America’s Cup: Charting a foil-less future?
The 36th America’s Cup is beginning to take shape with Italian syndicate Luna Rossa confirmed as Team New Zealand’s Challenger of Record.
The Kiwis completed a 7-1 series victory over Oracle Team USA yesterday in Bermuda to claim the Auld Mug and avenge their stunning defeat to the Americans in San Francisco four years ago.
As a result of their triumph Team New Zealand now have the right to plan the future of the event and the first part of that process has been ticked off after the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron (RNZYS) accepted a challenge from Circolo della Vela Sicilia (CVS), the club behind Luna Rossa.
Team NZ are due to depart Bermuda on Sunday for Dubai, home of title sponsor Emirates, before arriving in Auckland next Wednesday, which has all but been confirmed as the host of the next event most likely in 2021.
It has been widely speculated that they may revert to monohulls for the return to New Zealand and team principal Matteo de Nora gave the biggest hint yet that the catamarans were on the way out.
‘‘The future will be decided with our challenger so we’re not going to say much about it right now,’’ he said. ‘‘We know we want to go back to the future so we have several weeks to concentrate on what we want to do.’’
Team NZ chief executive Grant Dalton also indicated that they are likely to go in a different direction.
While Dalton acknowledged the excitement of last two events and development of foiling, he felt the America’s Cup still needed to be about sailing.
‘‘I think just pumping oil around isn’t yachting in one sense,’’ he said.
Dalton also doubted whether the radical catamarans would be suited to Auckland’s Waitemata harbour.
‘‘When they are in a decent northeasterly with the tide going out, I’m not sure . . . they might go straight down a mine,’’ he said.
‘‘So maybe they aren’t quite right for where they are headed because we are in a lagoon here [Bermuda]. All those sorts of considerations have to be thought about.’’
The format implemented by Oracle has been credited for breathing new life into the America’s Cup. his face-plant on the pontoon when a virus restricted him to bronze in Beijing in 2008.
We revel in tales where persistence conquers over adversity – hence the feel-good factor behind Murray Halberg, with his withered arm, rising to Olympic middle-distance champion.
The best parallel, however, for Team New Zealand is the All Blacks’ recovery from that dark day in Cardiff a decade ago.
Their 2011 title triumph at home had extra resonance after their predecessors’ playoff chokes from 1991 to 2007.
It’s doubly so for Team New Zealand who, unlike the All Blacks, had victory dashed from their grasp as they got set to uncork the champagne four years ago.
So expect to see Dalton anointed as New Zealand sailing’s third knight – after Coutts and the late Peter Blake.
Whatever your tack on the awarding of gongs, Dalton deserves to belong on that top transom. The Kiwi Captain Pugwash is home from the sea, at last.