The contest is not over yet but it was apparent
the next Cup will most likely be in Europe as Swiss
challenger Alinghi held a commanding lead in the 31st
Cup over defender Team New Zealand.
But the prospect of Alinghi as defender raises as
many questions as it answers. If the Swiss challengers
win, it will be one of the biggest upsets ever in
this historic event and will have huge implications
for the sport.
From what salt water port would this first Cup winner
from a landlocked country elect to race, for example?
(Under the 126-year-old Cup Deed of Gift, racing must
by rule be on an arm of the sea.)
Ernesto Bertarelli, Alinghi's backer, has made it
clear it would be somewhere in Europe, either on the
Mediterranean or Atlantic coasts, in a place where
winds are strong and predictable.
The rumour mill currently favors the little Portuguese
port of Cascais, located on the Lisbon coast as the
number one choice.
Portugal is considered less expensive to host an event
than other parts of Europe, particularly when one
considers the cost of living in high profile places
such as Palma, Barcelona and Marseille, other leading
contenders. Portugal is favored because it’s considered
neutral, unlikely to host a challenger.
Patrick Monteiro de Barros, commodore of the Cascais
Yacht Club, said that he and Bertarelli had discussed
Cascais for a Swiss America's Cup defence more than
two years ago.
Cascais, with reliable northwesterly trade winds from
April to September, has hosted scores of world and
European sailing championships over the past 60 years.
With the soccer World Cup to be held in Germany in
2006, a cup defence is likely in the European summer
of 2007. "I am ready,'' de Barros said. "I
have the power of attorney from my club. I have the
backing of the Portuguese Government. It will do whatever
is necessary.''
It's all part of Bertarelli's strategy to professionalize
the Cup should he win, making it better organized
and more appealing to commercial sponsors, TV and
the general public.
Bertarelli and his aides are too superstitious to
talk in detail about the next event before winning
this one, but sources say Alinghi would change the
rules on a grand scale.
Bertarelli wants to shorten the regatta from the current
4˝ months to two or three, eliminate noncompetitive
teams early or before they even get to the venue,
and put challengers' racing and the Cup final under
the same umbrella of rules, oversight panels and sponsorship,
all of which the defender would control.
Among other likely changes is an end to nationality
rules, opening the way for anyone to sail or work
on the design or building team for any challenger
or defender without establishing residency in the
nation represented, as is currently required.
Because all Cup rules other than the basics covered
in the Deed of Gift are arrived at by mutual consent
between defender and a challenger of record, Alinghi
could get away with these changes only if it finds
a willing partner.
The Swiss have prepared a protocol for the next Cup
and shopped it around to various potential challengers,
sources say.
No deal has yet been signed, but the leading candidate
for challenger of record if Alinghi wins is said to
be San Francisco's Golden Gate Yacht Club, which sponsored
software billionaire Larry Ellison's Oracle challenge.
Ellison plans to come back and he and Bertarelli became
friendly here.
One thing that seems certain to change if the Cup
goes to Europe is the number of challengers. If New
Zealand were to rally and successfully defend for
a second time, observers reckon as few as six challengers
might make the long trek to the Southern Hemisphere
for the next Cup.
But a shift to the Mediterranean or Atlantic Coast
of Europe, bringing in major population areas for
commercial sponsors, could raise the number as high
as 16, sources say.
That's why Bertarelli is considering elimination challenger
rounds as early as a year before the Cup to arrive
at a more manageable number of competitors for a shortened
Cup season.
For decades, Cup followers have complained about the
antiquated format of the regatta and the problems
it creates. Bertarelli and the highly professional
aides he brought from his business to run Alinghi
reckon they have the expertise to help the event into
the modern world.
Bruno Troublé, Louis Vuitton event spokesman
in Auckland, says the battle for the America's Cup
won't be a truly big event again until it's back in
European hands.
"If the cup stays here, I don't think we will have
more than six to eight challengers," he said. "If
the cup goes to Europe, there will be 12 challengers
at least. Either this time or next time, it will be
a huge deal in Europe."
"The cup left Europe in 1851 and it has never come
back. If it does, I am sure the cup will become a
bigger event. We will reach another level in terms
of owners, media coverage and interest."
However, Troublé is adamant the cup won't go
backwards if there is a third defence here and predicted
there would be new syndicates wherever it was held.
"We have had six to eight teams in the past," he said.
"We will have Oracle and Alinghi coming back. I don't
think we will go backwards. The event is too big."
Troublé continues to advocate important changes
to the structure of the Cup. "She is 152 years old.
She is still a beauty but she needs cosmetic surgery."
He wants racing in the Louis Vuitton Cup to start
in December and finish in February and the successful
challenger to begin racing the defender on March 20.
