Sailing crew, designers and technicians checked systems in preparation for the resumption tomorrow of the on-the-water build-up for the start of the Louis Vuitton Cup in the first week of July.

Today the breeze was light – from five to 15 knots. The AC72 was on the Bay for two hours. Tomorrow’s forecast is for light breeze in the morning, building to 16-20 knots in the afternoon.

Luna Rossa and Oracle also sailed today.

Emirates Team New Zealand sail their AC72 for the first time. San Francisco, 23 May 2013. Photo copyright Chris Cameron / Emirates Team New Zealand

Hitting the water today – May 23 in San Francisco – was a target set three months ago.

Back at the base, Grant Dalton said: “A great day, no issues at all. The guys know their jobs, the systems work and even though we have made significant changes since Auckland, we always expected the boat to pop put of the box.

“It was perfect. Oracle was out there; Luna Rossa was out there. The boys got straight into it – foiling across the face of the Golden Gate Bridge -something we have had in mind for a couple of years.

“So now we get into it properly tomorrow.”

Skipper Dean Barker was also pleased with the first day. “It was good to get out there and get a feel for the Bay. There was not much breeze by San Francisco standards, but enough on the first day.

“We have made a lot of changes to the boat since Auckland. Everything will be checked overnight and we will be back on the water tomorrow.”

He said the shore crew and logistics people had done a remarkable job moving the base from Auckland to San Francisco in a compressed time frame. “Now we can think about going racing.”

Quantum Racing countered by winning the second race with Azzurra third to leave the top duo on equal points going into Race 3. The team which races under the flag of the Yacht Club Smeralda then executed another great pin end start, a near facsimile of their Race 1 opening, and were well clear of second placed Quantum Racing by the finish line.

The differences between the leading two boats were small across the day. Quantum Racing’s strategy in Race 1 did not work as planned and they rounded each mark in sixth but staged a valuable recovery on the final run, using the building breeze to good effect, to just steal a useful third on final approach to the finish line. After that they looked increasingly strong.

Azzurra are leading by just one point. Barcelona, 23 May 2013. Photo copyright Xaume Olleros / 52 Super Series

Ed Baird, skipper-helm of Quantum Racing recalled:

“ We made an assumption about the first race and stuck to our plan but the plan didn’t quite work out but we were fortunate at the end of that race that the breeze came up from behind and we were able to get into some good situations and we were able to get third. We rounded sixth in most of the mark roundings so we were lucky there.”

Well executed starts at the pin end of the start line twice were the foundations for Azzurra to build on. The number of sails allowed over the season is limited. With their programme foregoing new sails in the USA in order to bring on line a new inventory for the European season Azzurra were notably quick in key situations:

“ The reality is that we didn’t use new sails for Miami. We suffered a little for that. We decided to keep all our new buttons (each counted sail has a registered button) for European season. So we have an all new fresh inventory here. We are going a little quicker and so can hang in there when we get in some tough positions.”

Guillermo Parada, Azzurra’s skipper explained.

For Quantum Racing Terry Hutchinson and Jordi Calafat combined neatly on the first run of the final race, more readily identifying a big change in the late afternoon breeze which allowed them to pass Rán Racing and Interlodge to gain that second place.

Niklas Zennstrom’s world champions Rán Racing finish the first day of racing in third place overall counting a 2,4,3, a consistent scoreline given that conditions may have looked good but there was always something happening to challenge the tacticians.

Adrian Stead, Rán Racing’s tactician confirmed that he felt they could have been one or two points better for the day and that now need to be going out punching tomorrow to win races.

Good starts and first windward legs were vital. Austin Fragomen’s Interlodge – with John Cutler calling tactics – held on to second all the way around Race 2 and in Race 3 Ergin Imre’s team on Provezza scored a good fourth place which keeps them in touch with Interlodge which lie fourth overall.

Azzurra are leading by just one point. Barcelona, 23 May 2013. Photo copyright Xaume Olleros / 52 Super Series

Ed Baird (USA) skipper-helm Quantum Racing (USA):

“It was a pretty interesting day there was a lot going on, especially towards the end of the day with some major windshifts but we made it through with a pretty reasonable scoreline.”

“ We made an assumption about the first race and stuck to our plan but the plan didn’t quite work out but we were fortunate at the end of that race that the breeze came up from behind and we were able to get into some good situations and we were able to get third. We rounded sixth in most of the mark roundings so we were lucky there.”

“ The new guys are all great but that’s part of the mission is to figure out the communication between each other and make sure we are doing the right things that each other are expecting of what has to happen around the race course, and understanding that language. It’s all English but everybody says it a bit differently!”

“ Azzurra had a good day but we are very happy to be in the hunt and looking for our opportunities.”

Azzurra are leading by just one point. Barcelona, 23 May 2013. Photo copyright Xaume Olleros / 52 Super Series

Guillermo Parada (ARG) skipper-helm Azzurra (ITA):

“ It’s a good start if you look at the scoreboard its shows that the fleet is still pretty much together still. Its good to start on the right foot, we had two very good races, two clean ones but in the other one we were in the middle of the fleet but we hung in there and we were able to recover one position in the last run which was very good. I think that was the most important part of the day. It is a lot easier when you are in front but when you are not so good you have to be tough.”

“ I am very happy with the boat, the crew, the tactics, everything went very good so a good day for us.”

“ It is a difficult venue because many times you are looking at the right but the starts were a little bit on the left and so in order to get that advantage to get the bias of the line you need to make it perfect, to take all the bias that you can and then hope that when the right comes you have enough of a lead to hang on to the lead. We were lucky that there was not a big fight for the pin and Tomislav did a very good job on the starts, getting the starts that Vasco was after.”

