FOILING!

FROM NOVEMBER BAY AND DELTA YACHTSMAN MAGAZINE

Photo:©2012 Guilain Grenier/Oracle Team USA & ACEA

The Pits, a Pendulum, the Protocol and Foiling too!

All the numbers emanating from the America's Cup here can be mind boggling. This month we will try to make some sense on what it all means. For all of you out there listening to the critics crying about next year's main event; think again. These boats are going to be spectacular! Not since the days of the magnificent J-Boats off Newport, RI in the 1930's will there be a splendor of spectacle to behold like what will be in store for the Bay Area in 2013. Eight behemoth catamarans from 4 teams and possibly a ninth (if Team Korea stays in the game) will showcase speed, technology, daring maneuverability as these massive yachts will show incredible bursts of acceleration as they literally fly on foils at unheard of racing speeds approaching 50 knots! Yes. They are foiling! It shouldn't be too much of a surprise considering that they are catamarans with dagger boards and the sailing conditions here will allow them to power up in a short amount of time. Make no mistake the grandeur and majesty of this event will be a transcending experience that will send chills down the spines of your grandchildren as you thrill them with the tall tales of the 2013 America's Cup. If you are among the non-believers, just take a stroll down the marina waterfront in the next months and take a gaze at the space age when as the carbon creatures draw your breath in like a black hole when they lightning past you at speeds that Jules Verne could not even have conjured up or dreamed of. Oracle Racing finally got its AC72 back out on the water after an initial foil failure, that kept it in the shed for an additional 3 precious weeks. The team fashioned a new dagger foil out of one of the one's off the “old” trimaran. In a sign that the technology is again outpacing the rules “hinged daggerboards” were approved by the ACRM for racing. The hinged foil is similar to the concept employed by the French tri-maran Hydroptère and probably not originally envisioned by the rulemakers back in 2010. The only comparison that one can make is that foiling is like flying. Foiling is when the hull actually comes out of the water and the only remaining wetted surface to the water is the daggerboards or foils. The reduced wetted surface allows to boat to “lift” and go faster. “The 72's will be foiling, no question!” exclaimed Oracle Team USA skipper Jimmy Spithill. “We pushed our AC72 harder to show all the other teams, though its harder to steer when your foiling.” “It was only a matter of time,” said ACRM Director Ian Murray. “There is a 6 to 10 knot jump in speed when they foil. Who can get up and stay there the longest will go the fastest.” The chase boat for Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) has four 300 horsepower engines and their AC 72 was seen gybing down wind while foiling! Murray estimates that there will be at least 3 gybes on each run leg. “It's awesome!” said ETNZ skipper Dean Barker. 'We are enjoying the boat. Its challenging. We feel we are making good progress.” As far as foiling is it an advantage on the race course, especially when the legs are so short. “We have to decide ourselves whether it is going to be an advantage or not,” said Barker. “The boat is capable of doing it, I have to work really hard at keeping (the boat) stable. When you're foiling you don't have a lot of rudder maneuverability.” “It's a challenge because you have 11 guys on the boat and when your sailing upwind, its impossible to talk to a guy that is only 2 meters away, even yelling and with the timing of maneuvers the “intercom” system (headset mics) has to work really well,” said Barker. As for Spithill, Oracle Racing was showing off foiling in a spectacular fashion along the San Francisco waterfront. Its different than sailing on the trimaran. “We never really got it out of the water'” said Spithill. “We also had an engine to power all the wiches, but they are similar that there are lots of loads and a lot of risk.” “The only control you have is the steering and the daggerboards,” said Spithill. “The loads and the speeds are going to be insane!” Oracle Racing built the components for its massive wing-sail at Core Builders Composites in Warkworth, NZ. Under the liberal terms for the “constructed in country” clause for the 34th Protocol only the hulls for the most part are regulated to the home country as most the critical parts of the new generation AC 72's are allowed to be built elsewhere. Repairs and patch the hulls for the AC 72's will probably become as interchangeable as tires on an IndyCar next year as accidents and “pitch poling” are bound to be frequent occurrences on volital San Francisco Bay where winds routinely reach into the 30's and the infamous ebb-tides can bring a submarining hull to a screeching halt. Regardless, we are all in for incredible cat show next year! Game On? Ben Ainslie isn't Jack Sutphan after all. The assumption initially was, when Ainslie, the 4-time Olympic Gold Medalist from Great Britain was brought onboard at Oracle Team USA it was to serve as a tune up partner for Jimmy Spithill. At the end of the day all would be well and Spithill would drive the team's AC 72 in the America's Cup finals next year. Well, all things being Ellison, there are no free rides or passes, in an effort to either sell sponsors on actual Defense Trials next year or to remind the team that no one's seat is safe Ainslie and Spithill will actually be competing for the helm this winter and next year for the right to steer USA 17 in the America's Cup finals. Sutphan was Dennis Conner's longtime sparring partner beginning with Freedom in 1980 thru more than a few of the Stars & Stripes campaigns. Sutphan would steer the “B” boat against Conner's primary crew, but make no mistake, he was a world class skipper in his own right. That being said, there was never a “quarterback” controversy in Conner's camps. As for Oracle Racing, team CEO Russell Coutts is currently “Mr America's Cup” with a 14-0 record as skipper and 4 titles to his name. He has made it clear that he will not be steering the boat next year. Spithill was brought on in 2007 and make no mistake, he is immensely popular here in the Bay Area as “our quarterback”. He was the skipper in 2010 when Oracle won the America's Cup. In addition to the vaunted massive wing sail, it was his talent and John Kostecki's tactics that insured victory. Coutts is making it very clear that Ainslie isn't here on vacation. In a sport where Olympic medals, sailing championships and America's Cup victories serve as college degrees, Ainslie, Spithill, along with ETNZ's Dean Barker and Artemis's Terry Hutchinson are the cream of the crop in the world right now. “You can practice all you want,” said Coutts. “But, there is nothing like a race to test your performance. It's a different kettle of fish. People are competing for their careers.” “This regatta here is important to the sailing team,” said Coutts. “Actually, there is nowhere to hide. You either perform or you don't and you can make all the excuses in the world, you either win or you don't. That is one of the great things in sport.” “You think these wealthy backers in ours or other syndicates are going to tolerate non-performance?” said Coutts. “They're not.” “There are 3 parts, three componants to a successful program,” said Coutts. 1] “You obviously have to sail good. The guys are vying for positions on the race boat. You are judged by your performance on the race course. Ultimately, your'e fighting for you position on the boat. You either win or you lose.” 2] “You have to design a good, really fast boat. It has to perform as designed. There is always discovery in this game.” 3] “The boat building operation. We had a failure recently.. It wasn't a design failure, actually it was a manufacturing error. That isn't a slight against the people who did it, it just shows how difficult it is to use the technology.” “If you are strong in one area and weak in another, you will lose,” said Coutts. “You need to be near the top in all the catagories and if you are weak in any one, you will be exposed.” “Ben is up to speed now,” said Spithill. “Everybody has a chance at winning, there's no excuses now.” “It was a no-brainer bring Ben in,” says Spithill. “He is the best sailor in the world!” “These boats are incredibly hard to sail,” said Ainslie. “I'm not nervous, I'm excited.” Ainslie has announced his intention to challenge with Great Britain for the 35th America's Cup. Given Ellison's proclivity for ensuring the continuity to the current Cup formula would seem to guarantee that Royal Cornwall Yacht Club (RCYC) in Falmouth, England will be the Challenger of Record (COR) next time. The Royal Cornwall Yacht Club (RCYC) was formed in 1871 and is the 15th oldest “Royal” yacht club in England. The first patrons of the club were Queen Victoria and the Duke of Cornwall (the future King Edward VII). The current patron is HRH the Prince Charles who succeeded his father, The Duke of Edinburgh, in 1977. The Pit-Falls and the Protocol As an event AC 34 has not been above pitfalls of late with the latest brouhaha emanating from Emirates Team New Zealand on where the team bases for the remaining challengers will be located as ACEA CEO keeps stripping Piers 30/32 bare leaving Reds Java House, a lot of concrete, fences and a “Field of Dreams” in its place. ACEA CEO Stephen Barclay trying to navigate San Francisco's shifting visions of where the best place to host the masses would be as the concept of the racings center of gravity keeps changing. Originally, Piers 30-32 was going to be where the challenging team bases; the “pits” would be located. Oracle Team USA as the defending team is allowed its own base of operations as is Team Artemis as the Challenger of Record. Oracle is down at Pier 80 in the DogPatch and Artemis is over at the old Naval Air Station in Alameda. The remaining teams which will probably number two, if Team Korea pulls out as expected want to be able to host and hoist at a common facility which was to have been at Piers 30-32 in the prosperous area South of Market (SOMA). Adjacent to downtown SF, Giants Stadium and many restaurants, bars and hotels it is an excellent area to stage hospitality. ETNZ skipper Dean Barker wrote in his blog that the changes made by the ACEA removing the financing from a hospitality area where the teams would be based on Piers 30-32 to Marina Green to be closer to the racing was a “bombshell.' “Event organizers dropped a bombshell on the Americas Cup competitors when they announced they will no longer be requiring the Teams to be based on Piers 30 and 32,” wrote Barker. “More importantly would not be paying for any redevelopment of the Piers as has been promised for the last 18 months.” “I am sitting here completely stunned,” Barker continued. “We are a little over 6 months from relocating our base to San Fran to what we have been told would be a fully functioning base area complete with Team hospitality spaces and full access for the public to watch the teams preparing and launching their boats. It is now going to be a concrete slab with absolutely nothing on it which will now require us to secure cranes, jetties, and all services required to function. We have never budgeted for this and to be dropped on us now is quite unbelievable.” “A site plan showing team bases and the facilities has been in circulation for months and, as recently as the last regatta at San Francisco, event organizers promised to provide hospitality facilities,” said ETNZ Managing director Grant Dalton. “The original vision of locating all team bases on Piers 30-32 along with all the facilities required