America's Cup experiment with monos and multis
- Tue, 20 Jul 2010
- Comments (2)
With a view towards helping determine if a monohull or multihull is better suited for America's Cup racing, event planners have scheduled four days of trials here to develop methods for making the racing more enthralling for fans, more challenging for crews and better portrayed on television screens around the world.
Concept papers for a new monohull and multihull design were issued on 2 July to independent rule writers in the UK and US. The trials, 22-25 July, will help confirm certain parameters of the new yacht, including reduced crew numbers to place a premium on boathandling. Not only will the format of racing and type of boat come under scrutiny, but also television production.
The America's Cup Media Evaluation Team has solicited opinions from a wide array of broadcasters, digital media and technology companies in Europe and the US on how to make the racing more dramatic on-line, on-screen and on TV. Accepted standards of Cup racing are being challenged in the trials and no thought will be ignored in the quest to create the most compelling television production and delivering it to the widest-ever audience.
"We are testing many different concepts," said Russell Coutts, CEO of BMW ORACLE Racing Team. "Would making the first leg downwind instead of upwind be better? Can you have exciting boat-on-boat action with multihulls? Are there alternative race course formats which might provide more overtaking opportunities?"
The trials will be conducted with two pairs of X40 catamarans and RC44 sloops. 3D and HD cameras will be experimented with to see if the onboard action is more dramatically portrayed, and the race format testing will include downwind and reaching starts.
Guest helmsmen such as Roman Hagara of Austria and Murray Jones of New Zealand will lead the crews aboard the X40s. Hagara is a two-time Olympic gold medalist in the Tornado class and Jones raced multihulls extensively in the lead-up to the 33rd America's Cup Match.
Multihulls have been paired in the America's Cup only once before, during the 33rd Match last February. And while there were some exciting moments, such as stalls on the start line and port-starboard crossings at the windward mark, the jury remains hung on whether or not multihulls can mix it up in close proximity to each other or whether they offer the boat behind more opportunities to pass.
A pair of RC44s will provide the high-performance monohull baseline for the trials. James Spithill, the youngest ever America's Cup winning skipper will be at the helm of one of the two yachts. They will race short-handed, eight-person crews to see if that adds a level of drama to boathandling that would be compelling for television.
"Only by reviewing the accepted wisdom can we decide if there are smarter ways to challenge crews and excite fans," Coutts concluded.
Adrian Armanini,
July 20 16:17
They are missing the mark completely.
Idiot's Guide to Bringing Back the America's Cup:
1. Go back to naming the syndicates after the countries they represent. America 1, China 1, Italy 1, etc... Names like BMW Oracle and Alinghi stink of corporate commercialism, not the national sailing pride that used to get people excited about the event. I don't care if BMW or Larry Ellison wins a race (he's a billionaire I have nothing in common with, therefore can't relate to), but I will get excited if my country's crew wins. The boats should also wear their national colors. Corporate sponsor logos should be given a small area on the bottom half of the mainsail. No more. Get a handle on the AC's corporate culture and you are 75% of the way there.
2. To add further national legitimacy to the event, it would be refreshing if the teams were made up of people who were actually from the countries they represented (implement a rule requiring each member of the crew to have carried the passport of the country he/she is representing for at least 5 years prior to the regatta.)
3. TV coverage for the last two cups was terrible. I am a sailor, and even I had a hard time keeping track of what was going on. If one is trying to bring sailing to the masses, then the commentators need to talk in terms non-sailors can follow more easily (like sailing lingo isn't already complicated enough). Why not start by referring to the teams by their national affiliations, instead of the names of their corporate sponsors or their helmsmen?
Coverage should also include educational graphics to the telecast so non-sailors viewers who are interested in learning more can understand some of the basics. It's not like the racing action is so thick that it couldn't be done without disrupting the coverage.
The commentators need to be first rate. The guys on VS. from two ACs ago lacked charisma and the ability to relate to the audience (especially the excitable nerdy one.) Look to Formula1's coverage for a starter's guide, then add a well spoken 30-something to the team.
4. The last AC was dead to me long before the racing started thanks to the shameful legal battles that exposed the event has become a race being contested by a handful of billionaires who are in it for their egos, not the benefit of the sport (at this point it is fair to say that the AC does little to make sailing more popular at any level.) The rules of the regatta therefore need to be changed:
(i) First, the rules should not allow any team to have a significant head start in the development of their boat b/c the outdated AC rules (Deed of Trust) permit them to keep the other teams in the dark regarding the new specs until a certain date; (ii) Second, the yacht specs should not differ dramatically from AC to AC. Building entirely new yachts every four years is incredibly wasteful, verging on distasteful in these difficult economic times; (iii) Third, there needs to be a cap on the overall budget for each team. The reasons for this are obvious, and I don't think technological innovation will suffer greatly if at all.
5. Stick to monohulls.
OK, that's it. I'm going sailing.