“ The reality is that we didn’t use new sails for Miami. We suffered a little for that. We decided to keep all our new buttons for European season. So we have an all new fresh inventory here. We are going a little quicker and so can hang in there when we get in some tough positions.”

Conde de Godo Trophy, Barcelona after 3 races
1- Azzurra (ITA), (1-3-1) 5 points
2- Quantum Racing (USA), (3-1-2) 6 points
3- Rán Racing (SWE), (2-4-3) 9 points
4- Interlodge (USA) (4-2-6) 12 points
5- Provezza (TUR) (5-5-4) 14 points
6- Rio (USA) (7-6-6) 18 points
7- Gladiator (GBR) (6-7-7) 20 points

Many of the recommendations are intended to increase the personal safety of the sailors and they include buoyancy aids, body armor, crew locator devices, hands-free breathing apparatus and high visibility helmets. Other recommendations are specific to the AC72 yachts, additional support equipment and race management.

Regatta Director Iain Murray presented his “2013 America’s Cup Regatta Director Recommendations” at a meeting with the four competing teams and the America’s Cup Event Authority on Wednesday afternoon in San Francisco.

For reasons of insurance and liability, the Review Committee stopped short of making its own recommendations. Regatta Director Iain Murray has formulated the specific safety recommendations.

These additional recommendations have been incorporated into the safety plan produced by the America’s Cup, which was forwarded to the U.S. Coast Guard today.

“Producing and implementing the safety plan is within the scope of the America’s Cup, as the sponsoring organization for this summer’s racing,” said Stephen Barclay, the CEO of the America’s Cup. “This America’s Cup safety plan is a necessary component of the permit application submitted to the Coast Guard for their consideration.”

The Regatta Director will now form a number of task forces to bring in experts to define additional technical recommendations for specific safety items such as protective gear for sailors.

Since its first meeting on May 16, the Review Committee has worked diligently interviewing 25 team members including team heads, skippers, designers, engineers, sailors and support boat operators.

“All four competing America’s Cup teams have cooperated in an open, helpful and constructive way,” Murray said, “and the Review Committee noted there is a clear desire on the part of the teams to ensure the safety of the America’s Cup as much as possible.”

“I want to thank the members of the Review Committee for their exceptional and efficient work,” Murray concluded.

Iain Murray, America’s Cup Race Management CEO, addresses the media. San Francisco, 10 May 2013. Photo copyright Guilain Grenier / America’s Cup

Regarding the accident on San Francisco Bay, Artemis Racing is still in the process of conducting its own internal review. I understand that frustration exists out there because questions remain about the accident. It was, however, a complex event. We want to give it the time, respect and professionalism it deserves, so we thank everyone for their continued patience during this process.

That they chose to bypass the finish line, passing half a metre outside of it, bowed to the prevailing superstitions of the perhaps more vociferous Latinos on board, believing it is unlucky to win the practice race.

But, after having established a decent lead by the first windward mark, the champions were not challenged again.

Quantum Racing were second all the way around the course, gliding across the line to accept the first gun. With their brand new afterguard line up, Terry Hutchinson as tactician and 1992 Olympic gold medallist and America’s Cup winner Jordi Calafat as strategist, they proved that they are not short of pace in the 10-12 knots breeze, but they might still need just a little more time together to finesse their starting.

Azzurra, with skipper-helm Guille Parada (ARG) steering, may have made the early jump in the practice race but it was evident that racing between the seven 52’s will be very close. There was very little separating the fleet at the first turn and it is clear that even those who have just joined the circuit recently have the potential to win races.

The fleet has grown in size since this time last year and while it is still the circuit and class of choice for some of the very top names in world sailing, so too there are more amateur, Corinthian sailors enjoying their racing here than for many years.

Those returning stars with an America’s Cup history include Dee Smith (USA) who sails as tactician on Manouch Moshayedi’s Rio (USA), John Cutler (NZL) previously tactician with Spain’s Desafio is tactician on Austin and Gwen Fragomen’s Interlodge (USA).

And on Quantum Racing Terry Hutchinson, new tactician, finds himself as the only former Team New Zealand sailor among an afterguard which is otherwise all derived from Alinghi, the team which eclipsed him and his ETNZ contemporaries to win the 32nd America’s Cup.

Hutchinson fits into the all star ex Alinghi posse including skipper-helm Baird, navigator Juan Vila also now Jordi Calafat as strategist, and admits that he is taking some preliminary ribbing from the former Alinghi sailors.

While the sport’s big names are still visibly loving their racing with the flourishing 52’s so too in the fleet there are a big number of hard working ‘amateur’ sailors – that is to say those who do not derive their main income from racing sailboats. Tony Langley, owner-skipper-helm of Gladiator (GBR) still enjoys having a couple of good sailing friends sail with his crew. And on Rio, as well as on Ergin Imre’s Turkish flagged Provezza, which is steered by double Olympic silver medallist Nick Rogers (GBR) with Tony Rey (USA) as tactician, both crews are composed of somewhere around 50-55 percent of ‘amateur’ sailors.

While the smart money is probably still riding on Azzurra, on Niklas Zennström’s Rán Racing, the recently crowned world champions, or on Quantum Racing to win overall across the four regatta 52 SUPER SERIES in Europe, today’s evidence showed again that all have the potential to win races, and in time perhaps regattas.

Barcelona, and the Conde de Godo regatta in particular, opens the European season with a particular challenge. The early season Garbi sea-breeze can be erratic, the winds are seldom well mixed and settled and the influence of the nearby cityscape and interesting topography can all come into play and the tacticians and afterguards be well tested.

