From Freo - Iain Murray Updates on America's Cup

America’s Cup Race Management CEO and Race Director Iain Murray can’t seem to get enough of international yacht racing, it seems. He’s racing in the Star class at the 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championship in Perth but took time out early on Day 5 of the World Championship to fill us in on some on some of the events that have transpired in the America’s Cup since San Diego a few weeks back. He's realistic about his chances this week...and going forward.

“It’s nice to come against a lot of the old foes - get the Star out and dust it off. I’ve done absolutely no training so there’s no real expectations but nice to go for a sail here in Fremantle where I lived for three years.”

Commenting on how he perceived the third World Series event recently held in San Diego, Murray said his major concern going into San Diego was going to be the light breezes and holding the races on time given the early sunset that they wouldn’t run over time. But, fortunately that situation didn’t transpire.

“We probably had better breeze than we anticipated - for a number of days the breeze came out of the south and was actually quite strong - we had 16 knots of wind on the final day with two speed trials and set a new speed trial record for ourselves of 26.9 knots over 500 meters which is something I don’t think we would have ever expected to do.”

Numbers were disappointing especially on the final Sunday, with a count of 9-10,000, according to Murray, compared to some 17,000 the previous Sunday, probably attributable to the crappy weather for a good part of the week.

He pointed out how noticeably stronger the competition was, particularly with Energy Team (FRA), who did well in all their racing and Aleph (FRA), with different, younger guys on board were also very strong.

“It was noticeable when teams like NZ were recalled. Keep in mind the recall procedure in San Diego was tiny compared to what it had been where you did have to completely return to the start and go back, effectively putting you out of the race. In Cascais, NZ did that and still went on to win a race.

Now, by taking just a small penalty to go to the back of the fleet, by the first mark NZ struggled to sail through to 4^th or 5^th place. We saw that with a number of teams - they really struggled to get through the fleet - the way people sail their boats and the level of competition has really come up between those who’ve had time on their boats.”

Murray used Darren Bundock (Oracle Racing) sailing Russell’s boat for the first time as an example, “When he got his nose in front and could sail the boat the way that he wanted to which was to typically a bit lower and faster, he sailed away from the fleet but when he got behind he sailed backwards through the fleet - indicative of him not having to the time that others have had in the boats.”

But, what we all really want to know, with the recent resignation of America’s Cup Event Authority CEO Craig Thompson, has the Event Authority imploded, or if not, what the heck is going on?

“What’s happened is that we’ve become more efficient and understand what it is we actually need at these events, how we deliver and spend less money. There’s probably been a duplicity of resources in the logistics of what we do and it’s been decided that we probably have some spare capacity and therefore rather than have effectively two event teams, we’ll have one. There’s just been a change in direction," Murray explained.

ACRM’s role will expand to include more event logistics such as the layout of the Club 45 and any of the other hospitality pieces, while Event Authority has been rekindled “to get their head around the commercial matters of ACTV, the America’s Cup, sponsors and WS events,” Murray said.

There’s no update on who the new challengers will be but Murray said there’ll definitely be more teams/boats at the next event in Naples, with 15 AC45s now having been spoken for. Artemis have got themselves a second boat which they will be happy to use for training.

The outstanding protest by Artemis and Oracle Racing regarding the (brilliant) partnership between NZ/Luna Rossa is still unresolved although the jury has sought submissions, which have been made to the jury. Murray expects a response sometime in the next few weeks.

Dates for the ACWS events in San Francisco in 2012 are August 11-19, and August 27-Sept 2. It was disappointing to learn that the teams will be based miles away down at Pier 80, currently home to Oracle Racing, as the team bases are clearly a huge draw for spectators and a big part of the thrill of the event.

“It was hoped to have the teams at Piers 30-32 but there’s no way that work will be done. We will try to keep the boats in the water down by the Marina Green, and for the teams to have a presence in the Marina Green area.”

