Blog Page – Page 58

April 13, 2015 By Jack Griffin

Oracle Construction in Bermuda America’s Cup Village at Dockyard

americas-cup-village-south-basin-compressed — AMERICA’S CUP DEFENDER ORACLE’S SHIPMENT ARRIVES AT DOCKYARD IN BERMUDA

Update 5 February 2016 by Jack Griffin After training in Bermuda in May 2015, Artemis Racing decided not to use the space marked in red, but to build their main base at Morgan’s Point. Land Rover BAR and Groupama Team France will occupy the space marked in red and labelled “Artemis” in the photo . SoftBank Team Japan will take over Oracle’s second space, just to the right of the ship in the photo.

America’s Cup defender Oracle Team USA will be the first team to set up operations at Dockyard in Bermuda. Construction of their base is under way. The team’s shipment from San Francisco arrived in the first week of April and included their foiling AC45x development boat.

americas-cup-venue-bermuda-satellite-compressed — AMERICA’S CUP VILLAGE WILL BE BUILT ON LANDFILL IN DOCKYARD’S SOUTH BASIN

americas-cup-village-bermuda-rendering-compressed — AMERICA’S CUP VILLAGE AT DOCKYARD IN BERMUDA

americas-cup-oracle-base-bermuda-rendering-compressed — AMERICA’S CUP DEFENDER ORACLE’S BASE AT DOCKYARD

americas-cup-oracle-construction-bermuda-compressed — CONSTRUCTION UNDERWAY AT AMERICA’S CUP VILLAGE IN BERMUDA

April 12, 2015 By Jack Griffin

America’s Cup Squabbles and Deadlines

In an America’s Cup Challenger Commission meeting on 31 March 2015, four of six teams voted to dump the AC62 for a smaller boat. Two days later Luna Rossa became the second Challenger of Record to withdraw from the 35th America’s Cup. This is the third time Golden Gate Yacht Club has had a Challenger of Record fold – remember that Mascalzone Latino pulled out of the 34th America’s Cup. ACEA pulled the America’s Cup Qualifiers from Auckland and Team New Zealand protested to the non-existant Arbitration Panel.

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America’s Cup – Current Situation

Where do things stand in the build up to the 35th America’s Cup?

The AC62, announced last June, has been dropped and replaced by a 48 foot foiling wing sail catamaran called the “America’s Cup Class” (an unfortunate choice of name, since, confusingly, that was the name of the monohull class used from 1992 to 2007).
Luna Rossa has withdrawn from the America’s Cup, angrily stating that the class of boat cannot be changed at such a late date.
The Cagliari America’s Cup World Series, scheduled for June 2015, has been cancelled. The America’s Cup World Series was to have six to eight events in each of 2015 and 2016, now down to three in 2015: Portsmouth, Gothenburg and Bermuda. Only one has been confirmed for 2016: Portsmouth.
Team New Zealand has protested to the not-yet-appointed Arbitration Panel over loss of the America’s Cup Qualifiers event in Auckland. In compliance with the Protocol, ACEA had notified the teams on 15 February that the qualifiers would be held in Auckland. The Competitors Commission then retroactively changed the Protocol on March 31, changing the date for announcing the venue for the America’s Cup Qualifiers to April 15.
Team France has stated that Oracle Team USA will share their design with the French team.
Oracle Team USA has stated that they will sell a design package to any team that wants to buy it.

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35th America’s Cup Deadlines – Past, Present and Future

Imminent Deadlines

15 April 2015: Venue, dates and format of America’s Cup Qualifiers.
1 May 2015: $1 million performance bond plus $900K third installment of entry fee.
31 May 2015: Finalized version of America’s Cup Class Rule for the 48 foot catamarans.

Note that the date for first launch of America’s Cup Class race yachts will be 150 days before the first race in the America’s Cup Qualifiers.

Future Deadline

15 August 2015: Venues and dates of America’s Cup World Series in 2016.

Missed Deadlines

1 November 2014: Racing rules published.
31 December 2014: Dates of America’s Cup Match
31 December 2014: Announce host cities and venues for Youth America’s Cup.
15 February 2015: Dates of America’s Cup Challenger Playoffs.
15 February 2015: Announce course areas for America’s Cup Challenger Playoffs and America’s Cup Match.

April 7, 2015 By Jack Griffin

Team France Will Get Oracle’s Design for America’s Cup Yacht

AC45+hull+5+Team+France+725-compressed — TEAM FRANCE WILL SAIL AN AC45 FROM ORACLE TEAM USA IN THE AMERICA’S CUP WORLD SERIES, AND NOW THEY WILL GET OTUSA’S DESIGN FOR THE 48′ AMERICA’S CUP CLASS.

