Arthur's Column

I spent an amazing 5 years in the formative time of my life at one of the most enlightened schools in South Africa, if not the world. I refer of course to Kings School in Nottingham Road – Natal.

Kings was a school with a liberal attitude in a country that at that time was anything but liberal.  We learnt that “Apartheid” didnt make sense, but perhaps tolerance from all sides was a good idea.  We learnt that all people are created equal, and have a place in society. One has to remember that in South Africa in this era (I was at Kings from 1972 to 1976) equality had little place in “official” politics.  It was many years later that the government changed and at least the constitution became fairer.

Kings taught values and an attitude to life that have been a part of my life ever since.  Much of the credit for establishing this foundation must go to the ex-Headmaster and founder/owner – John  Carlisle-Mitchell.  Not only the head, John also taught me English and Maths.  John unfortunately passed away last year, but I recently came across this video of him reciting The Jabberwocky and had to share it.

The Jabberwocky would have to be my favourite poem, and John lends it an additional flair in this recording. Over to you John…

The Beast has prevailed over Beauty.  I am still shell-shocked, although not entirely surprised.

In the words of the Swiss :

Alinghi put forth a tremendous effort today in its attempt to defend the 33rd America’s Cup. The Swiss team from the Société Nautique de Genève led for most of the first leg of the triangular course, but couldn’t hold off the Challenger BMW Oracle Racing. Alinghi lost the race by 5m26s and the America’s Cup Match, 2-0.

Team president and principal helmsman Ernesto Bertarelli congratulated his competitor after the race: “Congratulations to the BMW Oracle team. The boat was faster, there’s no question about that.”

Today’s race was postponed for more than six hours from the scheduled start time of 10:06 as, similar to Friday, the race committee waited for the wind to settle. Around 16:10 the race committee set a windward mark bearing 100 degrees, just south of due east, and the two crews started at 16:25. Bertarelli guided Alinghi 5 onto the race course on port tack about mid-line, despite receiving a penalty. The crew wanted the right side of the course, hoping for the favourable wind shift. Almost 14 minutes into the race Alinghi 5 tacked to starboard and into a right-hand wind shift that lifted the 90ft load waterline catamaran into the lead. For the next 35 minutes or so both boats held starboard tack with Alinghi, now steered by Loïck Peyron, to windward of the challenger and holding the lead in the wind shift.

Alinghi crossed the challenger near the windward mark, but lost the lead when it tacked to port to approach the mark. The challenger led by 28 seconds at the first mark and then, propelled by its wing, increased that lead by more than 2 minutes at the second mark.

Alinghi showing better upwind speed (c) Guido Trombetta / Alinghi

So its all over.  The cup goes to GGYDC and Larry Ellison – to be fair he has tried for long enough to win it so he probably deserves it!  And Russel Coutts still the man in the middle – now with the most amazing run of cup wins.

What next for these mammoth boats?  Mothballs?  Ernesto going to compete on Lake Geneva with Alinghi (I be he does)?  And whither the America’s Cup?  Back to monohulls and processions around a short course?

GGYC have accepted the Italians as challenger of record in a multi-challenger series, so it is now clear that the 34th cup will return to being the jamboree (and providing employment for many more) that it was last time.  Ellison has sortof said it could be Valencia but I have to say my money would be on San Francisco for the next cup.

The best of what was said by both sides after Race 1, 33rd America’s Cup.

BMW ORACLE Racing Team:
James Spithill (AUS) skipper/helm BMW ORACLE Racing Team (USA):
“Obviously it was quite exciting at the start. We were able to get a piece of them in the entry and that is something we had been thinking about for quite some time, and it started to set up to look like we might be able to get a penalty on them, so I pushed it pretty hard in there. Obviously that left us pretty close to them and we then we had a hard time slowing the boat down. We were in a pretty controlling position then, as time went on through we got ourselves stuck in irons, but also I want to say well done to Alinghi, they did a good job getting out from there.”
“ We still have a lot to learn. It kind of showed today that we aren’t at race level preparation that we are kind of used to in these campaigns. But it was an exciting start with plenty of action.”

Larry Ellison (USA) team founder and afterguard BMW ORACLE Racing Team (USA):
“ I think my emotions started when it looked like we were going to race in three and a half knots of breeze. Russell and I were on the boat and we were told that we might be sailing in 20 minutes then we had the call to get as many people off the boat and as much stuff as possible off the boat to sail as light as possible, because there was a very, very light breeze. I had to get off the boat and so did Russell. And so we sailed with a minimum crew. So I think it is more stressful to watch than to sail.”

Russell Coutts (NZL) CEO and afterguard BMW ORACLE Racing Team (USA):
“ I think it is early days. I said before the series that you wont be able to draw conclusions from the first few minutes of these races….but how about that win….??

“It looked pretty good from where I was sitting today. I think the team did a good job. The guys on board sailed a really nice race, pretty much faultless. They had a few problems at the start, that can happen in these boats, but we are very, very happy with where we are, but we are only a tiny way into this series now. There is so much more work to do. We know we are up against the best team out there and we are certainly not going to take our foot off the throttle. We are going to try and improve our performance further.”

Larry Ellison (USA) team founder and afterguard BMW ORACLE Racing Team (USA):
“ The piece of kit we are most proud is the wing.”
“Today I did say that sailing is a lot harder than running a software company!”

Russell Coutts (NZL) CEO and afterguard BMW ORACLE Racing Team (USA):
“I think it is just way too early to draw too many conclusions. We are only one race into the series. We will see at the end of the series in terms of the relative values of the wing.”