The racecourse will be right off St Francis Yacht Club and the Golden Gate Yacht Club. “We’ll have a cross-the-wind start that will put the first mark square in the middle of the St Francis and the GGYC. We will try to finish races close to the shore near the mouth of where you come into the marina by the GGYC.”

The CEQA documents call for the event village to be at the Marina Green and area adjoining the two clubs where there’ll be hospitality. All of those documents are detailed in the CEQA master plan expected to be approved before Xmas.

Murray did not have news on details concerning the proposed Youth America’s Cup other than it’s high on the priority list and that there’s been a lot of discussion on the subject.

“We want to hold it in 2013 and we're trying to hold it in 2012 in the 45s in SF between the other events but it’s not for sure. We need the buy in of all the teams and the use of the 45s. Logistically there’re also plenty of other associated issues,” Murray said.

The wing sail extension (not a permanent fixture but to be used in the light breezes expected in Naples and Venice) is in production and Murray’s hoping that Emirates Team NZ will be able to do some trialing with it soon.

“If the boats can power up out of tacks and jibes and fly hulls, the TV pictures are happier and the crews are certainly happier. There’ll hopefully be a simple and efficient way to bolt onto the existing rig without making any major structural changes or having to take any TV equipment off. We’re also working on a few other modifications while we’ve got things apart up there like how the wind trolleys mount on the front of the mast.”

Overall, the big part of Murray’s equation that still needs solving is reducing the cost of the World Series events. “We’re aiming for a balanced budget in Naples,” Murray said. “Commercially that hasn’t been the case to date, there’s been changes made and going forward we’ll be doing our very best to be as efficient as we can.”

While some staff have been let go between events, Murray expects core numbers wont be significantly different to what they have been come Naples in April. Other areas where efficiencies will be improved will be the number and mix of boats on the water. ACRM tried out its first new course boat in San Diego and expect to have five of those in Naples, which will change the look of the course with fewer boats.

Stay tuned.

Pic: Iain Murray, by Gilles Martin Raget, America's Cup

Great Commentary Makes a Difference in the America's Cup

Peter Isler needs little introduction in sailing circles. Internationally renowned sailor, motivational speaker and author, he’s been inextricable from the America's Cup since winning it as navigator aboard Dennis Conner's Stars & Stripes in Australia in 1987. He’s sailed in five Cup campaigns (most recently with the BMW Oracle Racing Team in Valencia, Spain), winning it twice.

He was an analyst for ESPN's Emmy Award winning coverage of the America's Cup in '92 & '95. For the '03 and '07 Cups Peter both sailed and announced on TV. In my books, he's one of the best commentators in the sport and it’s great to have him in the role as racing in the America’s Cup World Series gets underway on Wednesday in San Diego. SailBlast chatted to Peter about the differences working as a commentator under the new Cup format...

What’s different about the way commentating is happening now?

I just got three days in Plymouth, and I’m here in San Diego now so I’ve had just a taste of it. I’m actually not out on the water working but in a little booth - I’m really watching television watching the same video image that the viewers are watching. Sometimes we have two shots in our announcement booth but usually just the feed - so we’re watching the feed, we’re not watching the whole race. But we have a monitor that’s linked to race management and the umpires - (referred to as STOWE, name of the manufacturer) - it’s like watching an instant messaging screen - it gives us all the race data, all the mark rounding is recorded, every protest flag - every time a button is pushed for protest, every umpire decision - all on this official screen. We’re relying on our directors who have all the different camera shots to choose from to pick the right one to tell the story and that’s part of the fun, you’re really part of a team.

Does it make your job easier or more difficult?

Put it this way, I’d say it’s absolutely essential when you’re a commentator for television broadcast to talk to the picture. One of the things that is risky for an expert sailor coming in and doing the job is the tendency to talk about the important thing that’s going on in the race that may not be in the picture so having that image is great.