Clarification, 8 April 2015, from Oracle:
“Oracle Team USA is planning to make a design package available to any team that wants it. Details are being worked out. It isn’t yet advanced enough to say whether Team France or anyone else will take it.”

Comment from your editor, Jack Griffin: It looks like there was a misunderstanding between Team France and OTUSA.

Oracle Team USA will provide their America’s Cup Class yacht design to Team France and will collaborate with the French challenge. Interviewed by Patrick Roger on French radio Europe 1 on Monday 6 April 2015, Team France leader Franck Cammas said, “Oracle has decided to share their design and to collaborate with Team France.”

But he also said they have not yet found their funding. He estimates the budget at € 7 million per year – a reasonable amount in the eyes of French sponsors for sailing.

On the other hand, at the beginning of the interview, he says he is at the base of “Groupama Team France” and refers to Groupama as his long time sponsor.

“We’ll be sure to have the best boat, if we compete.”
— Franck Cammas

Franck Cammas on the America’s Cup – interview excerpts

Listen to entire interview (in French) below.

Patrick Roger: “…sur la recherche de financement, vous avez réussi ou pas? Combien d’argent manque-t-il encore?”

Franck Cammas: “On n’a pas réussi. On vous dira tout de suite quand on aura réussi. On est en train de faire cette nouvelle propositiion avec ces nouvelles données.”

PR: “C’est quoi la fourchette, pour qu’on comprenne bien ? Est-ce-que ça coûte vraiment très cher de se lancer dans cette aventure ou pas ? C’est quel budget à peu près ?”

FC: “Aujourd’hui c’est sept million par an pour faire la Coupe de l’America et pour être en position de la gagner. En plus, on a une bonne nouvelle, c’est que les américains d’Oracle ont décidé de partager leur plan et de collaborer avec Team France et donc ça nous fait gagner énormément de temps, on aura la certitude d’avoir le meilleure bateau sur l’eau aussi, si on part. Donc, on gagne du temps et on gagne aussi je pense une certaine crédibilité technique avec cet avantage.”

“Sept millions par an c’est vraiment une norme – on est un peu au milieu entre faire le tour du monde en équipage ou le Vendée Globe. C’est quelque chose que les sponsors français qui se sont attaqué à notre sport et à la voile connaissent bien. On n’est pas hors norme comme l’était la Coupe de l’America il y’a quelques années.”

Patrick Roger: “… about funding – have you succeeded in finding the money or not? How much do you still need?”

Franck Cammas: (laughs) “No, we haven’t succeeded. We’ll tell you right away when we have! We’re in the process of making our new proposal with the new information.”

PR: “What’s the range? So we can really understand – is it really expensive to dive into this adventure? What’s the budget, approximately?”

FC: “These days, it’s €7 million per year to be in the America’s Cup with a chance to win. And, we have some very good news: the Americans, Oracle, have decided to share their design and to collaborate with Team France. So that lets us make up a lot of time and we’ll be sure to have the best boat, if we compete. So that will let us make up a lot of time and give us a certain level of technical credibility.”

“Seven million per year is truly a benchmark – it’s about in the middle between a fully crewed round the world race and the Vendée Globe. It’s a level that French sponsors of sailing know well. We’re not out of line, like the America’s Cup was a few years ago.”

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Franck Cammas Interview

Listen to the full interview.

More about Team France in the America’s Cup

April 3, 2015 By Jack Griffin

Luna Rossa Drops Out of America’s Cup Over Boat Size Change

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Team owner Patrizio Bertelli withdrew his challenge for the America’s Cup when he was out voted on a decision to change the size of boat that will be raced. The AC62 was dropped in favor of a new 48 foot long “America’s Cup Class” foiling wing sail catamaran with a crew of six.

Luna Rossa and Emirates Team New Zealand voted against the change, but were on the losing side of the vote, with challengers Artemis Racing, Ben Ainslie Racing and Team France all voting for the change, which was proposed by defender Oracle Team USA. Ironically, Luna Rossa would have been able to veto the change had they kept their role as Challenger of Record, replacing Team Australia, who withdrew in July 2014. Instead, at Luna Rossa’s suggestion, a Challenger Committee was formed, operating on a simple majority for changes to the Protocol.

exc-55222ec1e4b02bbbd567c605 — PATRIZIO BERTELLI – FIVE TIME AMERICA’S CUP CHALLENGER. PHOTO: RICHARD GLADWELL

Bertelli had harsh words in his press release about the change, calling it “illegitimate… an evident abuse of process by surreptitious use of procedures.” The other teams had equally harsh words for Bertelli in a joint statement: “Regrettably, abiding by the results of the majority vote appears to be something neither they, nor Team New Zealand, are (sic) willing to do… unless they are part of the majority.”

