While we await with bated breath the announcement of who is to join Grant Dalton and Ben Ainslie in their revamped America’s Cup we should spare a minute to consider what they are entering.
In the great scheme of things, the America’s Cup is unlikely to have been a game changer. But in sailing lore there are few if any events with such a continuous documented history.
The New York YC has maintained that holy grail for over 170 years . . . Now it seems that even for them the burden of responsibility has become too great . . . Throwing their seal of approval behind the sweeping changes of the AC38 Protocol.
There are three major changes for the next America’s Cup (AC38) that will change the Cup as we know it. For better or for worse?
The first change is the introduction of the America’s Cup Partnership (ACP). This takes control of the event away from the Defender/Challenger of Record – as envisaged in the Deed of Gift – to a board comprised of the challenger representatives. While this seems very democratic it opens the door to endless (literally) debate.
The second change seeks to change the Cup from a unique one-off international match race, sailed within an historic Deed of Gift set of rules, and put the America’s Cup on a rolling two-year cycle, without major resets.
The danger with this scenario is that the America’s Cup loses the extreme ‘other worldly’ glamour that created a unique event that attracts world-wide attention to a sailing, and instaed seeks to turn it into another match race pitched to current day commercial norms.
And the third change is the break with the requirement to design and build a unique boat for the event, something that required both teams to push the boundaries of yacht design to produce the fastest craft that they could. In sailing terms this is the difference between a one-design and a restricted-design, and possibly the major feature of the America’s Cup if it is to genuinely maintain its unique historic links.
Under the AC38 Protocol the America’s Cup teams will now reuse their existing AC75 hulls and rigs, undermining the very uniqueness that has made it the pinnacle of yachting competition.
Together with some internal configuration simplification, the removal of the cyclors and additional battery power packs the door opens to attach the AC40 style autopilot. And the AC75 becomes a faux one-design . . . and completes the emasculation of this once great event.
The America’s Cup may be between a rock and a hard place, but removing the qualities that made it unique and attracted great sailors and designers to compete for over a 170 years, is the ultimate betrayal.
The America’s Cup originated in the infamous victory of the New York Yacht Club’s America on 22 August 1851 in a race around the Isle of Wight UK. The first challenge for the Cup (the Auld Mug) was by James Lloyd Ashbury of the Royal Thames YC in 1870. Initiating a series that continues to the present 38th match race challenge.
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