Identical cats big leveller for NZ crew, says Coutts
True test of sailing as Burling and Tuke size up Sail GP off Bermuda
Sailing supremo Sir Russell Coutts has indicated a major feature of the Sail GP season will be an unfamiliar leveller with the New Zealand team embarking on their first season.
The team will be led by two-time America’s Cup winners and Olympic gold medallists Blair Tuke and Peter Burling, who have been in contention for the ultimate prize in several branches of the sport.
However, speaking to Newstalk ZB, Coutts said the fact that all the teams race in identical foiling catamarans, similar to those used during the 2017 America’s Cup, will make the competition interesting.
In the America’s Cup, the design of the team’s vessel has been crucial to success as teams look for a way to find a speed advantage.
“It’s all very well to win when you’re going two or three knots faster than somebody else, but when you’ve got exactly the same equipment then it really boils down to who is going to sail that boat the best,” Coutts said.
“That’s going to be fascinating because even in their Olympic racing, it’s pretty well renowned that Burling and Tuke have developed a speed advantage.
“A lot of that could be technique but some of that could be equipment, too.
“In those Olympic classes that are so-called one design, there are differences in equipment between masts and sails. They’re small differences but differences that nevertheless matter quite a lot. In this race, they’re going to be racing against these other guys in an absolutely identical boat and I think that’s going to be fascinating to see how they come out of that.”
The Kiwis will come up against some familiar faces during the Sail GP season, which begins in Bermuda next weekend, with Sir Ben Ainslie leading the Great Britain crew, and Jimmy Spithill at the helm for the United States.
When you’ve got exactly the same equipment then it really boils down to who is going to sail that boat the best. Sir Russell Coutts
The 2021 season will be the sophomore year for Sail GP, after the inaugural competition in 2019, with Australian beating Japan in the final.
Coutts, who founded the event alongside American businessman Larry Ellison, said despite missing the inaugural season of the competition, the Kiwi outfit won’t be coming in off the pace — particularly with Burling and Tuke in the ranks.
“They’ve been active sailing and they’ve proven that they can adapt to different boats; they were pretty good in these boats in 2017.
“Right now, I couldn’t winner.”