and rumours that Australia II was not legal under the
spending much of the season in America. The effects of the Great rules on the one hand and the prospect of huge worldwide
Depression were still being felt, there were hundreds of thousands condemnation if they refused to race, after about an hour’s
of unemployed and it is unlikely the crew would have gone on strike discussion the committee voted by 5-4 to proceed with the racing.
without a reasonable grievance. Sopwith and his managers felt Only two members of this group are alive today. Had they not
blackmailed by the timing of the demand and fired all those who raced, many years of litigation would certainly have resulted.
had made it. A call was put out for skilled amateur sailors to
replace the professional crew, with the result that 14 amateurs joined THE THISTLE PLANS
the 12 professionals remaining. The last America’s Cup in 2003 was not the first to be bedevilled
On the other side of the Atlantic, Harold Vanderbilt and his by circulation of competitors’ yacht plans. The leaking of fake plans
managers faced the same demand, but applied more diplomacy was a ruse used by the Scots in 1887 to indicate a smaller (and
and resolved the issue without loss of crew on Rainbow. The therefore slower) challenger yacht.
difference in approach was to play a critical factor in the outcome Yacht designer GL Watson travelled to America in 1886 to 䊳
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62
watch Galatea’s match, the first challenge from Scotland. He was and donor of the Cup, stepped in and, after rebuking Watson
there to investigate American yacht designs on behalf of a group simply adjusted the time allowances accordingly.
of his wealthy cotton merchant clients who actively raced in the Clyde After Thistle was defeated, the Deed of Gift was rewritten and,
yachts he had designed for them. He obtained a copy of the Deed among the changes, nine months’ notice was required to challenge.
of Gift and, on his return to Glasgow, came up with a suggestion This Deed still governs the competition, and an issue of genuine/
to negate the huge advantage enjoyed by the Defender of being able fake/illegal plans next emerged in 2002 in the last America’s
to field a lightly constructed racer against a challenger built to with- Cup – the fall-out from which is still before the courts.
stand an Atlantic crossing. Watson advised only the minimum
notice of six months be given of the challenge, putting the Defender AMERICA’S FIRST TEST IN ENGLAND
under time pressure to build a Defender to match the Challenger. While it was not a formal race, it was a ‘hook-up’ that enabled the
The Boston Herald published Thistle’s ‘plans’, showing an 80ft British to confirm rumours that America was fast.
waterline vessel, not the 86ft true version. It claimed the documents America, with New York Yacht Club commodore John Cox Stevens
had fallen into its hands from a reliable source. The American onboard, on arriving in English waters, picked up a pilot, a Mr
designer Burgess reviewed them and declared them to be authen- Stephens, near Portland Bill on the south coast of England to guide
tic. It seems Watson arranged for plans of a smaller yacht to be leaked her safely over to Le Havre, France. Stephens, on his return to
to mislead the Defenders (he even coyly said they could have England while America was being fitted out for racing, immediately
copies of the true plans), but the ruse backfired later when Thistle reported his experience, advising yacht owners to ‘mind what they
was measured and found to exceed its declared waterline length are about’ if they were to contemplate racing the American yacht.
of 86ft by one foot. There were calls to disqualify Thistle, but the Captain Hamlyn Williams, RN, owner of the Laverock, met
elderly Schuyler, the last surviving member of the America syndicate America at the eastern end of the Isle of Wight and offered to show
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The day the America’s Cup changed 63

forever (left), as Australia II locks out
CHRISTIAN FEVRIER/BLUEGREEN
Dennis Conner’s Liberty on the beat to
the finish off Newport, RI, of the most
remarkable series in the event’s long
and colourful history; the Cup has not
been back to Newport since. The
America’s Cup has always been about
personalities as much as yacht racing,
clockwise from right: multiple
challenger Sir Thomas Lipton (1901);
the Earl of Dunraven who famously
accused the 1893 Defender of
cheating; the brilliant George Steers,
who drew the lines of America when
aged just 31; the equally brilliant
Ben Lexcen, designer of Australia II
(ironically both Lexcen and Steers
passed away five years after
achieving Cup success); and Alan
Bond, mighty showman and the man
GILLES MARTIN RAGET

