Panic hits splintered fleet as Cup enters stormy seas
The fractured state of the challenging fleet is doing their America’s Cup cause little good. They are small in numbers – just three syndicates coming from Italy, the United States and Great Britain – but there has been an alarming lack of unity.
The America’s Cup has always been a two-sided affair. The defender, in this case Team New Zealand, and the challengers who for the 36th edition are American Magic, Ineos Team UK and Luna Rossa.
Historically the teams lining up to try to win the cup are represented by the Challenger of Record.
That responsibility lies with Luna Rossa.
But Luna Rossa’s silence has been deafening in the current issue of trying to get challenging teams into New Zealand to prepare for a warmup regatta in Auckland in late December and the Prada Cup challenger series to be run in January and February.
There have been impassioned pleas by both the American and British syndicates to get clarity around all the uncertainties surrounding yachting’s premier event amid the chaos the coronavirus pandemic has caused to the global sporting calendar.
But not a word from Luna Rossa at a time when a collective voice fronted by the head of the challengers could help navigate a passage through these stormy waters.
While the American and
British turn their frustrations on Team New Zealand and the New Zealand government, Luna Rossa appear happy to operate their own agenda.
American Magic have gambled by sending their first boat to New Zealand ahead of any early entry guarantee for their non-Kiwi team members. Ineos Team UK have had to stay off the training waters at home contemplating a similar move.
While their frustrations boil over as time ticks away, Luna
Rossa have happily resumed testing in Sardinia and stayed out of a public stoush over New Zealand immigration rules.
Unlike their fellow challengers, they don’t appear to be in a rush to get to Auckland, indicating it might be September or October before they turn up. The waters will probably have smoothed by then.
In a game where it’s often hard to tell who is your friend or foe, it seems teams have decided to sail their own course.
And the Americans and British have found an unexpected ally in the movie world with revelations that the crew on the Avatar production being filmed Down Under have been granted exemption to enter New Zealand because of the economic benefits they will bring to the country.
It’s a valid argument to suggest the America’s Cup teams and their cast of hundreds, as well as the superyacht fleet that will follow them to these shores, will bring a significant economic boost to New Zealand. The Brits and Americans are stating the obvious there.
It’s why the Kiwi government has invested in Team New Zealand and the event’s infrastructure.
It’s an investment they won’t want to see wasted and, as such, there is every reason that the America’s Cup will proceed in these unprecedented times.
In reality, the challengers have hardly presented a united front since they turned up for the official America’s Cup launch in 2018 which was all about pomp and ceremony.
The first cracks in their co-op appeared with the vexed issue of wind limits for racing in Auckland where it appeared that Luna Rossa had been operating independently in their battle with Team New Zealand.
Nothing since then has altered that thinking.
The Italians dilly-dallied with the very late but obvious call to cancel the world series regatta in Cagliari as their country became the centre of European concerns over Covid-19, an unwanted mantle that Britain now owns.
This is a time for calm, concise thinking that the New Zealand government has shown from the outset.
The British and American syndicates should consider that amongst the panic that is now emerging in their campaigns.
They could also seek leadership from the Challenger of Record for an official voice of recognition.
‘‘In a game where it’s often hard to tell who is your friend or foe, it seems teams have decided to sail their own course.’’