That said, it’s also very helpful to have a 2-dimensional overhead view of the entire racecourse which we will also ultimately have so that you can follow the racing and you know what’s going on outside of the visual range of the camera shot. But the great thing is that there are sailors in the directors’ chairs calling the shot changes etc., so normally the story that’s on the ACTV is the story a sailor would want to be following anyway.

Talk about the equipment and tech now involved in the sport of commentating?

Stan Honey, my college room-mate, is running the LiveLine technology and those guys have wired the racecourse and the boats technologically for sound so that they can do their graphical images on live video, which is their expertise That was their mandate from day one and is different to what we have previously enjoyed in America’s Cup TV coverage which is the computer animation with the information on it.

Now we have the actual real video with the technical information, like the three boat lengths, the wind direction, the protest status etc. For the commentator like me, it’s just amazing, it’s unlike anything ever been done before. While too much info can be dangerous, but information does allow you to make better decisions. I think we’re really just using how to use it to its full potential.

Is it challenging keeping up given how quickly everything happens now?

Because the races and the legs are shorter there really isn’t a lot of time to go off talking about a random subject. You really have to stay, as a commentator, on topic and basically call the race. It makes it a lot of fun. Those of us who enjoy other sports, for example tennis, there’s drama in every shot, or every play in football there’s another exciting thing to watch.

In sailing, it’s been, ‘now they’re on a 25 minute leg and they’re going to tack once or twice’ - there’s a lot of time to ramble on or listen in on board which has been fun. But here, like those other fast-paced sports, there’s a technical sports move happening - like just deciding positions - every few instances.

What do you think about the AC45s for the A-Cup in general?

I’m a big fan of the America’s Cup s - I’m a Cuphead and I take the broad picture of not only appreciating the America’s Cup for the spectacle it is here in San Diego this week and the great sailboat racing it is but also its historical place in international sport. So, for me it’s great to have been a part of it and to continue being part of telling the Cup story but I’m in awe of the America’s Cup and it keeps changing and it continues to evolve. It’s unlike any other event anywhere and that’s the thing about the Cup. It’s not just about a sailboat race, it’s not just a race about boat design and technology - it’s more than all of that. It’s bigger than all of us.

* A former Collegiate Sailor of the Year at Yale University, Peter resides in Southern California. He co-authored the best-selling book, Sailing for Dummies (Wiley) and wrote the acclaimed business book, At the Helm: Business Lessons for Navigating Rough Waters (Doubleday) with Peter Economy. His most recent title, Peter Isler’s Little Blue Book of Sailing Secrets (Wiley) was published in 2011.

He is president of Isler Sailing International, Inc. When at home in San Diego, Peter enjoys time with his two daughters and playing guitar and keyboard in a variety of bands.

Photo Credit: Bob Grieser/America's Cup

Pic 1/2: Peter at work in the booth

Pic 3: Peter & former pro basketballer Bill Walton, at the ACWS opening press conference today.

PRADA'S ENTRY UPS ANTE FOR 34TH AMERICA'S CUP

In a media call today, America’s Cup Regatta Director Iain Murray and CEO Craig Thompson commented on the exciting confirmation that indeed, long time Cup favorite Prada/Luna Rossa is back, this time collaborating on boats and such with Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ).

Said Murray: “For those with a keen eye who spotted Luna Rossa in and out of the ETNZ team base in Plymouth have been adding two and two to get four, the answer is obvious today and presents a very strong group of people who I think will have enhanced chances in the America’s Cup going forward. It seems like a positive, strong move for the America’s Cup.

Luna Rossa will take delivery of their AC45 in early December subject to branding and hull painting etc. The destination of it is unknown at this stage and where they’ll actually sail it the first time. They will be competing in events for 2012 and sure, they won’t be scored for the AC World Series round 1 which concludes in Newport, RI, next June but I don’t think that’s their highest priority. I think they’re keen to get their boat and get out there and start to learn about sailing wing-sailed catamarans."