Quotes:

Terry Hutchinson (USA), tactician Quantum Racing (USA): “ It feels great to be back. It’s such a different world to what we have been involved in for the last couple of years, but the competition is as good as ever so its a pleasure to be back and take it all on. Now, having been racing around in the 7 knot range for the last couple of months, where things happen a lot slower, racing in the 14 knot range you have to be very methodical about where you want to be and how you get there. Whereas in the multi-hull you are 2-3 knots faster and all of a sudden you get to a spot a lot quicker”

On fitting back into the team:
“ It’s a bit of mixing Team New Zealand with the Alinghi mafia! so every so often ‘ribbing’ takes place! Jordi spends some time up the rig and its simply a matter of gathering the infomation. Then about 7-8 minutes before the start we decide what we want to do in the race and decide the plan. Jordi’s looking up the race course looking where the boat needs to be whilst I am more the ‘boat on boat’ man and Juan helps get the boat off the start line quickly and will help with the lay-lines. At the moment we are stepping on each others toes a bit but we are evolving and I am quite confident we will get there.”

Vasco Vascotto (ITA) tactician Azzurra (ITA): “ I hope that we will do better here than the last two years. Today we did quite well and we hope that this is only the start of a good week for us. Obviously there are always some problems with a southerly here, you are expecting the local Barcelona breeze the ‘Garbi’ to blow in and it arrives and then just as suddenly, it disappers. All the boats this year have improved, Quantum already had an amazing campaign in the winter (in the USA 52 Super Series), they are already a fantastic team and now Terry is back so potentially they are very strong. We are the opposite, we have the same team so we are looking forward to a great friendship and competition here.”

Jules Salter (GBR) navigator Rán Racing (SWE): “The seebreeze is quite intense here. It shifts a bit, its quite different each day. We are still learning, Miami was very good but we need to maintain that performance here and we have to start again. There are some new boats here and everone is stepping up a gear. For the overall series you just need to take it race by race. We have a couple of new sails but all the same team.”

VSail.info: Russell Coutts and Stephen Barclay have recently talked about the prospect of the America’s Cup World Series becoming a fully-fledged annual circuit, even after this America’s Cup cycle. Do you see that as a direct competitor to the Extreme Sailing Series?
Mark Turner: You can’t imagine how many times I have been asked this question in the last three years. I genuinely think, and this is no PR thing, they are very complimentary. Without question, in the last three years they have been complimentary. The two things together have grown the sailing world, they have grown the number of people watching sailing, in different ways. The have grown the number of cities interested in hosting sailing events, they have grown the number of sponsors being aware of the sport and being aware of the most exciting form of the sport, from a non-sailor’s perspective. Has there been any real conflict? I cannot identify a single team, venue or sponsor issue which has been negative. I am not saying say it couldn’t happen but we have cities that talk to us because they looked at the Cup and couldn’t afford it or didn’t have the physical space or any other issue.

The America’s Cup definitely talked to places we talked to in the past and introduced to sailing and it was interesting for them to go forward or didn’t work very well for us any more or we have done our time there. There are teams we managed to keep alive for a bit longer because they couldn’t carry on in the Cup. There were teams such as Luna Rossa that ultimately are in the Cup after doing a year of Extreme Sailing Series. Of course you take a negative view and say they are taking the same audience but our audiences have to been 100 times bigger than our sailing world and the world is 1,000 bigger than the number of people that watch sailing. We still have so much to do to develop it. There is so much potential. We do an event in Singapore on a space of water where I think you can’t run an ACWS event, from a sporting perspective.

VSail.info: In what regards the Singapore event, I wasn’t myself present personally, but from the aerial photos published on your website the number of spectators seemed to be very small, even on a Saturday afternoon. Am I wrong?
Mark Turner: Singapore is a tough place without having a lot of money to spend. It is a tough place to get it going and it was the first time we did it in the city, right in the center of the city and we started late. We weren’t disappointed, we’d love to have more people and in the last day, we had people come and there was no wind. It wasn’t the most exciting kind of sailing to watch, there is no point pretending otherwise, but still, people came in and stayed, two or three races. they still stayed there and that was pretty encouraging. We didn’t do a lot of promotion either.

At the end of the day, how many public do you want in a place? It’s amazing if we could have crowds like Porto everywhere, 75-80 thousand people all around. That would be amazing. The fact is that every country is culturally different, there is competition for people’s time and we have to decide in each venue how much we are going to spend on the public side, the media side or the VIP side. There are lots of different aspects. Singapore is the most expensive venue for us by a long way, three times more expensive to run an event than Porto, and as a result, you can’t do everything. We had great hospitality, a great VIP event, very good media coverage with live TV in Singapore that was picked up in Oman. It was the very first time live TV in more than one country which for the small amount of budget we have is a good result. We don’t have the money to buy TV coverage in the US… It takes a bit longer to get there. So, we have to do things step by step.

The Land Rover Extreme 40 boat had her maiden sail in Qingdao. Photo copyright Lloyd Images

VSail.info: The America’s Cup is selling tickets in San Francisco. Is this something you look into for your circuit? Do you think that longer term ticket-paying could be become the rule rather than the exception in sailing?
Mark Turner: I think it’s interesting to see they are doing it. I think it’s good to see they have done it. It’s a good test and I have been surprised by how successful it has been. We looked at it for our events last year, something similar to the Premium Economy airline levels, which is what the Cup is doing ultimately. You give someone an extra opportunity and you can still go and not have a ticket. I think sailing will always have to be like that, I can’t see anything other than the Olympics and even there it’s impossible to close down and ticket everything. Ultimately, we are already selling tickets in the form of hospitality.

