Farewell AC37?

Like most Kiwis, I’d be deeply saddened to see our defence of the 37th America’s Cup sailed in foreign waters. That scenario is not yet a confirmed reality as I write – but it seems increasingly likely given that the government and Team New Zealand are at least $100 million apart in their thinking.

We might be the ones getting up at 3.00am to watch the racing – somewhere in Europe or the Middle East – and probably with blankets covering our knees. Bugger.

And yet, I have to confess to a certain ambivalence about the entire saga. The pragmatist in me argues that the prospect of our magnificent men in their flying machine going offshore might not be completely disastrous. Consider the evidence.

Yes, this year’s event – despite the modest number of challengers and debilitating impact of the global Covid pandemic – was superb. Played out on Auckland’s sparkling waters, it presented everything the America’s Cup should be – a majestic setting, thousands of enthusiastic fans, a great vibe – and stunning sailing (flying) in extraordinary boats. What a fantastic showcase for New Zealand.

But staging and defending the Cup costs money – and lots of it. New Zealand taxpayers don’t have that kind of dosh and, unlike many overseas syndicates, we don’t have some outrageously wealthy benefactor with seriously deep pockets willing to fund our AC campaigns.

With a multitude of other, far more pressing issues (health, education, infrastructure, transport) our government is understandably cautious about coughing up more money for an event that many voters regard as an obscenely expensive niche sport for elitist, entitled, privileged (mostly) men.

You could also argue that staging the event in Europe/middle East could be beneficial to the future of the America’s Cup. There is already speculation that our team’s main sponsor – Emirates – might not be able to extend its benevolence following Covid’s impact on its bottom line. Holding the event somewhere in the European theatre – where the audience is vastly bigger (and awake) – holds far greater appeal for potential sponsors.

And removing the logistical burden syndicates face to get their boats, bases and crews to the other side of the planet might induce a few more to participate – imagine an America’s Cup with eight challengers rather than three. That has to be good news for the event’s survival.

But perhaps my last point is the most important: if Team New Zealand is able to organise the defence of the Auld Mug in foreign waters, it would keep the team together, able to forge ahead and build on its considerable technological capital and nous.

What we definitely don’t want is to see the team disintegrate and get swallowed by syndicates with deeper pockets, as happened after the 2000 event.

I’d rather they departed our shores as a unit and stayed together – and if I have to, I will happily get up at 3.00am to see them in action.

Happy Boating.

Lawrence Schäffler

Editor