It started on October 1 last year with The Match starting
on February 15 when the conditions are likely to be
lighter. Because the challengers know they are likely
to face these winds, Troublé said they opted
not to race their series in heavier winds and therefore
imposed the upper starting limit of 19 knots.
"The challengers didn't want to sail in rough conditions
with stiffer masts, smaller sails and stronger boats
and then for the winner to be badly beaten by Team
NZ in light air," he said.
If The Match was delayed till the end of March, Troublé
said it would probably be sailed in stronger winds
and therefore the challengers could lift the limit.
He said the syndicates, through rule changes, could
also be encouraged to sail in the heavier conditions.
"We want to be able to start races up to 25 to 27
knots," he said. "If we had sailed in 23 or 24 knots
of wind, we would have saved two thirds of the lost
days."
Troublé wanted changes which would encourage
smaller syndicate's participation and in some cases
help cut costs. One boost, he said, would be to boost
nationality requirements relating to each syndicate's
sailing team.
"Two thirds of the sailing crew should be from the
nation launching the challenge and I also think we
should limit the number of sailors in each challenge,"
Troublé said.
A ceiling would also help prune costs, with Troublé
suggesting each syndicate have a similar sized compound
as they do in Formula One motor racing.
The radical hull appendage, expected to deliver
the defenders a performance advantage in next month's
America's Cup final, may be a one-regatta wonder.
A review of the cup rules will begin after the best-of-nine
final and technical director Ken McAlpine suggested
the clip-ons or second skins on NZL81 and NZL82 were
sure to be discussed.
McAlpine confirmed he would be making recommendations
about the clip-ons but refused to reveal whether he
would push for rule changes aimed at closing the loophole
Team NZ exploited.
However, the fact he sees a need to comment suggests
he believes a change is needed.
"There will be a review of the class rules and that
(the clip-on) would be one matter which will be very
carefully reviewed I would suggest but I don't have
a public position on this at all" he said. "It is
not my place to have a public position. It would be
inappropriate".
The highly respected McAlpine and his measurement
committee will play a crucial role in the review of
rules for the cup class. They will gather views from
syndicates and others on how the rules can be improved.
McAlpine and his team will then prepare drafts for
approval before giving a final list of recommendations
to the new challenger of record and the defender.
McAlpine expects it will take about six months before
the drafts are finalised.
As the draft changes are discussed, it will become
clear whether syndicates want to bar the Kiwi clip-on
from future regattas.
The appendage could simply be outlawed or there could
be allowance made for hollows in certain areas of
the hull that would negate the benefits of the clip-on.
Under existing rules, hollows or other irregularities
in the hull are prohibited. Team NZ circumvented this
restriction by developing the hula, which is classified
as a non-movable appendage.
Louis
Vuitton format to be debated (12/27/02) (source
: NZ
Herald)
A revised format for the Louis Vuitton challenger
series will be debated after the America's Cup amid
unrest at a lack of racing during New Zealand's peak
holiday period.
Challengers' management head Luca Birindelli said
he and regatta director Dyer Jones had ideas about
the event's format, and an assessment of the current
schedule and any recommendations for change would
be included in a formal report once racing ends.
The new-style racing format for the challenger series
has caused some concern, with no racing during the
main New Year holiday period. There are only two teams
left, and they do not race again until January 11.
Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker this year described
the format as a shame and said the Viaduct Harbour,
bristling with crew activity until now, may end up
a ghost town over New Year.
Even the elder statesman of skippers, Dennis Conner,
has questioned the racing schedule. "How does that
make sense? To have everybody gone by Christmas, when
the holidays come and you've got all the good weather."
Racing, which finished on Monday, does not resume
for another two weeks when Alinghi of Switzerland
and Oracle BMW Racing from San Francisco race in a
best-of-nine challenger finals for the Louis Vuitton
Cup - which could be over in just five racing days.
The winner will challenge Team New Zealand for the
America's Cup from mid-February.
The format is significantly different to the last
event, and was agreed by the nine challengers. During
the last America's Cup, racing began in late October
with the first of three round robins, before a six-boat
semifinals competition which started on January 2,
and then a finals series later that month.
But this time the challengers, led by the bigger and
wealthier campaigns, wanted to ensure there was a
significant break between the Louis Vuitton Cup and
the America's Cup match, so crew were rested and boats
properly prepared.
With Team New Zealand stipulating the time for the
defence, the challengers began their series earlier
in October, and the knockout-repechage system means
the teams which keep winning have raced far less.
Alinghi has reached the challenger finals after just
22 races, and could reach the match in 27 races. Prada
won the challenger finals three years ago after 49
races.
Birindelli said this week there would be talk about
the format after the event, and a report prepared
- "Whether it will be listened to is a totally different
story."