Murray also confirmed that there’s no limits on where Prada can take its AC45 to train, however the team'll be seriously considering where it’ll get the best bang for buck, “Probably the biggest thing with taking an AC45 for any AC team anywhere is generally in most countries you will incur taxes. NZ presents an opportunity for them but there’s taxes to pay when you go to train for certain periods of time which is a discussion Luna Rossa will have to have with the various authorities of that country. Other than the taxes, they can go wherever they like until the first event.”

Thompson added that today’s news from Italy may not be the last with regards to more teams joining.

“Today we have another major competitor coming into the competition and this has got to be good. I hope it’s going to put a lot of pressure on Oracle and that they’re going to have to make some response to this. It’ll be really interesting to see what happens when Luna Rossa gets on the water. From a story telling and competitive aspect, it’s great for the Cup. And, we are still in discussion with some very serious parties who are still trying to come in.”

While on the subject of new teams entering and timing, there’s still a big void in events between San Diego (November 12-20, 2011) and Napoli (April 7-15, 2012), which AC has yet to resolve.

Said Thompson, “We are in discussions for still having an event in late Jan early Feb but honestly it looks doubtful right now before Napoli in April. We are disappointed about this because we will take a hit to frequency/regularity. The good news is that we’re going through the winter months where it’s a downtime for sailing but nevertheless we would have liked to have an event during that time. We’re still hoping something may materialize. We do need to figure out what the teams will be doing during this time.

Hmmm - I think the winter months are a great time in the Southern Hemisphere for sailing, and discussions have in fact been going on in Australia and New Zealand as possible World Series venues, according to Murray.

“The discussions with Australia have broken off with both sides agreeing that what we were trying to achieve wasn’t attainable. New Zealand has been in discussion for some time and there are further discussions going on. Whether today’s news adds some enthusiasm to those discussions, we’ll wait and see."

Either way, teams will have access to their boats for training, Murray confirmed. “We will designate a place that we will deliver the boats to. It’s our responsibility to take them out of America and if we are going directly to Naples we will probably make arrangements to take the boats directly there. If the teams wish to make alternative arrangements they will be allowed to do so as long as they’re brought back to Naples,” he said.

BTW, the protocol lays out different times for the event schedule relative to where the AC is at now because it was envisaged a series in 2011 and a series in 2012 and it was considered that the boats would be going to the 72s in the second season. But the protocol did say there would be a minimum of three regattas in the first series and five in the second.

There is no written deadline by which teams may be denied entry to AC34, just obviously a practical deadline with the requirement to have a 72 and a valid challenge, said Murray. Teams must have an AC72 by July 4, beginning of the Louis Vuitton Cup.

Murray reviewed the estimated build time for an AC72 which involves multi-element construction. He figures that with a breakdown of all of those components, the boats could be built quite quickly, probably not in less than six months but eight months would be about right. In the case of Prada, Murray said that he read today that they planned to build their center sections and structural pieces in New Zealand and other components in Italy.

“It’s obviously probably more efficient. Oracle is doing a similar thing I would suggest.”

* Prada announcement: http://media.americascup.com/pressreleases/?id=393

Dean Barker: "We're about winning the America's Cup"

38-year old skipper Dean Barker and his team Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) currently sit at the top of the leaderboard of the America’s Cup World Series Championship with 38 points (19 scored in match racing, 19 in fleet racing), just four points ahead of Oracle Racing Spithill. With the third and final World Series event for 2011 just around the corner, Barker updated Sailblast on ETNZs training progress…as well as shared some thoughts on the new AC game…

What was one thing that you took away from racing AC45s in the recent in events in Cascais & Plymouth?

The biggest eye opener is the maneuverability and how the racecourse and boundaries operate. It makes the racing just so much tighter and more emphasis on crew work and boat handling than ever before.

Emirates Team NZ (ETNZ) did extremely well - what do you attribute your strength to this early in the game?

We were really happy with our performance. We know we can sail a hell of a lot better but I’m sure like all the teams you make a lot of mistakes around the course but it’s a challenge with these boats in tough conditions and close quarters with other teams. It’s going to be hard to sail at a high level.