VSail.info: But that would be the airline Business Class.
Mark Turner: Exactly and for sure there is an opportunity for Premium Economy although we don’t have the room, cost-wise, to try and test it with big grandstands but I think that at some stage we will be able to afford it. We actually own grandstands, or bleaches as they call it in the US, but to ship it around the world is 100 thousand euros for the entire year. It’s not that much money and at the end of the day it could pay itself with tickets. However, there are many risks you have to take and you have to choose which ones you take and 100 thousand euro risk on grandstands isn’t the right thing to spend it. But we have it, we own it and we will probably put it in the UK event and maybe do that with a Premium Economy type, with a ticket, a cap, a magazine and a drink. It’s interesting what the Cup is doing and we work with Nespresso, looking into what they are going to do in San Francisco. They will do some nice things and there are good things for us as well to learn. It is good the Cup is able to take some of those risks we are not able to do. They can afford to make mistakes more easily than we do.

To come back to your question whether the America’s Cup World Series is a competitor of ours if ti comes back with a full-year program for sure it will add more options for people, teams, sponsors or cities but I’m absolutely sure that the overall size will be bigger. Undoubtedly, there are places where everybody wants to do an event but as long as there is differentiation in the product there will be no problem. I think that there always be differentiation because the ACWS cannot exist without the the America’s Cup, it doesn’t work. Once you have the America’s Cup brand, the expectation level, what you have to deliver is of a size, cost and quality that once you get there you basically have a budget that is two, five or ten times bigger than the Extreme Sailing Series. Even twice, when we talk about commercial sponsors is a lot so there are a whole lot other companies that can get in the Extreme Sailing Series at an event or team level and a whole lot other companies that will actually only do the America’s Cup. There are brands that will never do anything other than the biggest and the most expensive and in the middle there are companies that could do either.

China is, obviously, a very important market for both land Rover and the Extreme Sailing Series. Photo copyright Lloyd Images

VSail.info: Let’s talk about the teams in your circuit. Will there be more in the near future?
Mark Turner: We don’t want more teams, eight teams is a really good number for us, eight plus the wild cards we have. I think that in Istanbul there will be nine or ten teams and in Cardiff ten teams because of the extra home-nation team. The problem is that when you aim at eight, like Knut Frostad at the Volvo Ocean Race, it’s not a big variation, just two boats, to get to just six. It’s quite challenging from that point of view. In the last three years we have had between four and six teams doing three-four years at least, and that’s a really good starting point. The best for us is that when a change happens, a team leaves and a new one enters, is that we increase the number of global premium brands, the SAP’s and Land Rovers of the world. That would be the only evolution we are looking for wile maintaining the sporting level. That’s a fundamental issue, we need very good sailors, wanting and fighting to win something that is worth winning.

I think we have that today and we haven’t lost it an any point. Sailors come and to, other events pull sailors to other places but there are lots of good sailors and lots of people that want to be in our event. There aren’t many places for professional sailors to make a name and their own project at an amount of money which sailors themselves go and find. there are very few options and I think we have quite a unique place in that aspect. There aren’t many project a sailor can use to do that.

If we increase the number of boats we can’t sail in a stadium and the most important thing in the whole concept is the stadium. When we sail in a place like Singapore we couldn’t do it with 12 boats if it’s windy. It would be impossible to do it with 12 boats and 15 knots of wind. We had the start line 300 meters from the shore and for us proximity is fundamental. It’s a big differentiation between ourselves and the Cup for a good reason. They both do what they need to do. Take for example Naples. Our event would have been pretty different. We do eight races a day, they last 15 minutes each and we would probably go no more than 300 meters from the beach. It’s different. The Cup comes with different politics, different restrictions, less flexibility. It’s all part of its nature. For the Cup, TV is now the priority while for the Extreme Sailing Series it isn’t. We don’t have the brand of the Cup, we don’t have their budget, so you can’t compare the events.

VSail.info: My final question concerns the boats you use in the circuit, the Extreme 40′s. Is there any thought of changing the boats? The IMOCA’s have announced changes, the Volvo Ocean Race is even more radical, are you considering making any changes?
Mark Turner: We look at it all the time, we need to look at it all the time. If there were a magical solution that would allow you to change boats without losing teams or investments you would probably do it. Actually, when we write the list of things we would like to change, it’s not very long and the boat is doing a really good job today. You can repair it easily, you can build it quickly, you can take it apart quickly, you can fit two in one container and reduce the shipping costs. The boat needs a relatively small support team, it works in 4 knots of wind, it works in 30 knots of wind, it works in sea waves, it works in flat water, it’s a pretty good boat.

It’s a ten-year old boat and like all things, you have thing ahead and change it at the right time. However, you have to make sure that when you change it you don’t kill what you already have. It’s a difficult balance between the two things and we aren’t desperate to change boats. When you look at many new boats you might think that some people would rather a 2014 design instead of a 2004 design but actually, the people that pay, the people that come to the events don’t know the difference. They don’t really know the difference. They barely know the difference between a monohull and a multihull.

If we were to add a capital expenditure of between 6 and 10 million euros required to change the boats that amount of cash needs to come from somewhere. In our scale of event, this is a huge amount of money and we are going to lose teams down the road. Some teams, most of the teams, are ran on a very tight budget and they would suddenly need an additional 600-800 thousand euros for a capital expenditure that isn’t going to bring more sponsorship deals. It’s not going to generate any extra revenue.

