Let the brinkmanship begin
The race within the race for the America’s Cup is well and truly under way and the brinkmanship over the first week has been fascinating.
As defenders and the team that dreamed up the radical new boat to be sailed at Auckland 2021, Team New Zealand knew it was vital they be the first team to unveil the AC75.
They duly achieved that late last week when it was brazenly paraded a day ahead of its official launch. The Kiwis got two days of gasps going around the sailing world with the design and technical excellence clearly evident in ‘‘Te Aihe’’ as it has been named.
But the canny New York Yacht Club, the most experienced outfit in the long history of the America’s Cup, knew there was a bigger way to make an impact.
Beaten to the punch in terms of showing off the design, they quickly realised the ‘‘money shot’’ was to be the first team to get the 75-foot monster under sail and up on its foils.
They did just that on Wednesday. Getting the boat really wet ahead of having some
champagne splashed on its bow was the best way to thumb their nose at their rivals.
They even did it with veteran Kiwi Dean Barker on the wheel.
In a boxing analogy – and this is yachting’s heavyweight contest – Team New Zealand took round one and the NYYC’s American Magic took round two.
This fight will go the full 12 rounds and we haven’t even seen yet what the other two real contenders, Italy’s Luna Rossa and INEOS Team UK, will bring to the show. That’s Jimmy Spithill and Sir Ben Ainslie, two friends and rivals never shy of the sly.
As always with the Auld Mug, there’s gamesmanship and psychology at play.
But the undeniable truth with the America’s Cup is that the fastest boat always wins. And that’s where this is all heading . . . 18 months for the challengers to find who has the fastest boat in their division and then an America’s Cup match to see if that defender has the speed to beat Team New Zealand.
In a game where time is always the enemy, don’t expect Grant Dalton’s syndicate to be baited into pushing too fast from here.
They’ve made their point. Now they will be methodical in getting their boat ready to sail and just as systematic in working it up to full speed.
Don’t forget, the Kiwi catamaran that completely dominated the last America’s Cup was only launched 100 days out from the opening races in Bermuda.
Team New Zealand were content then to trust their simulator work to prove their theories, just as they have been with the design work that has gone into this monster monohull.
While their rivals have been sailing test boats, the Kiwis have been in a world of virtual reality.
But the 36th edition of sport’s oldest trophy is very real now and this is where another of Team New Zealand’s huge assets comes into play – the slick crew.
In Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, the syndicate have the two best sailors in the world at the moment. In Glenn Ashby, they have a sail genius to control the huge mainsail that will power this beast.
It’s one thing having the first boat. It’s another having the fast boat. But that boat still needs the right men to put it in the right place on tight courses under immense pressure.
That’s where this America’s Cup goes from here. A lot has been revealed in a few days. But there is so much more to come.