who did, when all is said and done,
win the America’s Cup for Australia
after 132 years of American dominance
America, slowly at first, sailed higher and faster, despite still being
laden with provisions. With this small test Hamlyn Williams and
his crew had confirmed the pilot’s report, and Stevens had lost any
chances of surprising the British with America’s speed and of
winning large stakes in matches in England. His offer of a 10,000-
guinea stake went unanswered.
SKIPPERS’ SALARIES
It is not only nowadays that the best skippers and crew in the Cup
can command substantial salaries. Two of the more successful
America’s Cup skippers, never defeated in an America’s Cup race,
were American Henry ‘Hank’ Haff (five races in two matches,
1887 and 1895) and Scotsman Charles ‘Charlie’ Barr (six races
in three matches, 1899, 1901 and 1903).
In 1895 Hank Haff at the peak of his career earned US$4,000
for the 1895 campaign of approximately six months. Charlie Barr
in his first campaign as skipper of Columbia in 1899 comparatively
GILLES MARTIN RAGET

undersold himself for $2,500 plus a winning bonus of $1,000.
According to Bob Fisher’s comprehensive and recently released
volume, An Absorbing Interest, in Barr’s last campaign on Reliance
in 1903, he secured $3,000, plus two winning bonuses worth
$1,000 each, and after his success was also awarded an annuity
for life of $2,000. Unfortunately, though, he died at 46.
In today’s dollars, Haff’s salary would amount to around $275,000
the crew the way into Cowes to test Stephens’ report of her speed. per annum and Barr’s, including bonus, to $350,000 plus $70,000
Hamlyn Williams, a veteran of the Napoleonic wars, had for life. By comparison, the income of an ordinary crew member
briefly made a name for himself in helping put down the last slave was about $35 per month, or $15,000 per annum today.
rebellion in Jamaica in 1832; for this campaign, which finally
saw the abolition of slavery in Jamaica, he was promoted to cap- THE KELP CUTTERS
tain. He was on half-pay from the Royal Navy after 1839 hav- Kelp was a constant problem for the competition in 1992 during
ing lost his command, HMS Tribune, in a wreck near Tarragona the 28th America’s Cup in San Diego. If a piece snagged the keel
between Valencia and Barcelona. He retired as a rear-admiral it would sometimes dramatically slow the yacht.
in 1855, promoted by virtue of seniority on the navy list rather The Defender America3 had invested heavily in solving the kelp
than ability. problem and had developed a clever and effective device that
Commodore Stevens did not hesitate to match America against could cut away any kelp that did wrap itself around their keel.
the Laverock on this early ‘informal’ test and later reported: ‘During Kelp was and is commercially harvested in San Diego. Just
the first five minutes not a sound was heard, save, perhaps, the before the start of the 1992 Cup match, ‘someone’ arranged for a
beating of our anxious hearts or the slight ripple of the water upon commercial harvester to cut the kelp in and around the race areas,
her swordlike stem. causing much greater than normal quantities of the seaweed to drift
‘The captain was crouched down upon the floor of the through the race area… knowing that America3 was better equipped
cockpit, his seemingly unconscious hand upon the tiller, with his to deal with the problem than Paul Cayard’s Italian Challenger
stern, unfaltering gaze upon the vessel ahead. The men were Il Moro di Venezia.
motionless as statues, their eager eyes fastened upon the Laverock There was, however, no evidence that the action had any effect
with a fixedness and intensity that seemed almost supernatural.’ on the outcome of the Cup races that year… ❒
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I NTERVIEW
64
Dennis Conner steers
Stars&Stripes 87 back into
Fremantle after annihalating
the Kookaburra defence to
recapture the prize that has
so long been at the centre of
his life... Not bad for ‘that
draper from San Diego’, as
one of a younger Conner’s
ignorant sailing rivals once
infamously described him.
Opposite: with the great
Olin Stephens onboard the
earlier 12-Metre Freedom
COMMITMENT TO THE COMMITMENT