We’ve put a lot of effort into our crew work and boat handling and that’s paid dividends. I think during the period in Auckland we’re a bit off the pace. At our first crack at the soft sails, they were good but not good enough so we’ve developed our sails - we're into our second generation and that’s been a big improvement in our speed. We feel like we’re a lot more competitive now against Oracle who in Auckland who had quite a big jump it felt over the rest of us. We’ve made some good gains there. But we’ve worked really hard on things like getting around the corners and being able to react in all different situations around the course. That’s been a big strength.

How are you preparing for San Diego?

To be honest we’ve been pretty full on working with boat design for the 72. San Diego is rolling around pretty quickly so we will need to get our heads back in the game for racing but we have a few practice days there before racing proper starts so that’ll give us an opportunity to get back into it all. We’ve been doing a bit of sailing back here in Auckland on the 33s as obviously like everyone else, except Oracle who have a couple of extras, our 45 is en route to San Diego.

How’s the transition to the multihull been for you?

I’ve been sailing multis now for a year and it’s amazing. It feels like the progress that we’ve made since we came last in Almeria in the Extreme Series last year. It feels like we’re making some really good progress. I’d say it’s still not necessarily instinctive like monohull sailing was. There’re times when you know what you want to do but you can’t quite make it happen instinctively. But it’s coming - it just takes time to reprogram yourself to adjust to different situations where things happen very very quickly. You have to be able to make decisions a lot quicker than in the monos. But it’s all a really good challenge.

Who is your back-up skipper?

We’re a pretty small sailing team at the moment. We really don’t have a lot of back-ups in any position to be honest! Depending on who is injured at any time we’ve got cover by three grinders and a few others who aren’t sailing on the boat.

When will ETNZ expand its sailing team?

That’s about it really. We’re not going to have two 72s. We just don't have the resources to do it. It’s too expensive to take two 72s off the dock and go two-boat testing. It’s an expensive game we’re in and to take two 72s sailing, you’d need an army of people. There’s probably only one team that’s in that position right now.

Where are you at in the 72 design/build process?

We’re in the final stages of our design. What we’re learning pretty quickly is that the more you learn the more you don’t know! You just have to try to narrow in on the first design. The good thing is that we’re making good progress, the hard thing to know is what is the level you’ll need to be at in 2013. The learning curve makes it seem like we’ve got a long way to go but we’re at a level where we think we’ll be competitive enough. We have a design group of about 30 people we draw from including Pete Melvin, Scott Graham, Luc Du Bois - there’s a bunch of guys who are contributing. Cookson’s will build the hull and structures, and Southern will build a lot of our wing and wing components.

Who is developing your sails/sailplan?

We’ve done most of sail development in-house so far. We get a lot of input off the chase (boat) and evaluate our sails against where the opposition is. Oracle is by far the most experienced in these boats and have sailed them more than everybody else and have probably built more sails than the rest of us. You’re always looking to measure yourself against where they’re at and the direction they’re going. But, we’re pretty happy with the choices and development we’ve made.

What are some things you can see from the 45 that will translate to the 72?

The 45 is a nicely balanced boat, it’s fun to sail, it’s relatively easy to sail compared to the more traditional X-40 type designs, it’s quite a robust boat and seems to perform well across a variety of conditions. We’ve learned a lot just from sailing that but it is limited in a lot of ways. It’s got straight boards, it doesn’t have any real lifting component, it gets limited by wind speed, it’s a bit hard to push up the range but it’s a fantastic boat for learning about multi hull and sailing with a wing.

The 72 is a hugely more powerful boat. When you scale the 45 up to a 72 boat, it’s quite underpowered. The challenges that are going to go with the size of the 72 are pretty daunting. The boats in a strong breeze are going to be animals. They’ll be very hard to sail in SF conditions and you’ll certainly have to have your wits about you to get around the course. They’ll have capability of very high speed and you’re going to have to be really in tune to sail with them well.

