Bob Fisher, long time yachting journalist, author, sailor is rumored to be proposed for a knighthood. I have known Bob for more than 40 years. He was loud, brash, acute in his observations, and keen on the sport of sailing. He always embraced controversy; which leads me to my next thought: Ben Ansilie’s musings on the future of the America’s Cup and sailing.
DOUBTS CONTINUE OVER NEW AMERICA’S CUP FORMAT
Ben Ainslie worries about his “wasted years”. The British sailing legend,
who has won three Olympic gold medals, is fearful of losing his long-time
America’s Cup dream. He feels BMW Oracle’s decision to switch from
traditional monohulls to multihulled catamarans might have serious
implications for a generation of the world’s finest match racers.
“I have to say [the decision] was very disappointing,” says Ainslie. “Guys
like myself have spent the last 10-15 years learning the game and learning
how to match race big monohulls in the hope of being competitive in the
America’s Cup. It feels like it is all wasted because the game has changed.
I think that match racing will be a very small part of the next regatta. It
will mostly be about trying to develop the fastest boat possible.”
Ainslie was the reserve skipper for Team New Zealand from 2005 before
switching to the British-based Team Origin after the 2007 campaign in
Valencia. Along with previous holders Alinghi, Origin have announced they
will not be mounting a challenge in 2013. Team owner Sir Keith Mills cannot
see a future with the proposed new format.
Ainslie wonders about Oracle’s stated vision of bigger, faster, better. “I
think their No1 vision is to retain the Cup,” he says bluntly. “Their second
vision is make it as commercially viable as possible from a television point
of view so the broadcasting and sponsorship rights are worth that much more.
I just wonder how well multihulls and winged sails will lend itself to match
racing.”
America’s Cup veteran Peter Gilmour has a similarly dim view of the
competition’s prospects. Gilmour, a consultant to Alinghi in 2007, has been
at the forefront of Cup campaigns since 1992, sees the format change as a
bold move. “To effectively wipe out 160 years of match racing and go into
catamaran sailing is just remarkable to me,” he says. “It’s incredibly brave
and ballsy, especially given the closeness of the event in 2007.
“They are driven by a desire to defend successfully,” says Gilmour. “If you
give someone a monopoly in circumstances such as this then, of course, they
are going to go out and exploit their monopoly. Switching the event from
2014 to 2013 and the fact Oracle control all the knowledge around winged
sails mean that, unfortunately, all of the other teams are just going to be
turning up to be part of the process; to put on a good show.”
The Australian also feels that the Oracle experiment will ultimately be
short-lived. “I have no doubt the America’s Cup will eventually transition
back to monohulls. — NZ Herald, complete story:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10692123
It seems that we have arrived at a juncture in the sport. How did we get here? Is no one looking forward? Are we just reacting on a daily basis? Finally does anyone really care? Sailing does not contribute any any meaningful way to our everyday lives.