That is the stark, keynote objective for the coming months, as stated by Ed Reynolds (USA) director of the Quantum Racing 52 programme, and as the American flagged team complete their final days of training off Barcelona this week in preparation for Thursday’s start to the Trofeo de Vela Conde de Godo, it is clear the highly motivated crew are ready to rise to this challenge.

Two significant changes bolster the team line up. Terry Hutchinson (USA), who skippered Quantum Racing to win the MedCup title in 2008 and lead the crew through until 2011, returns to the line up, this time in the role of tactician.

He will be joined by 1992 Barcelona Olympic gold medallist and America’s Cup winner Jordi Calafat (ESP) who sails as Quantum Racing’s strategist.

Even as experienced and honoured as they both are, integrating the two new afterguard members has been one of the primary goals of the pre-regatta training period. Although of course Baird (USA) and Calafat sailed together as America’s Cup winners with Alinghi, Hutchinson and Baird are new to each other and so have been putting in some racing hours to optimise their partnership.

In mid April Baird and Hutchinson sailed together at the Congressional Cup off Long Beach finishing second. In fact that was Ed Baird’s first monohull match racing event since July 3rd 2007 when he drove Alinghi to win the 32rd America’s Cup against Emirates Team New Zealand on which Hutchinson was tactician.

Quantum Racing will aim at winning the European 52 Super Series in 2013

“This is going to be really fun to be back with the guys on Quantum Racing,” Hutchinson smiles, “I was a little bit involved at the end of the World Championships in Miami when I watched them racing there. There are some very high quality teams as we saw there, like Azzurra and Rán Racing as examples which for the most part have shown they are capable of winning, and so I cannot wait to get out there and get racing in the fleet again.”

“I am looking to just help along the great work that Ed Baird has been doing. We jump started things by doing the Congressional Cup together and that was really good. We were mainly looking at developing our communications, getting to know how Ed likes things to be communicated as things unfold. My impression is that he is very comfortable with the boat and the way things are going, but the biggest challenge will be integrating us into the sailing team. The new appendages on the boat seemed to be working and for us it will be about not upsetting the applecart. This is a great team with a good track record and my role is to help and support where I can, maybe making sure eyes are guided where they should be if I see particular things I think can help.”

“I have the impression from Miami that Ed drives the boat very well, keeping it fast all the time. That may sound simplistic but it is very easy to get bogged down from time to time in this fleet. We worked on our communication and I understand more clearly what he wants, narrowing down 10 or 12 words to two or three words, short quick conversations is the big thing for us.”

Although Quantum Racing have not won a 52 regatta since Sardinia last year, Hutchinson says he does not feel any additional pressure coming back into the team to find a win.

“I always want to win, I always crack the whip to win and want no more or less. The thing that stood out for me in Miami was that at certain times the boat could sail out of bad situations. It looked like the boat is going really well.”

Meanwhile team director Ed Reynolds is delighted with the strength of the afterguard that they have for the four European regattas of the 52 SUPER SERIES :

“I just could not be more excited, I am thrilled with the team we have. There were some conflicts which necessitated changes and so we took advantage of the opportunities to do so. Terry, Ed Baird and Jordi as an afterguard should be fantastic. Jordi grew up in Palma, sailed to a gold medal here in Barcelona and probably has sailed as much as anyone in the fleet has in Ibiza so I am sure he will bring a lot of local knowledge input.” Said Reynolds,

“We are very happy with the changes we made to the boat, boatspeed is just not an issue. After the last few events we feel we have eliminated some more variables, now I will be surprised if we are not going the right way most of the time. We don’t think we have to win regattas to win the 52 SUPER SERIES, but what we want is to show absolutely top level consistency. Now, with this fleet, you have to win races and that is a change and we have changed the mode of the boat to make more sure we can do that.”

Racing starts for the 52 SUPER SERIES in Barcelona from Thursday 23rd May and runs through to Sunday 26th.

This handed victory at Match Race Germany to British helm Ian Williams and his American/Australian crew of Mal Parker and Bill Hardesty, supplemented on this occasion by stand-ins Graham Spence and Willem Van Waay. Williams’ GAC Pindar crew won today’s single Finals match against Adam Minoprio and his all-Kiwi Team Alpari FX crew of Nick Blackman, Chris Main, Tom Powrie and David Swete; reigning Alpari World Match Racing Tour champion (Williams), up against the 2009 champion (Minoprio).

A little slow out of the blocks in the Semi Finals yesterday, Williams was 1-2 down against Johnie Berntsson’s Stena Sailing Team crew as proceedings came to a close last night. However the GAC Pindar crew fought back this morning to take the next two points, to gain their berth in the final.

In his Semi Final match Minoprio had less to do this morning, scoring a come-from-behind win against France’s experienced Mathieu Richard and his GEFCO Match Racing Team to take him through on a 3-1 scoreline.

Ian Williams starts the 2013 season with a victory! Langenargen, 20 May 2013. Photo copyright Brian Carlin / Alpari World Match Racing Tour

“We had a nice lead, maybe 8-10 boatlengths during the first run,” explained Richard after a long team de-brief. “But then we ran out of wind, and completely stopped while they had a little breeze coming from behind. Often in those conditions it is not too bad to be behind and they showed us that today as they were able to overtake us. It is very disappointing and a bit frustrating, but that is how it is.”

Otherwise the Frenchman, who heralds from La Baule on the Atlantic coast, was pleased with the performance of his GEFCO Match Racing Team in what is their first Tour event since St Moritz last year. Richard will be back for Korea Match Cup next week followed by Stena Match Cup Sweden at the beginning of July.