to operate the AC72s, will not be fulfilled.” “Teams have been planning their operations in San Francisco next year on the strength of these promises,” said Dalton. “To hear that those plans have been abandoned six months from when the teams would move to San Francisco is scandalous. Oracle, which has a permanent base on city limits, will not be adversely affected.” The ACEA budgeted the cost of that hospitality at $1.25million and the cost in a centralized location at Piers 30-32 would now be a team cost. Construction of the old piers is scheduled for completion on January 14, 2013. “Moving the hospitality from Piers 30-32 to Marina is a very positive action,” said Barclay. “ It puts the fans first. We have applied some of the lessons learnt. The choice to move some elements from Piers 30-32 was driven directly by the success of August regatta.” “Yes, there has been criticism of this initiative by Emirates Team New Zealand,” said Barclay. “But a more fan-focused, fan-friendly event is to everyone's benefit and there will still be team activity at Piers 30-32 with teams continuing to have the option to base themselves there if they want to.” The ACEA still smarting after pulling up stakes in February on a proposed 100 million dollar fix up on the aging piers appears to be changing the game again by shifting its limited resources to the Marina Green where, it wants to center its hospitality areas for the teams, so it would be close to the racing action. Fine, except that the finish line will be out of sight for a majority of the thousands in attendance, who are likely to come watch the races. As the race course now stands, just wait a moment, like the weather it will probably change again, the proposed finish line will be located off Piers 27-29 where grandstands are being constructed for the majority there to watch the race on the Jumbotron screen, but not necessarily the race course itself. So if it's a close race, the minority will see it the majority will have to watch it on TV. Marshall McLuhan would be proud! In reality the finish line should be off the Marina Green where everyone can see it like the ACWS events here. Which brings us to the whole concept of protocols; in the modern format of the America's Cup which dates back to 1990, after the DoG monohull and catamaran court ordered race took place between New Zealand and Stars & Stripes mutual consent agreements called protocols were put in place to eliminate costly, Cup killing litigation. The peace lasted for seventeen years until in 2007. Days, it seemed like minutes after defending the America's Cup, Alinghi representing the Societe Nautique de Geneva (SNG) accepted an “in house” challenge from a phantom yacht club the Nautico Club Espanol de Vela's (CNEV) for the 33rd America's Cup and a controversial new protocol is written. The following week the Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) filed a formal challenge for the America's Cup under the strict terms of the Deed of Gift. The GGYC contend that the challenge from CNEV does not meet the defining criteria in its acceptance as the challenger of record. When that challenge was rejected by SNG, the GGYC filed suit in the New York Supreme Court, to invalidate the Spanish challenge. The New York court is bound by the Deed to arbitrate all disputes relating to the America's Cup Trophy, which is held as a charitable trust by the state. Oracle Racing representing the GGYC won the Cup in another court ordered DoG race in 2010 and signed a new “bullet proof” protocol with Club Nautico di Roma as COR . Vincenzo Onorato Mascalzone Latino's paper (pauper) challenge has long ago gone the way of the Dodo giving way to Paul Cayard's Kungliga Svenska Segelsällskapet Yacht Club in Sweden. The Swedish team inherited the COR responsibilities when Onorato's Team Mascalzone representing Club Nautico di Roma dropped out citing “funding limitations”. Mascalzone became Oracle's foil after the American team won the America's Cup match. That club, ironically was similar in scope to the denigrated Spanish COR, the Club Náutico Español de Vela (CNEV), only with a telephone and a website. Since New Zealand's surprise challenge in 1987, the Deed has generally been usurped of its authoritative grip on the rules by mutual agreement provisions called the America's Cup Protocol. The protocol's enabling resolutions allow the Challenger of Record (COR)to establish the rules and regatta format to determine who will challenge the defending boat for the America's Cup. The America's Cup is a charitable trust in the State of New York. It is governed by the NY Court System. Terms can be negotiated by the winning yacht club (defender) and a challenging yacht club through mutual consent. The Cup is held by the GGYC in San Francisco and it has chosen Oracle as its racing team. In years past there have been trials to determine a defender, but obviously it is tough to compete against Larry Ellison's pocketbook! Under the new concept many of the obligations of the defending yacht club and the COR have been assumed by the ACEA. The GGYC has established two authorities to manage the event. The ACEA, which is charge of most aspects off the race course such as raising money, sponsorship, property rights etc. The current CEO is Stephen Barclay. Barkley has done an excellent job reorganizing and re-energizing the event after a sluggish start. Certainly trying to get anything done in San Francisco can be a challenge. As Tom Ehman put it: “sometimes you can't even get an unanimous vote by the City Council to adjourn!” The America's Cup finals will run from September 7 to September 22. The new format will feature two races per day, with nine victories required to win the America's Cup in a best of 17 (seventeen again!) format. In between the Louis Vuitton Cup and America's Cup Finals the future stars of the sport will take to the water in the Red Bull Youth America's Cup. “The amount of racing we're going to have on San Francisco Bay next summer is simply phenomenal,” said Barclay, the CEO of the 34th America's Cup. “The competition is going to be spectacular, the racing will be close, and spectators will be a part of the action with the shoreline along the city front literally making up one of the race course boundaries.” The AC Village for the 2013 season will be at Piers 27-29 The America's Cup The original contest for the Royal Yacht Squadron Cup or the One Hundred Guinea Cup took place off England's Isle of Wight in 1851. The contest was won by the yacht America and it dominated the event to such an extent, that Queen Victoria was said to ask, "Who's in second?” In which she was told, "You're Majesty, there is no second!" The America's Cup was forged in Britain in 1848 during the Age of Queen Victoria by the prestigious Garrard Company. The Cup itself is a very ornate hollow sterling silver gilt ewer that has been layered over the years to include recent winners and defenders of yachting's most prestigious event. It was originally called the Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS) Cup. It was purchased “off the shelve” by Henry William Paget of Anglesey, who donated it to the RYS for its annual regatta around Isle of Wight. . 1851 was a regal year for Great Britain with the“Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations” and the opening of the Crystal Palace a massive cast iron and glass building in Hyde Park constructed to house the Great Exhibition where exhibitors from around the world gathered display the latest technology of the Industrial Revolution. The exhibition was organized in part by Prince Albert. The Queen's favorite royal vacation retreat in East Cowes is the Osborne House, which was designed by her husband Prince Alfred and with his birthday only a few days after America made off with the Cup must have taken a bit of shine off the celebration. The diamond shaped island with its infamous jagged landmark “the Needles” jutting out into the English Channel. The Isle's rich history included ferocious naval battles in the late 800's as King Alfred's forces clashed with Viking ships off Brading Haven and Charles Dickens wrote “David Copperfield” at Winterbourne Aboard America was Commodore John Cox Stevens, who later with fellow members of the New York Yacht Club (NYYC) in an act of conveyance presented the trophy to the club in 1857 charitable trust as a perpetual challengers' trophy. Members included financier James Hamilton, Alexander Hamilton's son and George Schuyler's father in-law. Schuyler drafted to wordings of the America's Cup Deed of Gifts in 1857, 1880 and finally in 1887. After finally getting his race and with wagers in place, Stevens's America won the contest against the 18 British cutters, schooners and yachts. The America's Cup trophy was named after the yacht. It shocked the British yachting community as the young nation used the event; wagers and all as a showcase to the world that it was an emerging naval power to be reckoned with. Legend has it that a butler retrieved it from the trash during a move before it finally landed back at the New York Yacht Club's downtown Manhattan clubhouse for its rightful place in its trophy room. Tiffany's removed its bottom in the 1880's so the trophy could be secured in its case. The first race for the “America's Cup” was in 1870 off of Staten Island in New York as the schooner Magic won a fleet race against the British challenger Cambria. Tiffany's removed its bottom in the 1880's so the trophy could be secured in its case. The Deed of Gift, which is the bylaw that governs the race, was amended for a third time by the last surviving member George Schuyler in 1887. The defense of the “Auld Mug” for the most part, takes place every few years. It attracted such luminaries as legendary yacht designer Nathanial Herreshoff, Captain Charles Barr and tea baron Sir Thomas Lipton. The NYYC moved the regatta to the exclusive resort community of Newport, Rhode Island in 1930. The America's Cup was graced in the 1930's by the magnificent J-boat class. Led by railroad and banking blueblood Harold “Mike” Vanderbilt, he matched up victoriously against the aeronautical wizard T.O.M. Sopwith, from over the pond in England. After World War 2, the races were revived in 1958 with the 12-Meter Class boat. These 60 ft. yachts provided challenging matches in Newport's moderate and shifty wind conditions. Throughout the next three decades, the NYYC conducted defense trials served up most of the drama. That was until 1983, when the controversial winged keel yacht Australia 2, won the America's Cup in the best of seven races over Dennis Conner's Liberty. The men from the land “downunder" unbolted the trophy and took it back to the picturesque fishing port of Fremantle, Western Australia, to defend it against all comers. In one of the greatest sports comebacks of all time Conner, challenging under the burgee of the San Diego Yacht Club went down to Australia in 1987 and brought the 'Cup back to America, crushing the Australian yacht Kookaburra in the process. The Cup has changed hands several times since then landing in New Zealand and Europe, before arriving here in San Francisco in 2010. The trust that George Schuyler placed in his associates, family, friends and ultimately unto the New York Yacht Club, as the last surviving member of the America Syndicate, the sailing team that won the infamous yachting trophy some 36 years earlier off the Isle of Wight against the best that Great Britain could offer at the time; has offered an unwavering conviction. It was in that trust that his written words and deeds would further transcend generations of yachtsman that ultimately would survive the tests of time and technology. When the dust finally settled in 2010 on the thirty-month