National Post (National Edition)
Gamesmanship in its most expensive form
EMIRATES TEAM NEW ZEALAND, JUST LIKE ORACLE TEAM USA, SAILING TO SECURE A THIRD AMERICA’S CUP
Ididn’t know I cared about yachting until I came home from school one afternoon and my mother informed me Australia had just beaten USA in the America’s Cup — a coveted international trophy, which until that glorious day in 1983, our neighbours proudly held for 132 years. And now, hah, it was gone. Lost to little engine that could Australia, big on size, yeah maybe, but with a then-population of only 15 million, small on people. Kind of like Canada. I had nothing to do with Australia’s win. I never even watched the races. I knew next to nothing about the country and at so young an age, probably couldn’t even point it out on a map. But somehow Australia’s victory over the United States all those years ago just really made me smile.
Like many Canadians, I have a complicated love-hate relationship with the United States. It’s an amazing country with amazing and friendly people and Florida beaches. But it’s not easy living next door to a super-power. Particularly one that thinks itself the centre of the universe and barely notices you are there.
In life, I try to be the bigger person about it and do not comment on Americans donning their baseball caps when dining indoors. In sport, all bets are off. I support two teams. The first is Canada. Of course. And the second? Anyone going up against the States.
Which brings me back to the America’s Cup. Or the “Auld Mug” as it is affectionately known among the sailing community. And those of us, who, since that day, have been hooked on sailing.
Naturally, the U.S. losing the Cup to Australia would not do. Overall four-time America’s Cup winner Dennis Conner immediately set about getting it back at the next challenge in 1987. The skipper — also a Montreal 1976 Olympic bronze medallist in sailing — easily won.
Team Canada — which returned to the America’s Cup competition in 1983 after a 100-year-plus absence but lost in the Louis Vuitton Cup round robin challenger selection series, which determines which syndicate will race against the defender — came back for another go. Although skipper Terry Neilson was pleased with his crew’s performance and hoped to try again in the next series, Canada has not been involved since. Australia is also no longer involved. Well, sort of. Lately challengers tend to come and go.
The problem with the America’s Cup — named after the first yacht to win the trophy and not any continent or loud country — is that it does not come cheap. Entry fee is US$3 million. Boats — 50-foot catamarans — start at $8 million and the estimated cost of mounting a successful campaign is over $100 million. Larry Ellison, sponsor of current champion OracleTeam USA, is said to have spent between $250 and $300 million in 2013 defending Team USA’s 2010 title.
Whatever Ellison’s payout, it worked. Oracle Team USA took the prize and is, once again, the one to beat in the 35th America’s Cup “SuperYacht” Regatta now taking place in Bermuda.
Challenging Oracle Team USA is Emirates Team New Zealand. If you know anything about the America’s Cup, you’ll know that Emirates Team New Zealand, just like Oracle Team USA, is also out to secure a third America’s Cup title. And though it’s likely the entire population of New Zealand (4.6 million of them) would rather forget, you might recall Emirates Team New Zealand’s humiliating loss in San Francisco Bay four years ago.
In a nutshell, in the first to score nine matches, Team New Zealand led 8-1 and looked sure to win. And then one by one, Team USA came first on race day, eventually beating the Kiwis 9-8.
I was visiting Auckland at the time and remember it well. When New Zealand first won the Auld Mug in the 1990s, parts of the city harbourfront underwent a rejuvenation. Dilapidated old buildings were transformed into hip eateries and cafés overlooking the water. It was in this fashionable new district where fans flocked every morning to watch 2013 races on big screens and cheer their team on in anticipation of the big win. Day after day, I joined them, waiting for victory that never came. Toward the end I stopped going. We all knew the tide had turned. It just became too hard to watch.
Personally, it wasn’t just missing out on the cup that hurt. It hurt because the loss was to the United States. It’s right up there with losing gold to the Americans in Olympic hockey. Oh, and did I mention Oracle’s skipper — Jimmy Spithill — is Australian?
You see, 30 years on, I now have issues with Australians, too. Not because I am unhinged but because I am married to a New Zealander and have a tendency to take on some of their traits. And Kiwis, just like some Canadians, have a similar love/ hate thing going on with their closest — and more populous — loud neighbour. And just as with the Americans, I am not sure Australians take notice. I often think New Zealand barely registers on their radar.
But it does however, register with Spithill. While Australia may not officially be in the game this time around, it is nonetheless extremely present. Half the U.S. sailing team are Aussies, including team tactician Tom Slingsby.
Spithill is a fierce and feisty Aussie who loves to taunt Team New Zealand on and off water. A recent dig was to point out to media just how hard his dozen boat builders from Warkworth were working, putting in 24-hour shifts. Warkworth, for those not in the know, is just north of Auckland. While his comments are a great plug for the New Zealand boat-building industry, the idea that locals are supporting our chief competitor is a sore spot for some.
And while Spithill — who owns property in Auckland and is described by the lady across the street as a “gorgeous neighbour” — and Slingsby hope to retain the cup once more this month, winning against Team New Zealand would be icing on the cake.
“I hope we race Team New Zealand in the final again,” Slingsby told The Guardian newspaper.
“A lot of people don’t think we should have won the last one. They thought it was a fluke. I am an extremely competitive guy and I want to prove to everyone that we are the better team.”
Naturally, I am hoping he and his mates don’t have a better team. If only because I support anyone going up against the United States. And, of course, because my husband is a Kiwi and I have dual-citizen kids.
Whichever country wins — Team New Zealand or (the sort of) Team USA with its Aussie crew, it’s not going to be an easy ride. Both teams are strong.
New Zealand helmsman Peter Burling — an Olympic gold and silver medallist — is super skilled and super calm under pressure and is a perfect complement to skipper Glenn Ashby. Ashby, the only surviving crew member from Team New Zealand’s San Francisco Bay meltdown, is also Australian so we’ll not mention that again.
Spithill is a brilliant sailor with tremendous experience in match racing. And of course, Team USA has a dozen boat builders from Warkworth working 24-hour shifts doing who knows what.
The 35th America’s Cup kicked off this past Saturday. Team New Zealand now lead 3-0 in the first to win seven races. Kiwis are not celebrating just yet. Not after what happened the last time.
Canadians don’t have to be experts to follow it or to enjoy the sheer beauty of the sport. This isn’t like the boats you see sailing on the lake. Team New Zealand’s boat has pedal powered hydraulics so yes, it’s got funky bikes! And somewhere along the way, America’s Cup boats stopped sailing in the water and took to flying over. It’s fast. It’s fun. It’s terrifying. And it’s magnificent to watch.
The next America’s Cup race takes place Saturday. Canadians can live stream the races at the Official America’s Cup App or watch on NBC.
I WANT TO PROVE TO EVERYONE THAT WE ARE THE BETTER TEAM.