This is the mantra made famous by Dennis Conner, the only sailor ever to have won the
Star World Championship – the most prestigious of all small boat titles – with a perfect
score. He also won the America’s Cup... four times... in the course of which he helped
change the face of Cup sailing for ever. Tim Jeffery catches up with Mr America’s Cup
SH: You’re in the Med sailing on the classic circuit. Will you here is that basically 95 per cent of the people involved are doing it
make it to Valencia? to make a living, certainly not for their country of origin.
DC: I have Cotton Blossom here ready for the season and I’ve SH: Nationality was an important aspect to you?
rented a house in Villefranche, halfway between Nice and Monaco. DC: We already know who’s going to win this America’s Cup, don’t
So I’m going to continue to enjoy the boat with my friends through we? It’s going to be a Kiwi; just a matter of which one. I think the
October and then sell her just after this season and do some PHRF challenger racing will be interesting, especially to see if the Kiwis
racing in San Diego. can beat Chris Dickson. But doesn’t it take a bit of the patriotism
SH: After nine America’s Cups, how do you view the event? out of it?
DC: It’s still the pinnacle of yachting. Look at the number of inches It mattered in the past, to the people backing it, and to the New
of media attention it gets compared to everything else – more than York YC and Americans who followed it. That’s why the Americans
all the others put together. But who’s to say that makes it better? We’ll don’t really seem to care very much about it any more.
have to wait and see. It’s certainly not the same Cup. What’s changed SH: Does that make you a bit sad?
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65
PPL
ing the Kiwis? It’s a different game.
SH: The rising cost of running a team for two, three or four years –
weren’t you instrumental in making the Cup into a full-time game?
DC: Well, I was in terms of raising the level but certainly not for
paying the team. My guys were always on the low end of the scale,
they got US$300 a month when we won the Cup in 1987. Why were
they doing it? Any of them could have made just as much or more
in a real job. It was just a passion.
SH: What made you escalate the intensity of campaigning in
1980?
DC: After my experience with Ted Hood in 1974 it was pretty
obvious to me that to get the most out of the boat you had to do
GILLES MARTIN-RAGET
some testing. How do you do two-boat testing when the other guy
is trying to test at the same time? It can’t be done. You needed a
static component that you could control and how do you do that?
The only way I could think of was to have two boats.
That’s what we did with Enterprise and Freedom in 1980,
starting the whole two-boat style campaign. I convinced the
Jewetts [Fritz and Nancy, Conner’s patrons] that this was the way
DC: I don’t worry about it; just changing times. Emerson Fittipaldi to make the next step forward and they bought into it. Of course,
– he didn’t drive for Brazil. Formula One went on just fine, right? then the New York Yacht Club had to be persuaded – we basically
And David Beckham playing for Spain – I don’t think the World had to get permission to have two boats with only one entry, which
Cup’s been hurting because of it. It’s just different. they weren’t too thrilled about, but they went along with it.
SH: How about the Louis Vuitton Acts filling in the gaps SH: It is hard to raise the level without turning it into a job?
between Cups? DC: I feel it’s all just a matter of time. I think sailing is struggling
DC: Having the defender racing the challengers means it’s an at the moment with the husband and wife both working. If you’re
anti-climax. It makes it pretty easy to see who’s going to win. going to devote the time it takes to be at your best, or near your best,
When the defender comes to race against you and they can beat you have to be compensated for it because how would you earn a
you with their old boat and know every trick you have and every sail living any other way? When you have the type of people now
you have and they don’t have to show anything, what kind of deal involved it couldn’t happen without compensation. The Terry
is that? Hutchinsons and Peter Islers could make a decent living in any-
The biggest thing that hurts in my mind is what you have to thing they chose.
spend. If you only have a U$50 million budget and you have to SH: So professional in attitude but not turning sailing into a
spend $25 million just flying around and paying for all the crew profession. Was this the essence of Enterprise and Freedom?
and the logistics, you can’t allocate enough money trying to win DC: We were volunteers, no one got paid anything, not even reim-
the Cup. bursement for their travel costs. The 11 people on each boat
SH: Wouldn’t you have liked to have been in Alinghi’s position changed on a fairly regular basis depending on who was available
when you defended? as most of them had real jobs. Some like Billy Trenkle and Tom
DC: As soon as we went anywhere near the Challengers they scat- Rich were going to school at the Maritime College, so they were
tered. That was just the way the game was played: never help the available only on the long weekends.There were no staff, not even
defender to defend the Cup, Can you imagine the defender a girl to answer the phone, just Ed du Moulin who watched over the
funding a challenger syndicate? How do you have Ernesto back- budget. We didn’t even have an office. 䊳
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AT SCHOOL I WASN’T
THE SMARTEST KID AND
I WASN'T THE BEST-
LOOKING KID, AND I
WAS BATTING SEVENTH
ON THE BASEBALL
TEAM.THE ONE THING
I COULD DO A LITTLE
GILLES MARTIN RAGET