skirmish that has redefined the terms and conditions upon which the State of New York's most cherished charitable trust can be consummated between a challenger and defender. As ugly as that divorce has been, the New York Courts have ultimately been able to redefine many aspects within the Deed of Gift (DoG), a document that has tested its mettle and weathered the test of time well. Now, thru the efforts of several judges, some actively willing, while others are being dragged serendipitously kicking and screaming thru this debacle that ultimately has led to the second DoG race in America's Cup history. When the Societe' Nautique de Geneva and the Golden Gate Yacht Club finished pounding it out in court, and finally resolved their differences out on the water with their behemoth multi hull scientific space creations; the Deed of Gift has shown itself to be a formidable text that has the staying power of a Constitution, Magna Carta or the Declaration of Independence. Despite attempts by certain syndicates to own or establish their control on the event known as the America's Cup over the years the charitable trust itself is a testament of endurance that will survive and thrive this sometimes maddening attempt to hijack its spirit. Undoubtedly, even if it winds up back in the judge's chambers on 60 Centre Street, Room 649 New York, New York the indomitable trophy will live on as mutual consent and new protocols will shape the event for the next century. What has been inherently defined in this whole process of angst, anger and litigation is the author himself George Lee Schuyler. What words, foresight, plus a damned grand amount of legal clarity was poured into his third attempt to rectify concerns for the past, present and future custodians of the America's Cup. With Schuyler's Deed of Gift, that he again bequeathed to the New York Yacht Club, defenders of the world's oldest sporting trophy have deftly shaped the affair away from a latitude attitude of aspiration towards a drive on a longitude tack towards the pin line set for the next set of challengers to try to capture the Auld Mug into perpetuity. In his third and final attempt at a lasting Deed with staying power that Schuyler desired, he showed that when it came to carving out a document, or negotiating terms, Schuyler was as shrewd and astute that an entrepreneur, with lawyerly inclinations could be. He served as an acronym, born to privilege and persuasion from one America's founding families and marital dynasties Schuyler forged a lineage that have if General George Washington would have had, if it were his bloodlines not the Schuyler's and Hamilton's. Schuyler, through all his business interests in finance, railroads, defense and shipping was a consummate fixture at the Yacht Club's regatta events, not as the Commodore or President, but as a referee, measurer and race committee member It was Schuyler's idea that the America's Cup should become an International Trophy and was convincing in his discussions with the remaining surviving syndicate members that on July 8, 1857 he drafted the original conditions on which the “Auld Mug” could be challenged for as a perpetual sailor's trophy between friendly countries. Contrary to popular belief and America's Cup historical accounts, Schuyler did not miss crossing the Atlantic to sail with his yacht America because of business interests, but to help care for his dying mother and build a summer bathhouse at their home in Dobbs Ferry for his children by the beach. While NYYC Commodore John Stevens was wining and dining with English Royalty after America's victory for the Royal Squadron Cup, Schuyler was home toiling in the boiling August heat, knee deep in mud working on finishing his summer project. In the years after winning the America's Cup; Schuyler struggled with issues involving his half brother and business partner who had secretly defrauded Cornelius Vanderbilt in a massive Wall Street scandal out of millions of dollars of worthless stock in the Illinois Central Railroad. One of the railroad's chief lawyers was a young rail splitting congressman from Springfield, Illinois; Abraham Lincoln. Prior to that the Schuyler's were involved with the purchase of the steamship USS Independence, which sank off the Mexican Coast in 1853, with significant loss of life and litigation (Quimby vs Vanderbilt) that led to changes in many maritime passenger laws. His father in law; James Hamilton followed in his own father's (Alexander Hamilton) footsteps in crafting banking policy in several administrations; including Andrew Jackson & Martin Van Buren, at a crucial time in our country's infancy. Schuyler was extremely close with his father-in-law Hamilton, marring his other daughter when his first wife Eliza passed away. He and Hamilton were principles in the yacht America Syndicate, in addition to being co-founders of the New York Yacht Club. Schuyler had three children. Louisa, Georgina and Phillip. Louisa worked tirelessly her entire life in charitable, benevolent causes; including seeing to the health & welfare of soldiers in the Civil War. She founded the Bellevue School of Nursing in 1873. Georgina a forceful voice in New York society helped raise funds for the Statue of Liberty, eventually having the poem by her friend Emma Lazarus “A New Colossus” inscribed at the base of the statue. Philip served on many race committee's with his father, undoubtedly had a hand in the third and final draft of the Deed of Gift. Philip, who was active at the NYYC on a variety of race committees was tragically killed in a train crash that also took the life of the president of Southern Railway, Samuel Spencer. Schuyler achieved the rank of Colonial in the Army served his country with honor at the outset of the Civil War traveling to Europe at great peril to purchase arms and weapons for the Union forces. While there, his mission was certainly shrouded in secrecy in order to evade and outmaneuver Confederate spies like Caleb Haney who where abroad with similar tasks for the South. He also was on hand during the infamous New York City Draft riots in 1863 to lend command assistance to Army troops seeking to help bring the city under control. Eliza Hamilton Schuyler corresponded throughout the war with William Seward, Lincoln's powerful Secretary of State and on her deathbed in 1863 wrote powerfully to him that; “you have preserved the inevitable laws of human nature and of God's progress, seeing the end from the beginning that the abolition of slavery was accomplished.” George L Schuyler passed away in the state room of the NYYC's flagship Electra, while it was in Newport, RI in 1890. He is buried in the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Westchester County. He was meticulous on recounting his family's famous ancestors, authoring 2 volumes; including one on his famous grandfather; the Revolutionary War hero General Philip Schuyler. Schuyler's legacy, ancestors fore and aft, as well as himself left an indelible mark on American history that extends beyond the boundaries and borders of an America's Cup Deed of Gift. All who enjoy the riches of the competitive fair play of good sportsmanship owe his enduring document a debt of gratitude! Oracle Racing CEO & legendary America's Cup Skipper Russell Coutts has largely kept to his vision, after making the dramatic and radical transition to a multi-hulled formula for 161 year old event. Sailing for the America's Cup is the longest continuous sporting event on the planet. Front Rudder as a column byline pays homage to the Bay Area “scientist who sail.” In 1984 the prestigious St Francis Yacht Club (STFYC) in San Francisco challenged the Royal Perth Yacht Club (RPYC) for the America's Cup. The previous year Australia 2 representing the RPYC had won the America's Cup in Newport, RI. The Cup had been successfully defended for 113 years after the New York Yacht (NYYC) captured the trophy in 1851 with the yacht America. The STFYC created the Golden Gate Challenge (GGC) as a non-profit syndicate and organized its effort behind by the club's charismatic sailing champion Tom Blackaller. When the GGC christened its first 12-meter yacht it was nicknamed Evolution or E-1. Blackaller initiated the challenge's war cry; “We don't just want the Cup, we want the whole damn island!” The challenge brought in a team of high tech all-star scientists who also sail to create a revolutionary new 12-Meter boat. The design team was led by Gary Mull, Alberto Calderon and Heiner Meldner. Mull was a naval architect from Oakland, who loved going toe to toe with the authorities in charge of overseeing the design and construction parameters of the 12-Meter Class. Meldner was a physicist from Lawrence Livermore Laboratory and at the time was considered the world's foremost authority on super computer simulations. His fluid dynamic programs have been incorporated on everything from the super-secret skins on nuclear submarines to America's Cup thoroughbreds. He was one of the chief architects behind Enterprise US-27's fast hull design in 1977 and later America 3 in 1992. The initial concept of a front rudder steering system has been credited to Calderon and his company, Advanced Aero-Mechanisms in La Jolla, CA. Calderon specifically worked on the idea of reducing hydrodynamic resistance to US 61's hull. “The emphasis of the new design is control and acceleration”, explains Calderon. A rudder in front of the keel is expected to give the yacht quicker tacking capabilities and the key to next year's attempt to acquire sailings “Holy Grail”; boat speed. My passion for the Cup began on my first trip to Newport, Rhode Island, it was nearly winter's end and with spring's early airs not quite in reach, I remember crossing over to the island on an eerily dark evening. The wind that night provided a mournfully howling, as it ripped through the metallic tapestry of the bridge, like the climatic roar of a majestic symphonic crescendo. With the restless churning waters of the Atlantic Ocean below and as the lights illuminated the darkness of the night from above, you could almost imagine the specter of ghostly yachts of the past and present, sailing across those wisps of wind, while cutting through the waves, towards some mythical adventure at sea. On that particular evening, while feasting on the chateaubriand at Christie's Harbor Restaurant, I was struck by all the pictures on the wall about the America's Cup races that had taken place in years past on Rhode Island Sound. Images of Sir Thomas Lipton, “The Wizard of Bristol,” Nathanial Herreschoff; the lordly Vanderbilts and Sopwiths on their mighty J-Class boats, Ranger and Endeavor; graced the mahogany paneled walls as a testament of their magnificence. Amongst the assembled patrons that night, there was an air of excitement and anticipation of the races scheduled to be sailed, and even though it would be months before the racing commenced, the seeds were being sown for a passion of this sport, that has held sway over me henceforth. That night we stayed and played out at the Inn on Castle Hill, and as the spring slowly gave way to summer, it played host to the many who would come out to watch those magnificent 12-Meter yachts sail by. Castle Hill became our front row seats on many an America's Cup afternoon and between hanging out at the Candy Store or at Christies during that summer and beyond, the yearning turned to learning as I crisscrossed the coasts catching the action over the next several years at every opportunity. It is within that spirit that the passion for this sport was created and much that was represented in Newport and later out in San Francisco becomes the tapestry of the heritage of the America's Cup that has been interwoven into the fabric of my life.