What’s different about this Cup Campaign for ETNZ?

Apart from the obvious, lifestyle and scenery, it’s adapting to a different world. We’ve moved from a world of detailing and fine tuning to one of complete new world of open book, fresh paper design. Any ideas are certainly worth consideration. There are no stupid questions or ideas right now. With this multihull world, we’re just scratching the surface of a huge unchartered territory. It’s not even like a new design rule within the monohull environment.

Do you think it was entirely necessary to move up to the 72 for the real deal in 2013, or do you think a successful Cup could be staged in the 45?

Well, the 45 would really detract from what the essence of what the America’s Cup is about. It has always been a design race. I think to take away that aspect of the Cup would be a tragedy. It’s about managing so many different aspects of a campaign for a successful America’s Cup. When you get it right, then rightfully you deserve to win the America’s Cup. From a sailor’s point of view, one design racing is great because in the end the best team wins. There’s no argument about who had the better boat. It comes down to who sailed the best. So, there’s two schools of thought but in some ways I still believe in the traditional values of the Cup. It’s about managing a whole lot of different aspects: design, sailing team, campaign management and just getting to the start line. I still think it’s the right move that we’re racing in a development boat in the America’s Cup.

If Oracle was so committed to keeping costs down for AC34, how could they then go buy four AC45s while the other teams have only one? What’s ETNZ’s position on this?

There’s no way Oracle is committed to keeping costs down. It’s a complete fallacy that they’re trying to keep costs down. It’s absolute bullshit. The whole idea of this next America’s Cup was to try to make it more affordable for the teams. I can tell you right now that the budget for doing this campaign is at least what we spent last time and you can do it for less but you just don’t have a chance to perform. It’s a complete joke if they can sit back and say it costs less money, it’s not. It’s way more expensive. But that’s the game we’re in. If you want a crack at winning the America’s Cup you have to play by the rules and these rules are more expensive.

* Ed's note: America’s Cup Race Management (ACRM) does not limit the teams' training outside of World Series events, for instance, some teams will sail as soon as boats are off the ship in San Diego and others will opt not to sail until closer to the start of racing. And, any team can purchase an additional AC45 for training…assuming that they can afford to.

If ETNZ knew what it knows now before you signed up, do you think you guys may have given this next one a miss?

Definitely not. Emirates Team NZ exists for the America’s Cup and we’ve weathered the storm since 2007 to give ourselves the opportunity to compete in the 2013 event. You can’t afford to sit out, it’s just too hard to come in green and expect to get straight on the pace. If you miss a cycle, with all the development you’ll never catch it back up. It’s too much time. We decided that whatever the direction the Cup took that we’d contemplate it seriously, evaluate whether we could raise the money and give it a really good go at winning it. We're not it in to make up the numbers, we’ve only entered because we think we can put up a challenge with a team that’s good enough to win. Time will tell if that’s the case. But, we’re a team that’s about winning the America’s Cup.

Much of the excitement over the 45, particularly for the non-sailing fan, is thanks to the crash factor. We wont (hopefully) see that with the 72. Without the crashes do you think the event will remain interesting for the non-sailor?

There’ll be an element who tune in to just watch the crashes, looking for the capsize or the collision. Those people you’ll try to capture - you have to accept that there’ll be that element. Hopefully people will be interested in watching the racing for what it is as well and we’ll be able to capture a new interested audience. In the short-term while there’s still a lot of spectacular action that’s going to motivate people to watch. It’s no different to the X-40s - the biggest hits come with the best action.

Do you think a nationality rule would help the AC grow as a fan sport?

I think it helps countries identify with their teams. We’ve got other nationalities involved in our team but it’s still pretty much all NZ, which certainly helps our fan base within NZ and the support we get as opposed to some of the other teams. Even though they may represent the US, Sweden and so on, they’re not true national teams to the degree we are.