BETTER THAN ANYBODY
ELSE WAS SAIL…
SH: When was the profound change in the Cup’s modernisation? added to this, I think it would be very difficult for someone to do
DC: I would say when we lost the Cup in 1983. It was obvious that it all now. We didn’t have to have a head of the weather team and
things had changed with the advent of science and technology, a head of rules/jury and a head of the legal committee and
computers and so forth. The old days of having Olin Stephens housing and transportation. Basically you could have small
taking some lines and putting them on a piece of paper were gone. meetings and then get things done very efficiently. You had a sail
You had to have a design team. committee and logistics, and the guy paying the bills showing
SH: And by 1987 you had ceased to be skipper of a team that you could afford to pay for it or not.
funded and influenced by the New York YC and become your Basically Tom Ehman’s the one who’s really been responsible
own boss having to raise the money yourself? for the vision of what we now have, and just adding all these other
DC: A lot more people were involved and a lot more disciplines layers. He was instrumental in having judges on the water. We were
needed a lot more money. It’s obvious that if you go from a US$3- doing just fine without judges, but now there’s judges. And why do
4 million budget to $15-20 million, it isn’t going to come from the we have to have gates, why all the new rules? It’s just continued
same 10 people at the New York YC. I didn’t know anybody who was to grow into what we have now… 300 people.
going to step up to spending that kind of money. I guess there were SH: And today’s Cup is tilted to the very rich again. It has a
other syndicates where they did that. Certainly Michael Fay did. familiar ring?
SH: When you went to corporations in the 1980s and 1990s were DC: It’s gone full circle to what it was 100 years ago with the rich
you pushing against an open door or was it a really tough sell? and powerful guys fighting each other, no different from when it
DC: It’s always been a hard sell. I don’t know how many different was J P Morgan, Sir Thomas Lipton, Vanderbilt and Lord Dunraven.
options corporations have, but they certainly have a choice of It’s really what this is all about – these powerful men are just
several hundred sports – plus they have to match the demograph- using the sailboat as the vehicle. The rest of us get to enjoy the
ics of the customers and balance the cost versus reward. competition, we’re sitting in the spectator seats while the bulls are
SH: In a way you were selling ‘Dennis Conner’ because there running around in the arena. Pretty nice.
wasn’t a huge amount of TV or media coverage? SH: Evolution is part of the Cup’s enduring strength?
DC: There was no TV or internet. But it wasn’t about selling Dennis DC: That’s how I see it; it’s going to be interesting, just different.
Conner. In a lot of ways people were more patriotic. It was America. But most people would say that change is good. We’re driving
We didn’t have foreign people involved at any level, it was an American cars with automatic transmission; we’re not going across the
team and it was Americans trying to win the Cup back for America. United States in covered wagons. It’s easy for the old-timers to say,
SH: You must have done several million miles on your frequent oh, it’s not like it used to be, but I think history shows that gener-
flyer card – an absolutely exhausting exercise? ally changes are accepted and then for the best. So I have a
DC: More than that actually. But I don’t think you need feel sorry positive attitude about it. I hope that this Cup is the best Cup ever
for yourself – it was my passion. And it had a direct bearing on how for the good of the sport and for the good of the Cup.
we were going to do in the race. It just had to be done and the better SH: What don’t you like of the revised Cup?
job you did the better results you’d have on the race course. You’d DC: The worst from the sailor’s standpoint is that you have a race
have a bigger budget for all the things that mattered. for the America’s Cup that’s only six miles long. It used to be 21
SH: You handed the helm over to Paul Cayard in 1995 and miles and if you didn’t make the time limit you didn’t have a race.
Kenny Read in 2000 and 2003… Was it tough maintaining your Now the length has changed to fit the 1h 37m TV slot. I wonder
level of performance as a sailor while doing all this stuff onshore? how TV got to be in charge of the America’s Cup? How has this come
DC: It wasn’t really too hard for me initially because it wasn’t about? Larry Ellison’s not going to get good value in the States. And
anything like it is now. With the layers of complication they’ve neither are any of the eight teams going home early… ❒
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What a difference three years can make… and of