ACWS San Francisco

FROM OCTOBER BAY AND DELTA YACHTSMAN MAGAZINE

IMAGE COURTESY OF ORACLE RACING/ACEA

Our Dogs And Their Cats!

Other than the wildly passionate or infinitely curious, who else would want to turn out in droves to watch a “cat” race on the sparkling emerald and turquoise waters of San Francisco Bay? Man’s best friend, of course! You can’t take Fido, Rex and Foo Foo to a Giants or 49ers game, or to the Indy 500 or the Super Bowl, but you can take your dog to watch the America’s Cup, and San Francisco is a dog lover’s city if there ever was one! The home team, Oracle Racing, is even building their new “Cat” in the Dogpatch neighborhood. I am pretty sure the prospect of a 145-foot high cat would probably scare the bee-gee-bees out of most of our beloved canines here in town. The America’s Cup “around the” World Series (ACWS) finally brought their show to our town after stops in Europe, Newport, RI, and San Diego. If crashes, capsizes, thrilling finishes and enthusiastic crowds of all ages are any measure of how this event will be received in San Francisco, then we’re in for a whole new level of excitement for the next year. The event here was an unequivocal success starting the moment the nearly 2-mile-long train filled with all the ACWS platforms, parts and pieces pulled into the rail yard in Central Basin; to every race day when Tom Ehman would fire up the crowd during his morning show; to the moment that Jimmy Spithill drove his boss Russell Coutts’ Oracle AC45 into the side of the race committee boat; and concluding with two unbelievable thrilling finishes on the final day. “Congratulations to the America’s Cup Event Authority and Race Management on this exciting moment for San Francisco and the America’s Cup team,” Mayor Ed Lee exclaimed. “This is just the beginning of more than a year of thrilling world-class sailing on our Bay, attracting millions of visitors, generating thousands of jobs and having a dramatic economic impact on the Bay Area.” With crowds estimated at more than 150,000 for the event, “highlighted” by more than 40,000 people + dogs on the final day, in addition to hundreds of spectator boats on the Bay under the vigilant watch of the Coast Guard, plus a national TV audience, the results couldn’t have been more satisfying for race and city officials. “The response from the public exceeded our expectations,” said Stephen Barclay, CEO of the ACEA. “This was our first event in San Francisco and our first opportunity to get a taste of racing wingsail catamarans on the Bay. It was simply wonderful for everyone involved.” The excitement off shore was augmented by super-charged adrenaline on shore, as sponsor Red Bull gave the crowd “wings” of their own by handing out thousands of cans of their energy drink and then dropped their aerial display team over the massive crowd on the Marina Green. A concert by Dr. Dog was bolstered by not only those in attendance, but throngs of enthusiastic teenagers who traveled from all parts of the metropolitan area to go gaga over their favorite heartthrob songs for one last late summer respite before the start of school. The “Auld Mug” celebrated its 161st year of competition during the week. As to why it still attracts world-wide appeal, it is not only because of changes in sailing technology, but also “the huge personalities that were attracted to the event,” according to longtime America’s Cup sponsor Louis Vuitton’s Bruno Trouble. In the past, luminaries included Sir Thomas Lipton, J.P. Morgan, Walter Cronkite, Ted Turner and Dennis Conner. Next year the international spotlight will most certainly shine on the Bay Area as the best sailors and the fastest match racing boats on the planet will compete for the world’s oldest, continuous sporting event. The greatest spectacle in sailing now will bring in the best of the best, including four-time America’s Cup champion Coutts, Oracle USA skipper Spithill, five-time Olympic medalist Ben Ainslie from Great Britain, American Terry Hutchinson driving for Artemis Sweden, Dean Barker from Emirates Team New Zealand and Gold Medalist Nathan Outteridge at the helm of Team Korea. According to a recent announcement, 2012 Volvo Race winner Frank Cammas will join the Italian Luna Rossa Team as a sailing coach. If you think that the sailors onboard can’t hear the crowds cheering, think again! “It’s huge for us,” says Oracle’s Spithill. “The whole way it was amazing, you could hear all the people cheering and that is what makes it stadium sailing!” “The race course will certainly be more intense than we’ve seen before, and the consistent strong winds and current-driven chop will keep the competitors on their toes,” America’s Cup Regatta Director Iain Murray said. “We’ve already seen a few capsizes in training, but we know everyone will be on their game when the starting gun fires.” All week the racing was within an arm’s reach for everyone onshore as the crowds swarmed over the rocks on “Spit Point” on the jetty by the Golden Gate and St. Francis yacht clubs. They filled the grandstands, lawns, beer gardens and breakers on the Marina Green as well. Spectators could hear and cheer as their favorites zipped by at 20-plus knots with one or two hulls that were either pointed skyward or plunged down under into the depths of the Bay, only to pop up again to the crew’s relief as the multi-colored multi-hulls foiled their way on to the next set of gates. Calling Louis Vuitton The saying goes: “You can’t win the America’s Cup until you win the Louis Vuitton Cup first.” That is certainly true. 2013 will mark the 30th year that the prestigious French fashion house has been the primary corporate sponsor of the challenger trials. Louis Vuitton founded his company in 1854 and is credited for “profoundly changing the art of luggage making.” Their products are renowned for their high-end elegance and luxury. The man behind their efforts involving the America’s Cup is the charismatic Bruno Trouble. Trouble was a Flying Dutchman and Soling champion in his sailing days. He was the skipper on France in 1977 and then again on France 3 in 1980 and ’83. Two of the efforts for the America’s Cup were led by the Baron Marcel Bich (Bic Pens). Trouble was quite dismayed in 2007 with Alinghi’s self-serving protocol for the 33rd America’s Cup and withdrew Louis Vuitton as a corporate sponsor until the litigation was resolved and future direction of the event came to fruition. “We are pleased to see the move to catamarans; it is good for us,” Trouble said. “I may be a bit of a dinosaur and I have spent half of my life devoted to the Cup, but Russell Coutts has a great vision to adapt the event to the 21st Century. “The America’s Cup is becoming and needs to be a TV product and the reason we stayed was because of the technology,” said Trouble. “It has always attracted huge personalities to the event, but the future is not having rich people paying for it.” The legendary Peter Blake “was not a rich man nor was Dennis Conner,” continued Trouble. “The only corporate value is media and television coverage; it is less of a rich people’s event like it was back in Newport.” The impetus behind Trouble’s message implies that the America’s Cup cannot continue as a sustainable event into the future with just the involvement of billionaires like Larry Ellison. Trouble said, “We need to raise interest with countries that have no boats in the Cup this time around, like Japan, Germany, France, Spain. Sailing is travel, Louis Vuitton is travel.” Clearly, Ellison and Coutts are in agreement. The entire direction of this America’s Cup with the creation of an Event Authority and a Race Management was to give the event sustainability into the future. In order to attract more teams early on there was “discussion to have the event in AC45s so we could have 15 challengers,” Trouble continued. “But, we said no. We need to have it in big boats like Reliance in 1903. We knew that we would have at least five or six boats.” In hindsight, perhaps a wiser move would have been to go with an intermediate 60-foot catamaran, which still would have been extremely impressive. Trouble said it will be important to sit down at the conclusion of the 2013 America’s Cup and look to ways to increase the number of teams for the next time. Trouble says one of his greatest fears is there “would be no winner or finisher because both boats would crash or capsize.” That said, 72-foot catamarans “flying on foils” in the Bay will be exciting! Onboard And Off! One big attraction that separates the America’s Cup from other sports is the addition of an “extra” rider onboard during racing. It has become a great promotional tool for all the teams. During actual competition the extra “guest” is relegated to a silent spectator, but for lay days it is a lot of fun for both the crew and their new friend. “It’s pretty cool to be able to show other stars from other sports just how awesome these boats can be, especially on San Francisco Bay,” Spithill commented. “No one does it piggyback like us; it’s great to showcase our technology to them.” J.R. Hildebrand, the Indy Car star from Sausalito, was among the featured guests on the first official practice day. Hildebrand drives for Panther Racing’s National Guard Team, which has enjoyed ownership involvement from 49ers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh. Hildebrand almost stole the show as a rookie in the 2011 Indy 500 when he was leading going into the last corner until a slower race car drove him up onto the “marbles” and into the wall to come in second. “It’s obviously a whole different animal, but there are a lot of things that are similar to driving a race car,” Hildebrand said. “It was amazing how quick the boat gets going and how sensitive everything is. The five guys onboard all have a specific job and their communication is very streamlined. It was cool to really get in there and see it. I got a chance at the end to steer the boat and feel how quickly things change and how quickly the boat can switch direction – it gives you a whole new appreciation for how detail-oriented those guys are and how much they maneuver around on the boat. It’s very physical.” Most guests actually stay on the AC45 trampoline for the duration of their ride, but in an instantaneous moment this weekend one didn’t! Four-time Olympic Gold Medalist Michael Johnson was onboard Coutts’ Oracle 5 for the finale Fleet Race when all of a sudden he wasn’t. “We were crossing over and just hit a big wave, and the next thing I know I was in the water,” Johnson said. “But, it was fun.” Johnson is one of the greatest sprinters of all time. Johnson was wearing a life jacket, of course, and went into the Bay for a quick dip before being hauled out by the team’s chase boat. “I just heard him yell out. I think he thought we would come back to get him, but there was no way we were turning back,” Coutts said. “You didn’t come back to get me!” joked Johnson. “It was great, it’s fast, it’s quick. The whole experience was amazing. I have new respect for sailors. The agility and movement that’s required while the boat’s moving around at the same time is amazing.” “It was awesome. It’s such a cool thing to be a part of,” Hildebrand said. “You don’t have to be going 200 mph to feel like you’re hauling ass. It