Cup move could foil success
To the uninitiated, the world of sailing can seem impenetrable, elitist; a gated community protected by mind-boggling jargon and perceived privilege. Within that group are other clique-defining fissures, one of which is a thin blue-water line separating those who sail monohulls and those who prefer multis.
The country’s interest in the America’s Cup was buoyed by the speed and excitement generated by foiling catamarans. It swelled and spilled out into the streets when Team New Zealand won.
But there was always the odd old-salt for whom the use of cyclors, multihulls and other innovations represented an affront to ‘‘traditional’’ sailing.
They finally had their day in the sun this week when the loose lips of Italian sailing supremo Patrizio Bertelli let slip that the multihulls would be sunk for the next Cup regatta, widely expected to be in Auckland, and the monohulls brought back.
Sailing academic Professor Mark Orams echoed the thoughts of others, including Kiwi Cup veterans Chris Dickson and Peter Lester, when he said it was ‘‘more of a sailor’s kind of yacht again’’.
There are practical reasons why monohulls are a good fit for an Auckland regatta, including better adaptability in a wider wind range and heavier swell, but we hope those who look down their noses at the ‘‘cats’’ do not lose sight of the audience that was attracted to the innovation, excitement and jawdropping pace on display in Bermuda. An audience that enjoyed its rare visit to the gated community.
It would be a setback for the sport in general and New Zealand’s stewardship of the event in particular if that grand momentum was sacrificed to the gods of tradition and snobbery.
Insiders and sailing commentators have offered various reasons for ditching the cats and also suggest that foiling monohulls could possibly match multihull speeds.
They claim monohulls will attract many of the teams apparently put off by the technology and expense needed to control the fastfoiling multis, even though fewer sailors (and cyclors) were required. Just six teams lined up in Bermuda; Auckland 2021 could host double that. Also, a return to more ‘‘traditional’’ match-racing could make for closer, more exciting contests that keep competitors in with a chance. But this may erode some of the clear advantage New Zealand had in Bermuda.
There is another reason for this step back to the future: a deal made with Bertelli’s Luna Rossa syndicate, which withdrew from the Bermuda event and threw its considerable weight, expertise and a test boat into the less financially buoyant Kiwi challenge, thus aligning itself to join New Zealand as Challenger of Record and changer of rules for the 2021 event.
Given that politics and backroom deals are as much a part of Cup legend as port-entry parlay and bowsprits, it’s fair to ponder the calibrations involved in New Zealand’s decision: how much was it a desire to honour the tradition of tight racing and attract more teams, and how much an expediency engineered to get the Kiwi syndicate over the line in Bermuda.
The answer to that question and others will see the gates to the community opened again or slammed shut, possibly for good.
It would be a setback for the sport.