Artemis Racing, the Swedish sailing syndicate that suffered a fatal accident during training in May for the America’s Cup, released a scathing statement Monday regarding recently published comments from one its chief competitors, Emirates Team New Zealand.
Artemis characterized the comments as “out of line and unsportsmanlike.”
“In response to comments by Emirates Team New Zealand’s Managing Director Grant Dalton in a June 8, 2013 article in the New Zealand Herald, we would like to set the record straight,” the statement read. “Dalton’s proposals to change the (Louis Vuitton Cup) race would certainly not help Artemis Racing, as suggested, but make it even harder for us to compete.”
Dalton’s plan would start direct elimination July 19, rather than Aug. 6, and alter the format to eliminate the semifinals.
Late last week, Artemis announced that it would not be ready for the start of the Louis Vuitton Cup, the round-robin event that decides the competitor for Oracle Racing’s defense of the America’s Cup in September. The LV Cup was scheduled to start July 7. Instead, New Zealand and Italian syndicate Luna Rossa will start without their Swedish counterparts.
Artemis announced plans to join the racing in August, allowing time to rebuild its damaged boat and still make a run at the finals. Race organizers agreed to the new plan.
Dalton took exception with the race organizers’ accommodation.
“So the whole thing is now geared to the needs of the weakest common denominator,” Dalton was quoted in the article. “I wonder what would happen if the Rugby World Cup had to stop and reorganize itself in an unsatisfactory way because Namibia had a few injuries. How would that go down?”
Dalton wasn’t done, saying: “We haven’t lost sight of the tragedy and we have said we are in favor of the safety recommendations, but Artemis can get away with this because there are not enough teams in the America’s Cup. If there were five teams, they’d be goners; they wouldn’t be here. But because there aren’t enough, the regatta will have to meet their needs. … ”
Artemis racing found Dalton’s tone objectionable, prompting Monday’s statement.
“Dalton’s proposals benefit no team but his own, and his public insults are out of line and unsportsmanlike,” the statement read. “Artemis Racing’s May 9 accident set us back immensely – on a human level and a campaign level. As competitors, though, we may be down, but we are not out.
“Our passion for the America’s Cup remains strong. We are committed again to competing. Anyone who knows our sailors knows that our team will not shy away from a tough challenge. We are doing our best to recover and our target is to be ready for racing in the Louis Vuitton Cup’s semifinals on Aug. 6, if not earlier. In the meantime, the race schedule should remain unchanged and the derogatory analogies should be left on the dock.”
Emirates New Zealand released its response late Monday, stating: “The joint proposal put forth by Luna Rossa and Emirates Team New Zealand of starting the Louis Vuitton Cup later in July was done so in the hope of enhancing the event with a full muster of boats from the beginning, and therefore, placing more importance on the racing from the first race, something for which fans and sponsors are craving right now.
“Normally the challenger series of an America’s Cup is run on terms that meet the wishes of the majority of challengers,” Dalton said in the statement. “This is not the case here with Artemis rejecting the proposal and wanting to continue running an event schedule in which, by under their own admission, they will not compete in the early stages.
“Obviously, it was assumed that 10 weeks after the Artemis tragedy, that having previously taken delivery of their second AC72, they would be ready to race. This is not the case.”
The back-and-forth between the two teams was the latest wrinkle for an event that has had tragedy and controversy in recent months. In addition to the death of Artemis sailor Andrew “Bart” Simpson, who drowned during a training run May 9, the event has become shrouded with financial concerns.
Three competitors, down from an estimated dozen two years ago, remain to challenge for the Cup held by Oracle. That has resulted in lower estimates of the race’s economic benefits, and fundraising has slowed, meaning the city could be on the hook for significant expenses.
Grandstands coming down
America’s Cup officials said Monday they are refunding grandstand tickets for races through the Louis Vuitton Cup semifinals because of the uncertainty of when challenger Artemis Racing will be ready to compete following the deadly capsize of its first boat last month.
Depending on when Artemis returns, there could be only five days of racing between July 7 and Aug. 1.
America’s Cup CEO Stephen Barclay said it’s the right thing to do to refund the tickets and take down the grandstands until Artemis returns.
Once the racing is over, no one will remember most of the details. Meanwhile is is a bit clumsy and fragile organization.