was very cool. It’s a like-relationship, racing cars and racing boats. Everything’s very sensitive. How these guys work together to get right up against the other boats is really impressive. It gives me a lot of appreciation for what these guys do.” “I would like to hit up J.R. for a ride in his car,” said Spithill who is from Australia, as are Indy Car stars Ryan Briscoe and Will Power, who were in town for a race at Sears Point. “There is an appreciation of the technology between both sports.” Indy Car and the ACWS are in very similar spots as both sports are rolling out and attempting to market completely new designs this year. They also share NBC Sports as a broadcast partner. “We have taken our image of the past in our sport and completely changed it,” said Spithill. “People have no idea of the NASA-type construction that goes into the design features of these boats.” Morning Show One of the neat new features of these ACES events is the advent of a morning show featuring Tom Ehman, who is the Head of External Affairs for the ACEA. In recent years Ehman has become one of the America’s Cup trophy’s best friends and constant traveling companion. Ehman has been involved with different organizations within the America’s Cup and Formula One over the better part of the last 30 years. He was the Executive Director for the NYYC’s America 2 Syndicate for the 26th America’s Cup in Fremantle, WA. He then held the same post for Sail America as they organized Cup races in San Diego, CA. He has been relied upon as an expert witness for both rounds of the extensive litigation for the America’s Cup that took place in the New York Courts in 1989 and 2007. You would think that given his background that he would come off as a bit “wooden,” but actually he has found his gravitas in his role as emcee. The show is a lot of fun as it is usually the best chance to gaze upon the actual America’s Cup trophy itself. On race day mornings, while the support crew starts to warm up the gargantuan sound system and the crowd starts to drift toward the stage, Ehman is usually in good humor as he pokes fun at himself as well as the competition. Who would have thought? As he shows off the Cup’s brand new black stealth carbon fiber bottom, he remarks that one of the first things the GGYC did when they won the trophy in 2010 “was to take off that crappy wooden base that the SDYC put on it,” adding, of course, that he has to take part of the blame for that since he was the director of the organization at the time. Of course, there are the inevitable shots at Alinghi and the Societé Nautique de Geneva (SNG) as he points out that Oracle Racing and the GGYC have a prominent place in front and that the Swiss have been relegated to the back of the trophy’s new layer at its base that was added to engrave future winners of the event. Each and every morning Ehman cajoles the assembled, asking if there is anyone from Switzerland in the crowd hoping that someone will take the bait for a little fun! The crowd enjoyed the tidbits of America’s Cup history by “Professor” Ehman as he explained that the infamous words by Queen Victoria about “who finished second” was “hyperbole.” He also provided a detailed explanation of the difference between a guinea and a pound when it came to wagering on horse racing or for the matters of yachting history the Royal Yacht Squadron Race around the Isle of Wight in 1851. Joining him on several mornings was Gary Jobson, who is U.S. Sailing’s Executive Director, NBC Commentator and was winning tactician on Courageous in 1977. Jobson’s voice is frequently heard on the various historical spots that run on the screen and wasn’t above promoting himself when, as I was talking with him, in the background documentary he was explaining why the Cup’s new direction will ultimately prove successful by exclaiming that “two hulls are better than one!” and then pointing out “hey, that’s me.” Also, other frequent guests include the race commentary team of Tucker Thompson and Andy Green. In Cup circles they have become a Martin & Lewis tag team duo whose comments are often humorous, insightful and very knowledgeable. Both Thompson and Green were involved in the 2000 America’s Cup in Auckland. Green was a rules advisor and a tactician on Abracadabra. “I was onboard to teach Skipper John Kolius how to match race!” He was also a starting helmsman in 2003 on the British GBR Challenge. Thompson was a successful maxi racer in his own right, was with America True and is a match racing coach. Their emotional, energy-charged commentary during the conclusion of the dramatic seventh race between Alinghi and Emirates Team New Zealand in Valencia, Spain, in 2007 evoked images of Al Michaels’ infamous words “Do you believe in miracles!” As the AC Event Authority moves forward, one nice addition for next time would be the return of the AC45 simulator that was in San Diego that gives you a great idea of what it’s like to be on the trampoline of a catamaran, complete with the water spray, too! In October when the circus is back in town and you want to watch some cool videos, learn more about the America’s Cup history and see the Auld Mug itself, check out the morning show. Around The World With all the talent in town, each team brings a litany of tall tales, collected and assorted trophies, including a lot of Olympic metal/medal. For instance, Great Britain’s Ben Ainslie comes in after again dominating the Finn Class during last month’s Olympics in London and capturing his fourth consecutive Gold Medal. Ainslie has dominated that class so much it seems that the only way to stop him would be to eliminate the class. Just kidding! Now that the Star has gone the way of the Dodo, we don’t want to lose anymore “traditional” boats. Ainslie comes in with his own team this time with the sponsorship of JP Morgan. J.P. Morgan, the man, was intrinsically involved with the NYYC as a Commodore and as a financial backer of several defenders, including Columbia in 1899 and 1901. J.P. joins Queen Victoria in the annals of quote lore with the infamous: “If you have to ask the price, you can’t afford it.” Ainslie comes in quite focused as he will be joining the ranks at Oracle Racing as Jimmy Spithill’s sparring partner and counterpart on the team’s second AC72. Ainslie is also laying the foundation for a British challenge for the America’s Cup next time around. When asked about his Olympic ambitions for a 5th consecutive Gold in Rio in 2016, Ainslie quickly closed the door stating, “I haven’t made a decision and this is not the right time to make the call on the Olympics. “It’s going to be exciting. It’ll be slightly chaotic on the start line in 20 knots with 11 boats,” Ainslie said. “I’m sure we’re going to see an amazing spectacle. I’m going to have to back off because the big thing is to avoid any damage.” “It is awesome getting BA [Ben Ainslie] involved on our team,” said Spithill. “He is one of the best sailors in the world and we don’t see each other as threats or competitors for the helm of the Oracle Racing’s AC72.” We interrupt this story with breaking news! Under the cover of bright sunshine and behind the razor sharp fencing of the Oracle Racing compound at Pier 80, the team christened their massive new AC72. Louis Matthews, the build and store administrator for the team, conducted the champagne honors. According to ACEA Spokesman Tim Jeffery, “It is something of a team tradition to have one of the women of the team being each boat’s ‘godmother’.” The massive new America’s Cup defender is currently named 17, which seems to be a favorite number of Oracle Racing’s owner Larry Ellison. The number 17 has not been retired by any team in the NFL, but it was the number of Dandy Don Meredith of the Dallas Cowboys. Locally, Chris Mullin of the Golden State Warriors wore the number. The fear of the number 17 is called heptadecaphobia. The boat itself resembles a floating stealth skateboard park. In some ways it has to be one of the ugliest boats since Sir Thomas Lipton’s Shamrock 4. The canvas batwings in the back of the boat, which made their first appearance on the back of Oracle’s Cup-winning trimaran, have given way to a permanent carbon fiber arch wing. Coutts said, “We have got to be careful taking the new boat out. We will be checking out loads, watching the lights. The whole boat is full of fiber optics. We will be tweaking the mechanical systems and then, later, we can finally load the boat up after a couple of days.” Given the design team’s track record, though, you can bet this catamaran is going to be fast. That being said, it’s definitely a boat that only Oswald Cobblepott or a godmother could love! Speaking of the ominous task of helming the AC72 beast of burden, only one skipper in the room at the time could own up to having any experience in driving one and that is Emirates Team New Zealand’s (ETNZ) Dean Barker. The Kiwi’s launched their new boat last month in Auckland. Barker said, “It’s like sailing a big dinghy. It dumbs down the sensation of speed. There is incredible acceleration. Our entire focus is to bring the Cup home. It is very important for us to spend time on the Bay here, which is not too dissimilar to sailing at home in Auckland.” Barker, who earlier in the day had touched a bit of wood paneling for good luck, found none as later that same afternoon with the wind gusting upward to 25-plus knots ETNZ capsized during a practice run toward Alcatraz. The incident was eerily similar to Newport when they took a tumble during a pre-regatta race. “Unfortunately for us it was a short day after capsizing in our first race against Artemis,” Barker said. “The conditions were down a fair bit on previous days early on but built steadily during the day. We were having a close tussle with Artemis and as we tried to get through the gate the boat loaded up and went over. It was a frustrating mistake, but fortunately it has resulted in only a few damaged ribs on the wing.” In similar fashion, the Chinese, trying to shake off the rust after sitting out of the Newport event, went over near the starting area of the practice fleet race with three of the crew tumbling into the Bay. “It was a stunner and the first time that most of the crew has gone over,” said skipper Phil Robertson, who is not Chinese, but an aggressive young match racer from New Zealand. “We have a lot of learning to do, but we are getting better every day. “We are trying to create a pipeline for 2017,” Robertson said. “We are trying to find the right crew and in China you have a lot of people, but not a lot of sailors.” Which brings us to Team Korea. They have been sailing really strong and have been in the mix. Chris Draper led the team last year before moving to greener pastures with Luna Rossa. The team principal and CEO Kim Dong-Young has assembled a good team led by Olympic Gold Medalist in the 49er Class Nathan Outteridge from Great Britain. “It’s a little tough for me mentally to switch gears (from the Olympics),” said Outteridge, who has a “Moth” racer nearby to unwind when he is not onboard the team’s AC45. Rumors swirled during the event that the Koreans were on the precipice of pulling out, which would be a shame because their performance has put them in the upper echelon of the competition. “We are ready to