In this afternoon’s only Finals race, held once again in very light winds, Minoprio held up his hand, acknowledging that he had made a meal of the pre-start. “I forgot how long these boats take to gybe and I wasted a minute doing two gybes so we were late for the line. It was my mistake, I was kicking myself at the start of the race.”

From there all he could do was chase the GAC Pindar crew around the course, who in turn did an immaculate job of covering their Kiwi opponents.

Minoprio felt the Race Committee was correct to draw racing to a close prematurely and was gracious in defeat. “There is no wind at the moment,” he observed. “Ian sailed better than us in the one race we had and he won Qualifying – he deserves the win here. We sailed very poorly in that final race against him and we didn’t deserve it.”
However Minoprio reckoned it was a solid start to his come-back season. “Second is good points for the overall Championship and puts the pressure on everyone else.”

Williams was pleased with victory, a first in his lengthy match racing career at Match Race Germany, even if the last part of the event was curtailed. He felt he sailed the last race well.

“It was really light which meant manoeuvres were really costly. We did a nice job of keeping Adam down – he had to do a couple of gybes in the last minute before the start and that cost him a bit of speed which allowed us to be faster and closer to the line at start time. Then we did two less tacks on both beats and that is what allowed us to draw away by the finish.”

Ian Williams starts the 2013 season with a victory! Langenargen, 20 May 2013. Photo copyright Brian Carlin / Alpari World Match Racing Tour

Victory at Match Race Germany, makes for a solid start to Williams and the GAC Pindar team’s campaign to win the Alpari World Match Racing Tour for a record setting fifth time.

“I haven’t been here in Langenargen for a couple of years,” admitted Williams. “They put on a great show here. The conditions are often difficult, but I like the big boats, they are impressive. Plus there is a good crowd turn-out here and the event works well for the local economy, so long may it continue.”

James Pleasance, Executive Director of the Alpari World Match Racing Tour felt that the beginning of the 2013 season had gone well: “It has been a fantastic week for the first stage of the 2013 Alpari World Match Racing Tour, and a good shakedown event for all the teams. The boats here are bigger and heavier and the teams have really had to find their stride in the variable lake conditions. But a great win for Ian and GAC Pindar, and against a former Tour Champion in the final as well. This Tour season is going be very close indeed.”

FINAL RESULTS
Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar vs Adam Minoprio (NZL) Team Alpari FX 1-0

PETIT FINAL RESULTS
Mathieu Richard (FRA) GEFCO Match Racing Team vs Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Stena Sailing Team 1-0

FINAL SEMI FINAL RESULTS
Mathieu Richard (FRA) GEFCO Match Racing Team vs Adam Minoprio (NZL) Team Alpari FX 1-3
Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar v Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Stena Sailing Team 2-2

LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 1 – MATCH RACE GERMANY
1 Ian Williams (GBR) – Team GAC Pindar 25
2 Adam Minoprio (NZL) – Team Alpari FX 22
3 Mathieu Richard (FRA) – GEFCO Match Racing Team 19
4 Johnie Berntsson (SWE)- Stena Sailing Team 16
5 Taylor Canfield (ISV) – USone 14
6 Björn Hansen (SWE) – Mekonomen Sailing Team 12
7 Karol Jablonski (POL) – Jablonski Sailing Team 10
8 Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) – Vannes Agglo Sailing Team 8
9 Phil Robertson (NZL) – WAKA Racing 4
10 Keith Swinton (AUS) – Black Swan Racing 2
11 Philip Buhl (GER) – STG/NRV Youth Team 0
12 Sven Erick-Horsch (GER) – NRV Match Race Team 0

With an early morning roll out, Luna Rossa sailed in light winds (3 knots) that increased up to 12 and allowed the crew to carry out an extensive number of maneuvers.

The training session lasted about three hours.

Luna Rossa Challenge 2013 skipper Max Sirena declared: “The weather today was ideal for our first trial out on the water; from a technical standpoint it allowed us to test safety measures, loads and maneuvers. However the really significant aspect was psychological: it was important for the crew to resume sailing on the AC72 and to get back into its normal training mode to prepare for the upcoming races. In the next few days we will continue with our training and development program as scheduled.”

Luna Rossa sails its AC72 for the first time. San Francisco, 18 May 2013. Photo copyright Carlo Borlenghi / Luna Rossa

Luna Rossa sails its AC72 for the first time. San Francisco, 18 May 2013. Photo copyright Carlo Borlenghi / Luna Rossa

Luna Rossa sails its AC72 for the first time. San Francisco, 18 May 2013. Photo copyright Carlo Borlenghi / Luna Rossa

Luna Rossa sails its AC72 for the first time. San Francisco, 18 May 2013. Photo copyright Carlo Borlenghi / Luna Rossa

Luna Rossa sails its AC72 for the first time. San Francisco, 18 May 2013. Photo copyright Carlo Borlenghi / Luna Rossa

Fabio Pozzo: President, does anything need to be revised in the 34th America’s Cup after this terrible accident?
Patrizio Bertelli: Yes, it needs to be revised. We had told organizers in every way but they didn’t listen to us. To go on not listening now would be to persevere. We want specific assurances.

Fabio Pozzo: In what sense?
Patrizio Bertelli: There must be a formal commitment to change several things. We must have the conditions to race.