Although Bertelli declared that Luna Rossa “will honor all of its contractual obligations” to team members and others, this is clearly a blow to the team.

“I have spent the last 16 months with an amazing group of people, working our asses off. Absolutely gutted we won’t get to show the world. @DraperChris”

This is a sad end to a team with a fifteen year history in the America’s Cup, winning the Louis Vuitton Cup in 2000 before falling to Team New Zealand in the America’s Cup Match. Bertelli was inducted into the America’s Cup Hall of Fame in 2012, and like co-Hall of Fame member Sir Thomas Lipton, he challenged five times, never winning.

April 2, 2015 By Jack Griffin

America’s Cup Qualifiers in Bermuda?

exc-552176a4e4b07d5916cd18f9 — AMERICA’S CUP COMMERCIAL COMMISSIONER HARVEY SCHILLER

America’s Cup Commercial Commissioner Harvey Schiller informed Emirates Team New Zealand that the round robin phase of challenger selection – the America’s Cup Qualifiers – would not be awarded to Auckland. ETNZ boss Grant Dalton said in interviews that ACEA had previously accepted ETNZ’s bid to hold the AC Qualifiers in Auckland, and that all teams had been informed on 15 February 2015, the deadline for the announcement set in the Protocol. Schiller was quoted by Bernie Wilson of The Associated Press that the biggest reason for pulling the event from Auckland was Team New Zealand “bouncing back and forth on support” for changing the class of boats from AC62 catamarans to a new, 48 foot America’s Cup Class.

Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton — TEAM NEW ZEALAND BOSS GRANT DALTON

Last Tuesday, 31 March 2015, the Challenger Committee voted 3-2 to approve changes to the Protocol to move to the new class of boat, and to change the date for announcing the venue of the America’s Cup Qualifiers. The deadline is now set for 15 April 2015. ETNZ has protested to the not-yet-appointed Arbitration Panel, claiming they have a signed acceptance of their bid, subject to the Host Venue Agreement, terms of which Dalton claims were agreed. But… apparently it was not signed.

While these changes came at the same time, the decision process is different for each:

changing the class of boat to be raced is done by changing the Protocol. This requires approval by the defender and a simple majority of the challengers. Note that changes to the class rule for the boats would require the unanimous consent of all competitors. But this is not a change to the class rule, it is a change to the Protocol.
ACEA selects the venue of the America’s Cup Qualifiers and need only consult with the challengers. The only thing the Challenger Committee voted on last week was changing the Protocol to change the date of the announcement from 15 February to 15 April 2015.

Holding the America’s Cup Qualifiers in Bermuda would dramatically simplify things for the competitors and dramatically reduce costs:

the new race boats may not be launched until 150 days before the first race of the AC Qualifiers, and teams will want all 150 days for test, development and crew training. This means they will launch their boats at the site of the AC Qualifiers. If the qualifiers were held in Auckland, teams would need a base there to assemble and launch, and another base in Bermuda for the America’s Cup Challenger Playoffs and the America’s Cup Match.
if the AC Qualifiers were in Auckland, the four top challengers would lose about a month of race preparation while their boats were shipped to Bermuda. During this time OTUSA would be permitted to train with their second boat in Bermuda. (OTUSA is permitted to build two boats; each challenger may only build one.)

Tripling Bermuda’s ROI on the America’s Cup?

Bermuda’s Great Sound – America’s Cup race area-compressed — BERMUDA’S GREAT SOUND – AMERICA’S CUP RACE AREA

Holding the America’s Cup Qualifiers in Bermuda would also dramatically improve Bermuda’s return on investment as host venue of the America’s Cup, tripling the time teams would spend there. The teams would arrive in Bermuda in Summer 2016 and launch their America’s Cup Class race boats there in September 2016. They would train in Bermuda before the AC Qualifiers. Then they would continue sailing there through the America’s Cup Challenger Playoffs in May 2017 and the America’s Cup Match in June 2017. If the America’s Cup Qualifiers were held in Auckland, the teams would not arrive in Bermuda until March 2017, and spend less than four months, through mid-June 2017.

Yes, the America’s Cup format is complex!

Read here “How to Win” and I’ll explain how it works.