go,” Dong-Young said. “We have one of the smallest teams here. Everything is in place for an [AC72 “Box” design]. We will make a decision in October.” Team Artemis has set up shop at a warehouse on the old Naval Base on Alameda, and added a second boat with Santiago Lange on Artemis Racing Red. Lange is a two-time Olympic medalist in the multi-hull Tornado Class. “From the point of view of stability or digging the bow, I think the AC45 is safer than a Tornado,” Lange said. “But it’s a lot harder because there are five people onboard and it’s very physical for the crew.” Artemis represents the Challenger of Record (COR) the Royal Swedish Yacht Club (Kungliga Svenska Segel Sällskapet) for the 34th America’s Cup. The team is led by CEO Paul Cayard, who is from the Bay Area, and Terry Hutchinson, the lone American skipper. The Swedish yacht club is one of the oldest and most prestigious in the world. It was formed in 1830 and hosts for its annual regatta the Gotland Runt in the northern archipelago off the Baltic Sea. Despite the country’s propensity for cold weather, most of it lies south of the Arctic Circle. The America’s Cup has always been known as the majestic sport of kings, and now of the Gods! Artemis, for those in the know, is the twin sister of Apollo and the daughter of Zeus in Greek mythology. Long before Katniss in the “Hunger Games,” she was renowned for being the Goddess of the wild kingdom, depicted quite often sporting a majestic bow and arrow. The Swedish team inherited the COR responsibilities when Vincenzo Onorato’s Team Mascalzone representing Club Nautico di Roma dropped out earlier last year citing “funding limitations.” Cool Runnings And Run Ins! The action on the water throughout the week was as dramatic as the billing. There were furious duels, collisions, capsizes and on the final day, Super Sunday, two dramatic conclusions in which the catamarans finished within mere seconds of each other. The most spectacular incident of the series and bound for countless replays going forward was Russell Coutts’ collision with the Race Committee boat at the start of the 3rd Fleet Race. Coutts on Oracle 5 was approaching the start line as 10 other boats were jockeying for position for a flying start. In trying to squeeze into a narrowing gap, Coutts got pinched in by his teammate Jimmy Spithill on Oracle 4, who in turn was hemmed in by France’s Energy Team. The result drove Coutts right into the side of the committee boat at speed, punching in a gaping hole with a halting thud! No one was hurt as Oracle 5 quickly found itself on the receiving line of a tow rope from its chase boat for a disheartening ride back to the pits at Pier 30 for repairs. “I thought there might be a gap there, and there wasn’t,” Coutts said. “It was a tough break. I didn’t think it was that risky. I thought they were going to turn down and start the race and they just kept turning up and shut the door. We were tied up with the French with about 3 seconds to go. The whole fleet heard the collision! “Harold Bennett just called and I told him to get that boat out of the way next time,” Coutts said, chuckling. Later, Spithill joked that “He’s (Coutts) still not talking to me and I wouldn’t be surprised if he puts me into the committee boat tomorrow!” The damage to Coutts’ boat was minor. Coutts said, “A lot of the damage that happened was shock loading to the rigging when we hit. We’re going to put a patch on (the hull), a few bits on the rigging and check the loading before going racing.” “We all heard this thing coming in and then a bunch of four letter words,” explained Oracle 4 tactician John Kostecki. “We are all feeling all right now, because we haven’t seen him (Coutts) yet. “I’m not going to the debrief,” Kostecki joked. Kostecki is from San Rafael and is the only American right now sailing on the Oracle Team. He is a brilliant tactician and is the only sailor to have won an America’s Cup, Olympic medal and the Volvo Around the World Race. “There was almost a lot of capsizing today and that is why this is a lot of fun,” said Kostecki. Coutts said, “We are disappointed that we lost a lot of points today, but if we have a good race tomorrow and the other boats have a bad one, we could move up. But that’s racing.” Asked if the crew was fired up to get back at Team Spithill in the match race championship, Coutts grinned with a twinkle in his eye and said, “You bet!” “The hometown support has been fantastic,” said Spithill, who charged from last to first in the 2nd Fleet Race of the day, adding that now most of his thoughts were geared toward “thinking about getting that damn baseball across the plate tomorrow!” In a show of hometown support, all the ACWS teams sailed past the San Francisco Giants ATT Park on Saturday and into McCovey Cove, as Spithill did throw in a perfect strike over the plate to the raucous approval of the sold out stadium crowd. Center stage on the diamond, though, was a glittering America’s Cup trophy, which hovered over the Giants 2010 World Series trophy as a grateful Larry Ellison encouraged the crowd to come out and watch the AC racing on the Bay. As for that second fleet race on Friday, wow! Team Spithill on Oracle 4 was probably still shaking off the effects of sending their boss home for the day and invariably looking over their shoulders to see if he was coming for payback. “We started in the middle and the French seemed to be holding up the line,” said Spithill. “We got pushed over the line early.” Oracle 4 was penalized and had to re-round and rebound from a worst towards first. “JK (Kostecki) was perfect and sailed a fantastic race,” said Spithill. “All sorts of things were going on with Prada; it was brutal back there. It was a good test for us. We fed off the crowd 100% on the boat. The cheers and support put us into another gear! “JK has spent a lot of hours on this Bay,” Spithill said. “I don’t think anyone can know the Bay completely, but it certainly helps for him having spent a lot of hours out there. It was incredible racing. It feels like you’re in a stadium and I think that’s what we’ve created here.” As for a hometown edge with a lot of experience on the Bay, Kostecki shrugs it off a bit saying, “I’d like to think so, but a lot of these guys haven’t been on this racetrack before and they’re all great sailors. They’ll figure it out.” Super Sun and Super Sunday! Luna Rossa Swordfish Skipper Paul Campbell-James would remark, “Some of these races are over at the start.” Not on Sunday! Brilliant sunshine returned for Super Sunday and the first race on the ticket was the match race championship between the two Oracle boats. Unlike Newport, RI, last month when the team lined up to race for all the marbles, this day was different. It was payback time for Coutts and company! Team Coutts on Oracle 5 regained the lead after the start and had control of much of the race, but Team Spithill on Oracle 4 kept charging, bringing it on for what was a thrilling finish. “We were sailing pretty well,” Kostecki said. “The chips were down and we kept lugging along pretty fast, trying to hang tough until the finish.” Coutts rounded the last mark in front and Spithill made a final move, with nothing to lose by forcing his boat into the lead. Coutts would have none of it as clearly “the old dog (again) still has some old tricks.” Team Spithill copped a penalty for their bonsai maneuver and Coutts won the wild race by a second and captured the Match Race Championship. “The inside boat has the right of way and Russell was on the inside,” explained Kostecki. “There is a three-boat length zone at the mark and Coutts owned it and had rights. We infringed the mark rounding rule; and were penalized.” Who cares? What a fabulous race for all to experience, and the crowd roared its approval at an unbelievably hysterical finish! Coutts said, “To get both teams in the match racing final is a great result, and Jimmy and the boys continue to be superb. It looked like the fans were having fun on the shore and that’s what it’s all about. We were certainly having fun on the water.” The crowd could barely catch its breath by the time the Fleet Race was ready to start. The winds had picked up to slightly under 20 knots when the starting gun went off and all 11 boats came charging down the waterfront. With all the boats trading places along the way, it came down to the final short reach to the finish with Team Spithill trying to get on the podium for the final day. With Chris Draper driving Luna Rossa Piranha across first almost flipping in the process, Spithill passed Korea with no room to spare to come in second and accumulate the necessary points to capture the Fleet Race Championship for the Oracle Racing. Luna Rossa Piranha (Chris Draper) won the fleet race finale by 3 seconds over Spithill, who had sailed through Team Korea (Outteridge) into second place. At one point Piranha led by as many as 200 meters approaching the second leeward gate, but they almost gave it all away when they nearly capsized on the finish line. The wingsail got eased just in time to avert disaster, and the finish gun fired a split-second after the windward hull slammed down into the water. “This is a fantastic result for Oracle Team USA to win the match racing, fleet racing and overall championship,” said Spithill. “We battled our way back to the top in each event and were rewarded for it.” Team Artemis was clearly disappointed not to be on the podium on the final day. There is much reason to celebrate, though, with the arrival of their spanking new AC72 earlier in the week. Terry Hutchinson said after the Fleet Race, “Some highlights followed by some lowlights, unfortunately. So, we have to continue to trust in ourselves and trust that we have the right process in place. We put a lot of effort into getting off the start line leading up to this event, but all in all a bit disappointed having the start we had today. There’s a lot of work to do and I can’t say enough about the effort onboard. We have some more technique development to work on.” Not as happy were the folks from ETNZ. Team CEO Grant Dalton says the team has started a debrief process to analyze why the team is not clicking as it should. Dalton said, “ETNZ has put the bulk of its resources into the AC72 program and because of that, we did not come to San Francisco expecting to blitz the fleet.” This was the team’s first opportunity to sail an AC45 on San Francisco Bay, and is counting on honing their skills during the next regatta in October. The team will continue to train on the Hauraki Gulf this winter and will not return until May of next year. Dalton said, “We are looking at three elements: venue, speed and people combinations. It’s unlikely to be just one of the three, more likely the problem lies across all three.” Happier with the results were the Italians and Team Korea, which hopefully can take their competitiveness back home to raise the much-needed funds to continue. It is late in the game to start building your first boat and, though they claim that everything is ready to go, it is definitely a steep slope from here on in. The next ACWS event is Oct. 2-7 to coincide with Fleet Week activities. All authorities are anticipating “a perfect storm” as they work toward preparations for next year’s big enchilada!