Fabio Pozzo: Otherwise?
Patrizio Bertelli: We will not participate. This will mean we will throw away money. Patience, this also happens in life. But it’s a matter of respect, of history. We do not need to do the Cup after all…

Luna Rossa’s shore crew prepares the team’s AC72 for her first sail on the San Francisco bay. Alameda, 15 May 2013. Photo copyright Spitfire Ltd

Fabio Pozzo: What do you mean by changes? Intervene on the boats? There is talk of installing airbags on the mastheads of the catamarans to dump the capsizes …
Patrizio Bertelli: No. Look, this thing about airbags is a stupidity. No, they wanted to make this sport no longer a race between sailboats but between high-tech industrial products, they wanted to make the America’s Cup an extreme sport and now we need to implement all the conditions and devices that are proper to the extreme sports. Like Formula 1 and Moto GP. Conditions on the race course in San Francisco need to be revised now: wind limits, tide, current, time schedules, periods. We need to equip it with divers, first-aid units, CPR teams.

Fabio Pozzo: Prior to the Artemis incident there was talk of an upper limit to race of 33 knots, close to 60 km/h.
Patrizio Bertelli: In Auckland we tested the new boat at 20 knots with no problems. But 33 knots is too much. These are boats that downwind, with 20 knots of wind they sail on the water at 35-38 knots. Do you have any idea what kind of speed this is? It’s like jumping with a motorcycle at 250 km/h. The old boats, the monohulls, the old Luna Rossa would reach at most 15-18 under the same conditions. The same thing upwind: a maximum of 12 knots with the old boats, at least 25 knots in these catamarans. However, it’s not as much a problem of sailing upwind, as with the transition from upwind to downwind. The problem is when you bear away (you release the mainsail that is exposed to the wind, with maximum pressure and it cannot be controlled; the risk is to capsize forward). In short, everything is multiplied to the extreme. And we will not be at this slaughtering game. I hope that organizers, Oracle, the defender, understand.

Fabio Pozzo: What does Oracle have to do with this?
Patrizio Bertelli: They scheduled the challenger selection trials, the Louis Vuitton Cup, from July to August, in a period when the San Francisco bay is very windy. The America’s Cup finals, on the other hand, is in September, when there is on average 15 knots. They are there, watching us slaughtering ourselves, smashing everything, and wait. No, we will not be there.

“We were a little nervous because a lot of teams have sailed these boats before and we haven’t,” said Williams. “It is an unusual situation for us to be the less experienced team, but our upwind boat speed was really good.” The GAC Pindar crew narrowly won their match against Morvan after there was a big luff at the top mark and the Frenchman ended up picking up a penalty for going past head to wind.

US Virgin Islander Taylor Canfield and his USone team ended the day on three wins along with Keith Swinton’s Black Swan Racing, Bjorn Hansen’s Mekonomen Sailing Team and the Adam Minoprio-skippered Team Alpari FX.

Canfield won against Hansen, Robertson and Jablonski, but lost to Berntsson and Richard. “Light conditions in big heavy slow boats is always challenging and I don’t think we are totally comfortable with all of our manoeuvres and timing in these boats just yet,” admitted the 24-year-old. “As the day went on we started to figure it out a bit and got the boat going well.”

Adam Minoprio makes his comeback in the Alpari World Match Racing Tour. Langenargen, 16 May 2013. Photo copyright Brian Carlin / Alpari World Match Racing Tour

In Canfield’s match against Richard there was a long dial up and then, with 1 minute 30 to go, both boats were still a long way over the line but the Frenchman won the favoured committee boat end and it was game over from there.

USone had more success against Karol Jablonski when, after they had roundly dispatched the Polish former America’s Cup helmsman pushing him behind the committee boat, Jablonski retired, switched on his engine resulting in his receipt of a black flag from the umpires. Jablonski admitted that they had had a major communication breakdown on board. “We basically just retired and used the time to do a debrief. We are a new team and we don’t sail enough to get everything done the way I like to do it. When you do two events per year it is tough to compete with the best teams here.”

Adam Minoprio’s Team Alpari FX was initially docked a half point for a collision with Pierre Antoine Morvan during a tacking duel in Flight 2, when the stern quarters of the two teams’ boats touched as they attempted to separate. “In my mind it was a port-starboard and he didn’t start avoiding early enough and we had to avoid him and our sterns touched,” said Minoprio, providing his viewpoint of the incident. At the time the umpires took a different view and red flagged Team Alpari FX requiring them to carry out a penalty turn immediately, docking the Kiwi team the half point for causing damage. But at a hearing after racing neither Minoprio nor Morvan were found to have broken the avoiding contact rule (rule 14) and the half point penalty was removed from Minoprio’s scoreline.

First day of racing at Match Race Germany. Langenargen, 16 May 2013. Photo copyright Brian Carlin / Alpari World Match Racing Tour

The two German teams of leading Laser sailor Philipp Buhl and German National Match Racing Champion Sven Erik Horsch have yet to get off the bottom of the leaderboard, with Horsch on no wins and newbie match racer Buhl’s only victory taken off his fellow countryman. Johnie Berntsson is also on a single win as is Karol Jablonski.

Match Race Germany defending champion New Zealand’s Phil Robertson and his WAKA Racing team has also got off to a slow start on just two wins against Berntsson and Jablonski. “It was tough,” said Robertson. “We led around the top mark in four out of five but we lost it downwind. So we are just ironing out the creases.”

The qualifying series continues tomorrow with the start time scheduled for 0900.