GILLES MARTIN RAGET
course becoming your own man. After six years of

campaigning for the New York Yacht Club, following
his bitter defeat in 1983 (above left) Conner forged
his own campaign for his successful 1987 challenge
(above), setting the example for many subsequent
skipper-led America’s Cup syndicates
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Repeating success demands

more drive, more passion,
more performance.
At UBS, we understand that staying on top is no easy task. As main partner of Alinghi,
the reigning America’s Cup defender, we share its commitment to intense preparation
and supreme teamwork as it seeks to retain its title in 2007. Working closely with you,
we take the time to understand your financial situation in detail. So that you feel
confident in the investment decisions you make. We know the value of thinking – and
acting – ahead. It’s one of the great strengths of “You & Us”.
Photo: Daniel Forster. © UBS 2007. All rights reserved.
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Contents | Zoom in | Zoom out For navigation instructions please click here Search Issue | Next Page

© UBS 2007. All rights reserved.

Dear friends and fellow final of the America’s Cup.

(TOUGH) END TO A TOUGH ROAD

GILLES MARTIN RAGET

In hiring Coutts, Ernesto Bertarelli took the single most impor-

Page 4 PAUL CAYARD 7

Page 8 SIZING UP ‘THE ENEMY’

Page 12 THE SAME BUT DIFFERENT

Page 16 INSIDE ALINGHI

Page 20 TEAM BY TEAM

Page 36 THE LIMITS OF BRAVERY

PAUL BIEKER Page 52 REASON TO BELIEVE

MIRKO GROESCHNER There is no Second is published by Fairmead Communications Limited,

America’s Cup secrets

‘Understanding your enemy is fundamental

teams would have had their final choices pretty

GILLES MARTIN RAGET

GILLES MARTIN RAGET

THE SAME BUT DIFFERENT

Both sports have matured to the extent that teams

freight. But this is only the race configuration

seen in F1. Be a guest of an America’s Cup team,

GILLES MARTIN RAGET/BMWO

GILLES MARTIN RAGET/BMWO

global programme. We should be fair and give

Wisdom… The Alinghi 17

GILLES MARTIN RAGET

balking at the handover of the leadership of the

THIERRY MARTINEZ/IVO ROVIRA/ALINGHI/GILLES MARTIN RAGET

28 Emirates Team New Zealand

with the new season’s fashions. Bertelli, the business brain of

of the founder of the Pirelli tyre company and until November

Mascalzone Latino Team Capitalia

A passion to keep winning:

Photo: Daniel Forster. © UBS 2007. All rights reserved.

At UBS, we understand that staying on

of 10 on how he sees this year’s AC candidates stacking up on key aspects

Happy in 2003, as Alinghi CEO

‘Genius’… this simplest of descriptions is Dennis

GILLES MARTIN RAGET

42 It follows from this that if you could design the

Polar curve/target boat speeds

Sails and the America’s Cup

44 (how to make the rig look as tall as possible to

rotation and twist are heavily restricted by the

In conjunction with his structures and build team, led by

Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3

Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 7

50 Laying the groundwork

Figure 10: Comparison of lateral deflections 51

Figure 9: remarkable… new bow and stern

Conner, he presented the Cup with grace and humour.

agent, Sean Reeves, was vigorously recruiting during TNZ’s victory

Emirates TNZ’s first new ACC design, NZL 84,

15-16kt, on the south course there’s maybe

Two-boat tuning is nothing

“JUST BEFORE THE 1992 CUP

WHEN COMPETITION FOR THE CUP WAS ALMOST LOST

REPRODUCED BY CHRISTIAN FEVRIER/BLUEGREEN

The day the America’s Cup changed 63

GILLES MARTIN RAGET

GILLES MARTIN RAGET

COMMITMENT TO THE COMMITMENT