Is SF an America's Cup City?

FROM SEPTEMBER BAY AND DELTA YACHTSMAN MAGAZINE

Is San Francisco An America’s Cup City? In 2013 San Francisco joins the list of six other seaport cities that have played host for yachting’s esteemed holy grail: the America’s Cup. The event kicks into high gear next year as five teams will rip it out with their high-tech, multi-million dollar catamarans off the city’s sprawling waterfront and out on the treacherous waters of San Francisco Bay. When the Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) crafted its protocol for the 34th America’s Cup, it called on all parties to come together quickly to try to pull off a successful circus in a very short time span. The effort is taking the willingness, hard work and determination of multiple city agencies, groups and organizations whose numbers are beyond comprehension. The cooperation of so many has been mind-boggling. The plan has not been without its share of pitfalls and potholes, but in taking on the challenge San Francisco will endeavor to place itself above and beyond the others in trying to be known as the “America’s Cup City.” Can our emerald city on the Bay be forever linked with the America’s Cup and become the international sailing center for the ages? “Without a doubt!” boasts Jane Sullivan, who is San Francisco Mayor Edward Lee’s Communications Director for the 34th America’s Cup in the city’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD). “We are organizing the community to put the whole event on much firmer ground, as the America’s Cup Event Authority (ACEA) moves to rebrand the Cup into a sustainable event, emphasizing forward thinking and technology, with a definite eye toward the future,” Sullivan said. Sullivan moved to City Hall two years ago from her management role at San Francisco International Airport to segway over to help build an organization here “from scratch.” “My feeling was I’m done here and ready for a new challenge,” said Sullivan. She added that if the America’s Cup had been a powerboat race, there is “no way” the city and community would have gotten behind the event. As it tries to strive toward the title of being the “America’s Cup City,” the competition has been fierce! Newport, Rhode Island, will invariably be linked with the Auld Mug having played host for over 53 years. Large-scale, transformational projects in the tiny fishing village of Fremantle (Western Australia), Auckland (New Zealand) and the industrial Mediterranean port city of Valencia (Spain) have set the standard in making the America’s Cup an event that can act as a catalyst toward urban renewal. San Francisco is one of the world’s most beautiful cities with its stunning panoramic vistas, landscaped gardens, unique coastal architecture surrounded by the rolling hills and islands of the Bay Area, but with many parts of its historic waterfront that are in dire need of a facelift. The impetus here is the prospect of massive 15-story, high-fixed wing sails on top of carbon fiber catamarans, with their hulls and winged foils, screaming through the waves. They will literally fly atop the roiling waters of San Francisco Bay against a backdrop of two of the most famous places in the world, Alcatraz Island and the Golden Gate Bridge. So, what’s not to like? “We are really excited!” exclaims Laurie Armstrong from San Francisco Travel. “There will be layers of benefits and the impact will be a shining light on our city. “This will make us a sailing city and this is a tremendous opportunity to reach out to the world and show how beautiful San Francisco is,” Armstrong said. “One of the first benefits of all of this is that the America’s Cup made the new James R. Herman Cruise Terminal a reality sooner rather than later,” Armstrong said. “This brings a whole new level of attraction here to go with our incredible art, restaurants and parks.” “We are disappointed overall that more teams will not be here,” she continued, adding that she does not think this will detract from the event and we are “still expecting $1.6 billion of economic impact.” “We are joining the old and the new,” said Ian Murray, who is the CEO for America’s Cup Race Management. “We have invented a new wheel.” Auckland and Valencia, with the assistance of their respective governments, were able to wave a magical wand over blighted parts of their cities and create a tourist infrastructure that will pay dividends for generations. Valencia now plays host to not only many international regattas, but also has a Formula One Grand Prix around its “Port America’s Cup.” San Diego, while a fine host, never took advantage of the opportunity to use the event for urban reclamation. The America’s Cup World Series (ACWS) event there last November, while providing great racing, was disappointing in not drawing the hoped-for numbers to watch, as Murray put it: “our contemporary version of the Cup.” Even with the dreams and hopes to revitalize parts of San Francisco’s decaying waterfront, the current plans in place will not transform the city, and special interest groups have already put the kibosh on several of the hoped-for projects. The ACWS events this past August and in October will be a great “soft test” for all the local government, transit, police and federal agencies involved. Sullivan points to the potential projects like the Muni “E-Line” that will transport people along the waterfront as being the “glimmer” in that department’s eyes. The E-Line would have the potential to move legions of people from the Cal Trans Depot to Fisherman’s Wharf and, long term, eventually on to Fort Mason. The historic rail cars would provide a picturesque backdrop for visitors to the city and fulfill a vision by city planners. Another key component of the process has been the inclusion of the vast expanse of the Bay Area and the necessity that a majority of the viewing opportunities, for potentially tens of thousands, will be located on the public lands of Golden Gate National Park (GGNP). Incorporating the entirety of all the San Francisco Bay, Crissy Field, Fort Baker, Alcatraz Island and the Headlands area into our own natural amphitheater as part the America’s Cup “stadium of sailing” is unprecedented in the history of sports. You could probably fit 10 Indianapolis Motor Speedways at 400,000 fans each into the confines of our “arena.” Much of the area falls into the jurisdiction of the Park Service. According to Howard Levitt, Chief of Public Affairs for the GGNPS, the Park Service has been working closely with the ACEA to “ensure that the sensitive and fragile areas of the park are well protected.” “We have been putting up fencing around environmentally sensitive areas as a precaution,” Levitt said. “We will have a public information staff and enforcement in place, similar to Fleet Week, to point spectators in the right direction. “The Park is a wonderful place to watch the races and the ACWS will be a spectacular event to watch, while we make sure our resources are protected,” said Levitt. The number of staff will be determined by the size and scope of the attendance on different race days. “We have cost recovery process in place with the ACEA through the City to cover fees associated with protecting our resources,” said Levitt; adding that “Alcatraz Island will be business as usual and there will be no grandstands there.” Like the Golden Gate Bridge’s 75th Anniversary, Levitt advises the public to leave the car at home and look at alternative forms of transportation. “This year will be an interesting component and will allow us to gage what to expect in 2013,” said Levitt. A generation ago, who could have envisioned SOMA (South of Market Area) extending toward the Dogpatch as being the land of milk and honey? With the San Francisco Giants baseball park, sprawling corporate parks, campuses and green spaces that stretch toward the confines of Oracle Racing’s facility on Pier 80, San Francisco is working on what Sullivan terms the “legacy pieces” with “a definite eye toward the future.” With the possibility of the Golden State Warriors building a new arena on Piers 30-32 and the ACEA wondering aloud: “Where in the hell are we going to go?” in the future, Sullivan offers potential opportunities on piers 35 and 29 south of the Bay Bridge. “There is not a lack of space.” Oracle Racing has taken an aging facility of empty warehouse spaces and transformed it into a 22nd century space age fabrication factory that has become its high-tech ground zero. Under airtight security, the racing team is transforming the carbon fiber components of parts and pieces of its AC72 multi-hulled yacht into a raging sailing monster. “Oracle Racing has an incredible facility,” exclaims an enthusiastic Armstrong. “It is jaw dropping!” Sullivan said, “The custom fabrication guys at Pier 80 are not messing around.” The team hopes to launch its AC72 this month. “It is hard to build an organization from scratch,” she said. “I can’t stress enough how much the city is working the Port, the ACEA, everyone; these things don’t just happen.” San Francisco has to put all the pieces of the puzzle together in a very short time, less than two years, in contrast to the Olympic Cities that have in some cases a decade or more to prepare and six or seven years to construct facilities. “There were a host of problems. This was new and it was not an easy thing for the City to do,” said Sullivan. “We had to figure out how to promote it locally and make it sustainable.” The ACEA, along with multiple city agencies, also announced the creation of a “One-Stop-Shop” that will allow information to be shared and utilized to the benefit of San Francisco businesses and the community at large. According to Armstrong it will “help facilitate interaction.” The offices will be located at Pier 23 and managed by the OEWD. It is a centralized resource where Bay Area businesses can access information, get assistance on local issues related to the America’s Cup, and learn about business opportunities. “‘The One-Stop-Shop at Pier 23 is another tangible example of how the economic benefits of the America’s Cup races are coming to San Francisco,” Mayor Edwin M. Lee said. “I congratulate all our partners for developing this exciting new center to serve the America’s Cup teams, local businesses and local visitors and deliver a world-class series of events.” Stephen Barclay, CEO of the America’s Cup Event Authority, said, “The One-Stop-Shop is an important tool in disseminating information about the America’s Cup to all interested parties.” A key component of the One-Stop-Shop will be the Business Connect web portal, which will be managed by the S.F. Chamber to help facilitate the procurement process for work contracted by ACEA, the City and County of San Francisco and the America’s Cup teams. Steven Falk, President and CEO, San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, said, “We are committed to providing an inclusive, responsive and transparent process that will boost local business participation and help drive job and economic growth throughout the region.” Fremantle bolstered its status in 1987 by constructing another harbor specifically for the Cup and creating space for facilities that the competing challenging teams could not only use for their boats and equipment, but also became places to utilize as an important fundraising tool. San Francisco and “Freo” have the most important ingredient in common: They are incredible places to sail! The challenging sailing conditions on the Indian Ocean and here on the Bay are intimidating, awe inspiring and breathtaking for sailors and spectators alike. In Australia, there was a regular sea breeze known as the “Doctor” checking in every afternoon like clockwork. At 20 to 30 knots the conditions were optimal for teams, and likewise here, the winds and strong ebb tides will be challenging. Back then for the television viewing audience, it was a panacea theater with Kevlar®-busting winds and aluminum-bending waves as the 12-meter boats ripped through the turquoise waters. Dennis Conner and his Stars & Stripes sailing team met their date with destiny by reclaiming the America’s Cup for America. With that event, the America’s Cup reached the pinnacle of sport. Unfortunately since then, infighting, litigation and internal politics have dominated the headlines. It has never been able to recover that elusive slice of the market pie since. The opportunity was there 5 years ago when Emirates Team New Zealand and Alinghi from Switzerland sailed a spectacle that was wiped away mere moments after the Swiss won the exhilarating final race by a second. Then, the Societe Nautique de Geneva and its billionaire benefactor Ernesto Bertarelli missed the opportunity to cash in on the golden goose by making its own grab for the “ring of power” with a self-serving protocol. Leading the local charges here are several important organizations, departments and offices that have labored intensively over the last two and a half years since USA 17, the GGYC’s powerful trimaran, captured the America’s Cup in Valencia and San Francisco was announced as the host city. Larry Ellison has given San Francisco a golden opportunity to host the “Super Bowl” of sailing and other events like it for many years to come. The ACEA has struggled to raise the profile, organization and funds necessary to host the event here; but one thing for certain, it is important to rebuild our waterfront. We need more than just giving it a sprucing up for 2013. Everyone needs to move forward in order to create a waterfront that will pay dividends for future generations and will create real jobs, revenue and public interest with an opportunity to host other prestigious events from around the world. Thirty Precious Days Like Gollum’s ring, the only thing more precious these days for Dean Barker and Grant Dalton from Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) is how to best use the 30 “sailing” days on their recently launched AC72 multi-hull between now and Feb. 1, 2013. Amid great fanfare, Mandy Barker launched a magnum of champagne across the carbon fiber baked bow of ETNZ’s metallic red and black, sparkling, high-tech catamaran and christened her New Zealand. Thousands attended the ceremony in Auckland’s Viaduct Harbor and the festivities featured exciting displays of fireworks and pyrotechnics. “What you see before you here is the result of 50 man-years of design and 65,000 hours of building by the New Zealand marine industry,” according to ETNZ CEO Grant Dalton. “It’s a great honor for me to lead this team, along with Dean Barker, as we take this on to San Francisco.” Barker told the crowd, when asked about sailing the catamarans, “For us it’s been a huge learning curve. The boats are exciting to sail. Rather than finesse, it’s more about getting out there and just getting into it. It’s been fantastic.” Mandy is the wife of Kiwi skipper Dean Barker. The powerful new challenging yacht for the America’s Cup was made possible by an essential, but controversial, $36 million from the New Zealand government in support of the team’s effort. ETNZ also has major corporate sponsorship from Emirates Airlines, Nespresso, Toyota, Camper and Omega. As has been shown worldwide, the outstretched arms of several years of an economic downturn has left every competing team affected, leading the Chinese, Spanish, Italians and now the French to withdraw their efforts and without the New Zealand Government’s support ETNZ would have foundered, too. Taken off the tow for its initial sail, New Zealand carefully worked its way up Auckland’s East Coast Bays and spent a majority of the first of its “precious” sailing days testing off Tiritiri Martangi Island in between a series of rain squalls on a dreary day where wind conditions hovered around 10-12 knots. It was actually perfect for a team not wanting to push the envelope on its AC72’s maiden voyage. The weather won’t vary too much in the coming weeks as it is the middle of winter for the Kiwi’s. In this brave new world of the America’s Cup, next to the designer, skipper and crew the most important element on the team is the meteorologist! For the Kiwi’s, the weather-prediction duties fall on the shoulders of Roger “Clouds” Badham. Once the teams reach San Francisco, the flows and ebb tide currents of the Bay will undoubtedly conjure up another unsung hero in the mist. Barker endorsed the activities of these early days of AC72 testing as “science meets real life” as the gigantic multi-hull and the ETNZ crew systematically work through its checklist for the new boat under the watchful eyes of “spies” from the other America’s Cup teams. “It is good to get the first sail under our belt,” Dalton said. “Overall the weather could have been better, but the wind was ideal for a first sail. It’s what we had waited for.” Dalton said the day, while unspectacular, was productive. “We know more about the boat than we did this morning and that’s why we go testing.” The day was perfect for initial load testing as tactician Ray Davies describes: “It was a bit of a relief to get out there and fly a hull on the first day” between Takapuna Beach and Tititiri Matangi. “We got her up on one hull, whizzing around at 20 knots in 10 knots of breeze. She’s going to be pretty impressive in a serious breeze... and a bloody handful, too,” Davies said. “The 72 will be a handful to sail in a breeze, very fast and very difficult to sail and extremely demanding on the crew.” Davies described the AC72 as “pretty docile” compared with the AC45s they’re racing in the America’s Cup World Series regattas. “The bigger the boat, the slower they are to react. Tight courses in a breeze will be a challenge. These boats want to stretch their legs but they will have to be very maneuverable for AC racing.” “We will be racing in San Francisco in a breeze expected to range from late teens to early 20s, so there’s no point sailing around Auckland in 8-10 knots,” Barker said. Windy conditions on a second day of trials testing came to an early conclusion when a broken rib in the front element of the massive 140-foot high fixed wing resulted in some minor damage. Dalton said, “We had a good two hours of upwind testing in 12 knots of breeze and flat water before the break. The boat is under extreme loads. We could go out there every day and break something different; it’s just part of the process of getting the boat up to speed. The engineers made the prudent call to fix the rib permanently, so we stayed ashore.” Under the liberal terms for the “constructed in country” clause for the 34th Protocol only the hulls are regulated to the home country as most of the critical parts of the new generation AC72’s can be built elsewhere. Most of the AC72’s will probably become regular visitors to the composite shop as collisions and “pitch poling” are bound to be frequent occurrences on the volatile San Francisco Bay where winds routinely rip above 30 knots and the infamous ebb tides can bring a submarining hull to a screeching halt. The boats must also be able to be disassembled within a 24-hour period. ETNZ will continue to train in Auckland for the next several months with Italy’s Luna Rossa Team. Under a “partnership” agreement, the two teams will work together until early next year when the Italians launch their first boat and New Zealand christens their second. The teams are not expected in San Francisco until March or April of next year. The competition for the Louis Vuitton Challenger Series begins in July 2013. Viva La France? Pas Cette Fois! The French Withdraw The French Energy Team has withdrawn their effort to build an AC72 for next year’s America’s Cup. The announcement was not unexpected. The European economy has struggled and the Peyron brothers, Bruno and Loïck, who run the team, were not able to raise the funds necessary to build a new boat by next year. On a positive note, the Energy Team will stay intact and continue to compete in the America’s Cup World Series. The Energy Team will be entering a youth team in order to compete in the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup in August 2013 in San Francisco. The team’s high point came earlier this year when it captured the ACWS in Venice, Italy, in May. “We have always said that we would not be competing just for the sake of it,” said Loïck Peyron. “This decision is a logical one if we look at the goals we gave ourselves with the Yacht Club de France, which are still the same: to set up a team that is able to compete at the highest level and bring back the America’s Cup.” This will be the first time, save Deed of Gift (DoG) Cup races in 1988 and 2010, that the French will not compete since 1970. Even with an AC72 “box” agreement with Oracle earlier this year, that was not enough to allow France to compete. France has some of the world’s premier multi-hull sailors and is home to one the finest technical composite facilities at Multiplast in the western port city of Vannes, France, located on the Gulf of Morbihan. “We can all be proud of the work that has been accomplished in such a short space of time, but we must not take a big gamble with the risk of losing everything,” said Peyron. “Whilst the final phase of our project is beyond our grasp this year, let us now look ahead to the 35th America’s Cup.”

