Leaping lizards - an intriguing design

It looks almost organic; inviting a David Attenborough narration.

Much has been made of the similarity of the upcoming America’s Cup foiling monohull design and the stance of a lizard raising a leg to cool a foot from hot sand or rock.

There’s surely a political reason why this craft design for the 2021 regatta has been released right now, just as some of the more awkward aspects of planning the event start coming into view.

Like finding Auckland waterfront room for the syndicate bases.

The design straight away invites comment - or perhaps even that rarer commodity, thought.

Whether the reactions are educated or even just instinctive, this design will attract feedback from more than the crowd traditionally interested in what is still oftentimes seen as an elitist our-millionaires-are-better-than-your-millionaires event on boats crewed by the best patriots money can buy.

The design has been embraced by the Emirates Team New Zealand defenders and the challenger of record, Luna Rossa.

Not all the America’s Cup purists - if such a notoriously politicised and legalistic undertaking can be said to have purists - were enamoured of the catamarans that fought out the previous event.

But when those beasts rose up from the water the spectacle was undeniably a crowd-pleaser. News of a return to monohulls perhaps came as slightly deflating, suggesting something more slow and staid.

Instead, though half as long again as the cats, these new monohulls are being touted as significantly faster, and with mobility to inject even more drama to the pre-start manoeuvring.

We live in a society assailed by new designs, to the extent that it’s tempting to behold most of them blankly. They show up, they work well or disappointingly, and we buy into them in some level, or not, on that basis.

What we have here is a design that instantly seems to raise concerns as well as fascinations.

That in itself is not a bad thing. If the potential pros and cons, risks and rewards, are as interesting as they seem then it would be a useful subject for teachers to tap into. The most dramatic payoff, in terms of competition, is years away, but there’s surely potential for engagement earlier.

Much as this is highly technical and expert stuff there’s surely plenty of good old physics and maths underpinning it. Enough, perhaps, to provide a focus for some secondary school scholars to consider. Enhancing such exercises, surely, is the fact (or impression, anyway) that the design looks cool.