How does your family take your busy lifestyle?

Fortunately my wife Mandy is really good with it all because I’m a bit of an absentee dad at times. I have four kids - 3 girls and a boy between six and one. It’s a lot of fun, never a dull moment. You feel like you leave one circus and go home to another one!

What’s your other business and how do you find time for that while still running a top AC team?

My primary focus is with the team so I spend the majority of my time sailing and working with the design group when I’m not traveling to events. When I do have a little down time I try to keep up to speed with Kiwi Yachting Consultants, a company I’m involved with in NZ, and also Nexus Marine which marine electronics company in Sweden.

When do you expect to be moving full-time to SF?

As a team we wont go up to San Francisco - mainly because of cost - until April/May 2013 full-time. We’ll be there next year for the events in August and September which will be great. I’m absolutely looking forward to sailing on the Bay, I’ve done a little bit of sailing there but not much. It’ll be an amazing spectacle for sure.

Pic Credit: ETNZ

America's Cup Umpire Explains

Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) simply followed the rules when they continued racing after a crew member flew off the back off their AC45 during Day 1 of the America’s Cup World Series which kicked off last Saturday in Cascais, Portugal. And, they didn’t get disqualified.

Why?

Because the America’s Cup has its own rules, of course (available on the Cup website).

Mike Martin, ACs Director of Umpiring and Rules, explained, “We have our own rules that say, ‘A yacht shall not permit any person on board to intentionally leave unless ill or injured.’ It was pretty clear it wasn’t intentional so there was no penalty assessed. If in the event of a capsize, it says, ‘A person leaving shall not be accepted on board nor replaced during a race.’ Team NZ did exactly what they were supposed to do according to the rules which is you leave the person in the water for the team rib to come pick them up.”

Martin also set the record straight on the DQ hit that Oracle Racing’s Spithill took over the weekend. Spithill was originally penalized for sailing outside the course limits - their purpose being is that in the past AC boats would sail on the same tack for 15 minutes during which time everyone leaves or changes the channel.

“We want them tacking and interfacing each other across the tack so we have relatively narrow course limits,” Martin said. “We also have course limits around the starting area so people don’t go sailing off in or near the spectator fleet then come back in.”

Jimmy sailed outside of the course limits prior between the prep signal which is at two minutes and the start and was assessed a penalty at that time. You can’t take your penalty until after starting, and according to Martin, Spithill started and didn’t take his penalty at which time he was assessed s second penalty - an umpire can do that for breaking the rule of failure to take a penalty.

“The equipment was working (contrary to what has been said), and all video shows the indicator light on - you’ll have to ask him what went on,” Martin said.

The speed trial, which ETNZ won, was reported by spectators and online viewers to be difficult to figure out, perhaps due to the commentary. According to Martin it was set up like a regular speed trial with a start line and approximately 500 meters away a finish like. Boats had a one minute time slot and they’re supposed to start in the first 30 seconds of that time slot and come full speed across the start.

“I think everyone’s kind of scratching their head on the time trial and figuring it out,” Martin said. “It’s funny because I watched the TV feed of it and it all looks like it’s highly organized but it was tough to figure out and tough for the sailors to figure it out where the course was and there were spectator boats on the course but we got it all straightened out in the nick of time. “

The speed trial will continue to be an element of the World Series events, Martin confirmed. “I think everyone enjoyed it, it was good to watch. It was kind of cool, even though the conditions weren’t ideal - it was the lightest wind of the day.”

Other than that, Martin’s pleased with the way things are going. “So, so far so good. The first day was a little bit of a bummer because it was light air and rainy and of course today, the lay day, is perfect…blowing 25 and sunny…will probably be the same tomorrow (another lay day).

In the week up to it there were plenty of little problems we were working through and we were concerned. We had some software crashes during a race but everyone’s been working super hard here to get everything going. It was GO day on Saturday and everything came together.”

Photo credit: Emirates Team New Zealand