Newport 2012

FROM AUGUST BAY AND DELTA YACHTSMAN MAGAZINE

In front of large, enthusiastic crowds, the final event of the 2011-2012 America’s Cup World Series (ACWS) on Narragansett Bay off Newport, Rhode Island, was nothing short of a resounding and unequivocal success. With the overall points championship on the line, Oracle Racing Team Spithill (USA) captured the sparkling new ACWS Trophy by winning the fleet racing and speed trial’s titles in a hard fought and close battle with Emirates Team New Zealand (ENZ) and Team Artemis (ART) from Sweden. Artemis represents the Royal Swedish Yacht Club and is the Challenger of Record (COR) for the 2013 America’s Cup. Paul Cayard, the team’s CEO, is originally from the Bay Area. Artemis captured the match racing title portion of the championship. Newport was home for the America’s Cup for 53 years until 1983. The whole road show now makes its way to San Francisco, CA., for the opening event of the 2012-2013 season. The first ACWS regatta here will be from Aug. 21 to Aug. 26. Oracle 4 skipper Jimmy Spithill outpaced his counterparts Dean Barker (ENZ), whose catamaran was in trouble all week, and Terry Hutchinson (ART) to win the series’ first championship. The final tally was 102 points for USA, 93 for ENZ and 82 for ART. Led by Spithill and tactician John Kostecki from San Francisco, Oracle 4 accumulated enough points throughout the week to win the championship even with a relatively disappointing final day. “Consistency had been the key,” Spithill said. “We were the last team to arrive here, but we came out and performed under pressure. For us it was very satisfying to see us step up and the other guys fall back when the pressure came on.” Ironically, it was Oracle Racing CEO and teammate Russell Coutts’ win on Oracle 5 over Spithill in the match race championship that clinched it. Coutts, perhaps egged on by being the “old man” on the team at 50, dominated the start of the race to take the win in what is clearly becoming a young man’s game. “It’s been quite awhile since I’ve won anything,” said Coutts, who is one of the most successful skippers in America’s Cup history with an astounding overall record of 17-0 and is currently tied with Dennis Conner with four “wins.” The 34th America’s Cup is clearly becoming a nod to the young, with the daunting prospect of the powerful new AC 72 Class catamaran on the horizon and the recently announced Red Bull Youth America’s Cup Series. The Red Bull series is a Coutt’s “brainstorm.” “Yes, absolutely this is a game for the young,” exclaimed Coutts, who then went out and took Spit-hill to the woodshed in the final match race. Coutts clearly shook off any cobwebs that he may have had after being off the boat and in the office for the last eight months. No “team orders” for Oracle Racing on this day. Leading up to that match race against his boss, Oracle 4 spent the previous afternoon quickly “turning the tables,” as Spithill put it, on Team Artemis skipper Terry Hutchinson. The 45-foot Oracle catamaran showed the quick bursts of acceleration and maneuverability that is characteristic to this exciting new class of boats. “That’s what you can do in these boats,” Spithill said. “We can’t wait to show San Francisco what this event is going to do for the city!” What about sailing in the soon-to-be-launched AC 72s? “The loads are going to be insane,” said Spithill, who, like the other skippers here, speaks with an air of excitement and a little caution. “These boats are going to be so powerful with the winds on the Bay.” Adding that “outside the Bay would be rough,” luckily the race course doesn’t extend past the “safe” confines of the Golden Gate and, hopefully, there will be no Deed of Gift (DoG) match challenge here. When asked the ultimate question on everyone’s mind in Northern California, Niners or Raiders? Spithill reacted with the same coolness he displays on the race course. “Well, we just took out MC Hammer the other day, so I’d have to say Raiders.” But, clearly the winner this week was the America’s Cup and the city of Newport. With network coverage from NBC for the first time in 20 years, the former Cup host city showed that it was at least the city “that knows how” on the East Coast. Rhode Islanders, along with spectators from several surrounding states, turned out in droves to watch, evaluate and judge this brand new America’s Cup event. The Cup has been re-energized with this exciting new multi-hull formula and judging from the numbers, the young, as well as the old gave the new format a resounding thumbs up! The waters of Narragansett Bay were turned and churned into a stupor as the pedestrian “walleye chop” of hundreds, if not thousands, of spectator boats paid homage to the “Auld Mug” under the vigilant, watchful eye of the Coast Guard. The savvy, smart yachting crowd filled the confines of historic Fort Adams to capacity every race day. Locals also lined the hills of Fort Wetherhill in neighboring Jamestown across the way on Conanicut Island to encapsulate and turn tiny Rhode Island into the East Coast’s capital of stadium sailing. The “Ocean State” has always presented a challenge to America’s Cup Race Management CEO Ian Murray, first as an up-and-coming young skipper in 1983 on Alan Payne’s radical light air 12-Meter Advance and now with a firm hand on the controls as the race director. Murray, who is from Australia, was the skipper of Kookaburra 3, which lost the America’s Cup to Dennis Conner on Stars & Stripes in 1987. But clearly this is Murray’s finest hour. Murray has “many fond memories of Newport in 1983” and is “delighted” that it is again part “of our contemporary version of the America’s Cup.” The 2013 America’s Cup so far may mean many different things to many different people, but from a race management and organizational perspective it is being well run. One of the most important pieces of the puzzle is to have a “secure race course”; with this and on Narragansett Bay, Murray had his hands full. The Kiwis collided with a committee boat one day and capsized the next. Coutts on Oracle 5 had a small collision, too, and was forced into the “pits” for repairs and then, after returning to the race course, was sent back in again by the Race Committee, ending its day. “We had a bad time with anchors, and a lot of lost lobster pots here in Newport!” joked Murray, though his biggest question to the fans of the America’s Cup would be: “Are you liking what you are seeing?” The game has been changed for 2013 with a bold new idea to bring sailing back from the open ocean and close to shore where everyone can watch the race. “We’ve invented a new wheel, to join the old with the new,” Murray said. “This is a new form of an America’s Cup; we’re in the entertainment business, it is turn style sailing and it costs a lot of money. “The AC 72’s are going to be exciting and terrifying!” Murray said. “You may see horizontal as well as vertical wings on the foils and centerboards. There are going to be all sorts of bits and pieces under the water. “The race course in San Francisco has been modified a bit. It has been moved so that the center of activities for racing will be in front of the Marina Green. The ACEA was hoping to have more fan-friendly facilities at Crissy Field, but the National Park Service (GGNPS) was going to charge a substantial fee for their little piece of land,” said Murray. “It was outrageous!” The balance here in the Bay Area between organizers, GGNPS and environmental activists is a precarious tightrope. All sides have endeavored to work hard in respecting the other as the event forges forward. The bar has now been raised for the Bay Area to turn up and out, as the entire ACWS circus heads west by railroad to San Francisco for its first visit. The actual America’s Cup final begins on Sept. 7, 2013. In San Francisco, the center of activity will be on two fronts. The racing will take place on the “magic mile” off the Marina Green with the AC 45’s being moored on the waterfront during the week and the team bases will be centered on Piers 30-32 downtown. While in Newport, Rhode Island, I sat down with America’s Cup Race Management (ACRM) Chief Operating Officer Andy Hindley to discuss what is possibly coming our way next month and beyond. Hindley comes from Hampshire, England. His experience in managing these massive “sea shows” comes from running the Volvo Around the World Ocean Races in 2001-02 and 2005-06. Logistically, it is his task to plan, negotiate, schedule, organize, move and transport the ACWS around the planet and, according to Hindley, that is just a “small part” of his duties and responsibilities. Newport was the ACWS sixth circus. In addition to shipping the 45-foot catamarans, with their 75-foot fixed wingsails, around and about multiple venues from Portugal to England to San Diego, then back to Valencia, Spain, and Italy, there are more than 150 forty-foot containers of parts and pieces to transport. “When we travel around the world we have to coordinate the timing of the event to where we are winter/spring/summer/fall,” Hindley said, “so that we have a spectating side on shore and a wind (sailing) side on the other.” In Newport, the event was centered at Fort Adams on shore, with a reliable summer “smoky” southwesterly breeze blowing consistently across the course in the afternoon. In late August, strong winds in San Francisco are a given, but the challenge for Hindley and company may be where and when the fog creeps in. Not only does the ACRM have to coordinate the racing activities on the water, they have to simultaneously launch multiple helicopters to provide the thrilling footage to the TV and YouTube audience. Then add to the equation: working with all of the local, state and federal authorities; coordinating with the Coast Guard to clear the race course from spectator craft; and keeping the shipping lanes clear. And the FAA! I am sure, especially here in the Bay Area, the list goes on and on. After San Francisco events in August and again during Fleet Week in October, the ACRM is hoping to add three events before the series moves back to Italy next spring. While not commenting on where, Hindley said, we “have a signed contract with one.” Costs for each event run about 5 or 6 million dollars, plus shipping and future events will be fee based with the host venue providing some revenue backing. As Golden Gate Vice Commodore and ACEA event emcee Tom Ehman puts it: “With live TV and Larry’s (Ellison) money we are doing what we can do.” “We would like to see the series continue in 2014,” Hindley said. “But, after the next America’s Cup in 2013, if the Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) doesn’t defend. There have been some discussions and one of these teams will be the next defender. We have no idea what they will do.” The yacht club that wins the America’s Cup can make up all the rules for the next event with the mutual consent of another bonified yacht club, providing they hold an “annual regatta” on the sea. Right now, Emirates Team New Zealand, Artemis (Sweden), Luna Rossa (Italy), and South Korea have committed to compete in the Louis Vuitton (LVC) challenger series next summer. It is hoped Team Energy (France) will join them before the Aug. 1 deadline. As far as San Francisco goes, there is a lot of work to do. Besides packing up everything in Newport and moving it out west, the recent fire at Pier 29 didn’t help. While it didn’t affect directly the facilities under development, it didn’t help. With the Golden State Warriors making a grab for Piers 30-32 for a possible new arena, it really creates a dilemma for the ACEA for a future beyond 2013. “Piers 30-32 is a lost potential for us,” said Hindley. “Where the hell are we going to go?” With an 11th hour lawsuit filed and some would say a constant restructuring of the city of San Francisco’s commitment, the ACEA pulled up stakes and backed out of a preliminary agreement to provide the necessary funds to rehabilitate the aging piers in exchange for future development rights. “We (ACEA) should have done a holding contract on Piers 30-32 until after the Cup,” Hindley said. As far as the often-mentioned structural analysis that was done on the piers by the ACEA, it isn’t going to be free for the Warriors. “They have to buy it from us,” boasts Hindley; and who knows, “it might all fall through.” (The deal, hopefully not the piers…) That all being said it is really important for San Francisco to step up to the plate and let the world know that the America’s Cup belongs here in the future, because with Larry Ellison holding the keys to Lanai in Hawaii and Newport’s enthusiastic show of support (Larry has a mansion there, too), it is important to take nothing for granted. Mr. Ellison has made an incredible investment here in the Bay Area for this event and is passionate about having the America’s Cup here become a resounding success for everyone. As Oracle Racing spokesman Tim Jeffrey put it, “We’re going to let the sailing do the talking.”