James Spithill (AUS) skipper/helm BMW ORACLE Racing Team (USA):
“To be honest I think we carried a bit of pressure down, I think we carried it down the lane. It was one of those things, I think, where the boat in the lead was always gaining. Having said that I think that JK (tactician John Kostecki) did a really nice job, he absolutely nailed it on the downwind leg. Full credit to him and the weather team.”
“It was very very shifty, very very puffy.”
“It was certainly good to see the guys under pressure like that because it did not really phase them one bit. They all just got straight back into what they were supposed to do and that is sailing the boat fast.”

Alinghi in Race 1 - (c) Guido Trombetta / Alinghi

Alinghi (SUI):

Brad Butterworth (NZL) skipper/tactician Alinghi (SUI):
“We tried to keep the boats apart with having the bottom pin offset but it was not actually set up that well, and we thought we had just done enough but obviously not. But that really did not have any reflection on who won the race. It made some interesting stop and start, in irons and going backwards, something we’d never done on multihulls.”

Ernesto Bertarelli (SUI), helmsman and team president Alinghi (SUI):
“For sure at the start after the penalty it felt good they were stopped we could gybe and start. The wind changed quite rapidly. We had six or seven knots during the pre start and right off the start we were surprised with the wind coming in so strong, so quickly, 12 knots, but we thought we were doing good. But they caught up. We had to make a sail change which slowed us, but they were fast today and the wing seems to be quite a weapon. ”

Brad Butterworth (NZL) skipper/tactician Alinghi (SUI):
“They certainly showed how fast they can get their boat going. They could not have come off the line in a worse position and they ended up in a very strong position. When you are sitting in front of them and they sail up and around you, that is speed.”

Ernesto Bertarelli (SUI), helmsman and team president Alinghi (SUI):
“Actually we had too much sail area for the most part of the race. We did not have the set up we would have liked to have had. There was a bit more wind than we expected, so I don’t think sail area would have made much of a difference. It does, I think, show that the wing is quite versatile in many different conditions, but I am not sure sail area would have made much of a difference.”

Ernesto Bertarelli (SUI), helmsman and team president Alinghi (SUI):
“I have absolutely no regrets and no frustration. Actually I quite enjoyed myself on the water today. It’s racing, you win, you lose that is part of the game. We gave everything we have got over the last two and a half years. So there there is nothing to be frustrated about or ashamed about. Again, the Cup is not over. We still have one race to go. They have to cross the line, finish the race and score two points.”

Ernesto Bertarelli (SUI), helmsman and team president Alinghi (SUI):
“ I tell you, when you are in my position with the ten years that are behind and the team I have and the opportunity to race one more, or maybe two more races in the America’s Cup, you can’t call any day a hard day in the America’s Cup. They are all good days. Today it just happened they were faster, they sailed a good race.”
“ We lost and I learned over the years that losing is part of enjoying sailing and going racing.”

The postponement flag is down and the race starts in 10 minutes.

At last its underway – the 33rd Americas Cup.  Live on Eurosport.

USA looking way more powerful than Alinghi.  Swiss have a penalty as well.

The Beast is looking very powerful – I dont like Alinghi’s chances at all now.

Looks pretty sure now that the race will finally take place in the sea off Valencia.  Can’t wait!

Or maybe not …..  we all wait as nothing happens. Boredom in the extreme!

6 minutes until he commits to the start

YES

Race 1 of the 33rd America’s Cup Match has been postponed until Friday. Today’s attempt to commence the best-of-three Deed of Gift Match between Defender Alinghi and Challenger BMW Oracle Racing was postponed due to rough sea conditions on the Mediterranean outside Valencia.

“The waves were the biggest problem. I think they were about 1.3m average size in the start area,” said Alinghi strategist Murray Jones. “That means we could’ve had a peak of 1.8m and that’s the biggest issue.

“There was a swell coming from one direction and waves from an offset of 90 degrees to that. We’ve been out in conditions not quite that bad, but it’s heinous. I think they’ve done the right thing by not sending us out there,” Jones said.

Jones explained that strong winds in the north of Spain near France were churning up the sea, which was confirmed over the phone by Will McCarthy, an Alinghi sailing team member, out spotting at noon: “It’s very bumpy out here, confused, cold and we have seen 20knots this morning.”

The next attempt to commence the match is scheduled for Friday at 10:06. The race schedule is for one day to intervene between each race day as agreed with the Challenger. Paragraph 6.5 of the Notice of Race states that: “If a race is cancelled, abandoned or postponed that race will be sailed on the next scheduled date and the subsequent races shall be postponed for the day accordingly.”

The first attempt on Monday was postponed until today due to unstable wind conditions.

Later.  There was wind overnight and they annouhnced a start no earlier than 11:45, giving the riggers a bit of a longer sleep (it takes 3 hours to rig USA).  It seems the wind has now died, but it will probably be bumpy out there.

Despite conventional wisdom that the swiss are only good on a millpond and USA can take the rough stuff, I wouldn’t be so sure.  USA’s wing will have huge foreces on it if there is a big sea running.  Remember the Coutts 30%?  He should know …

Pity – a light air race should have favoured Alinghi.  We shall wait and see.

So – the 33rd Americas Cup remains unsailed and we all remain none the wiser as to which is the fastest boat!  Keep tuned for more over the coming days.

NOT!

BMW Oracle Wing Mast (top bit anyway)

Yes – that was the view for us mere mortals who took the time to travel to Valencia of BMW Oracle.  And – because we are feeling more kind to the Swiss in recognition of their efforts – here is a nice shot of the boat just after lowering the main yesterday.

Alinghi - our favourite catamaran

Racing is still postponed at this stage.

The course has been moved to a windier area – Eurosport seem to have decided that ski jumping is more fun than watching really expensive yachts bobbing around.  I hope they switch back when racing starts!