STAGE 1: Match Race Germany – Qualifying Round
Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 4-1
Mathieu Richard (FRA) GEFCO Match Racing Team 4-1
Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) Vannes Agglo Sailing Team 4-1
Taylor Canfield (ISV) USone 3-2
Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing 3-2
Adam Minoprio (NZL) Team Alpari FX 3-2
Björn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team 3-2
Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing 2-3
Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Stena Sailing Team 2-3
Philip Buhl (GER) Deutsches Youth America’s Cup Team 1-4
Karol Jablonski (GER) Jablonski Sailing Team 1-4
Sven Erick-Horsch (GER) NRV Match Race Team 0-5

Since Team Tilt’s qualification for the Youth America’s Cup, the team of young sailors have embarked on a demanding training programme which includes racing on different high-performance multihull classes including the Decision 35, M2 and the Extreme 40. Just last weekend, the team competed in the first Vulcain Trophy event of the season where they came up against the Extreme 40 crews and their Swiss countrymen onboard Alinghi and Realteam for the first time.

Lucien Cujean, the teams skipper, who started sailing multihulls in 2007 alongside offshore legend Alain Gautier, himself a former Extreme 40 helm, commented: “The forthcoming Extreme Sailing Series Acts in Istanbul and Porto are a great opportunity for us and perfect to prepare ourselves as best as possible for our ultimate objective, winning The Red Bull Youth America’s Cup. The Extreme sailing Series has some of the best multihull sailors in the world and for us it will be a great opportunity to compete alongside these very talented sailors. It’s also a new racing format that we will have to quickly adapt to. So, we have a huge learning curve ahead of us.”

Team Tilt will join The Extreme Sailing Series for Istanbul and Porto Acts in 2013. Photo copyright Loris von Siebenthal-myimage.ch

Cujean will be joined by Jocelyn Keller as tactician, Jeremy Bachelin mainsail trimmer, Thomas Mermod headsail trimmer, with the bowman’s position still to be decided between Mikis Psarosfaghis and Jonas Schagen. As well as giving Team Tilt the chance for some valuable multihull training, joining the Extreme Sailing Series will also give them the chance to size up the competition from the Kiwi Youth America’s Cup contingent onboard GAC Pindar, led by William Tiller.

As part of the Series’ continually developing entertainment programme, SpeedDream will add an exciting new element for the VIP’s and public in Istanbul. As part of the projects quest to build the world’s fastest monohull, SpeedDream have integrated some of their innovative design ideas, such as a flying keel, wave piercing bow and stepped hull, into a 27-foot prototype and Cam Lewis, one of the world’s most celebrated sailors as the first holder of the coveted Jules Verne Trophy and winner of the 1988 America’s Cup, will be in the driving seat demo-sailing the boat and bringing high speeds and excitement to the event in Istanbul.

Recognizing that record setting is as much about finding the right people as it is about radical design ideas, the SpeedDream team feel that coming to the very heart of competitive inshore racing where the best sailors compete is a natural fit for them. “We fully appreciate that if we are in pursuit of some global records that we will need to recruit some top sailors especially those who are used to high speeds,” said Project Leader Vlad Murnikov. “Clearly those sailors who race the Extreme 40’s in such close high speed competition are amongst the best in the world, and we want to introduce them to the SpeedDream concept and see how we can all work together to set some records and broaden the overall interest in sailing.”

Team Tilt Crew List
Skipper / Helmsan: Lucien Cujean (SUI)
Tactician: Jocelyn Keller (SUI)
Mainsail Trimmer: Jeremy Bachelin (SUI)
Headsail Trimmer: Thomas Mermod (SUI)
Bowman: Mikis Psarosfaghis / Jonas Schagen (SUI)

One of the skippers is Dutch veteran Klaartje Zuiderbaan, currently only ranked 149 on the ISAF world ranking. But in 2006 she was second best in the world, and two years later she scored her last victory winning the Grade 1 match racing event in Trentino, Italy:
- Since then I haven’t done a lot of match racing, so it’s great fun to be back in this atmosphere again, Klaartje Zuiderbaan smiles, clarifying how she has spent the last few years.
- Well, I’ve been coaching the Dutch Sonar with Udo Hessels at the helm to a gold medal in the Paralympics in London, she explains.

The youngest crew of the St Quay event, comprising only teenage girls, has travelled to France all the way from Australia, led by talented skipper Milly Bennett. At the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club in Sydney she began her match racing career only two years ago, with experienced Tommy Spithill(younger brother of America’s Cup helmsman James Spithill) as her coach:
- We’re here in St Quay to win as many matches as we can, gaining racing experience for the future, Milly Bennett declares.

Also coming a long way to France is Kiwi Claudia Pierce, who is always match racing against male crews at her home club, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron:
- This is our first regatta in Europe, and our first event with only women crews participating. We really don’t know what to expect, but we’re excited to be here, Claudia Pierce comments.

Present in Saint Quay is WIMRA Executive Director Liz Baylis, invited by the local yacht club Sport Nautique de Saint Quay-Portrieux: – I’m really happy to be here to follow the races of the first event of the Women’s International Match Racing Series. The Weymouth Olympics highlighted the spectacular nature of match racing and the WIMRSeries is going to take that to new heights. With events in France, Korea, Denmark, the United States and Sweden, spectators will be able to experience in person the excitement of the top women sailors duelling on the water.

Skippers participating in Saint Quay Women’s Match Racing, the first event of the inaugural 2013 Women’s Match Racing Series, are (ISAF ranking, name, country):
5. Lucy Macgregor, GBR
8. Julie Bossard, FRA
12. Alexa Bezel, SUI
20. Caroline Sylvan, SWE
21. Anna Kjellberg, SWE
25. Claudia Pierce, NZL
35. Stephanie Roble, USA
48. Milly Bennett, AUS
149. Klaartje Zuiderbaan, NED
Unranked. Morgane Dreau, FRA

This two-­year campaign follows on from Mike’s successful 2012 solo transatlantic aboard a ‘Caterham Challenge’ branded Class40.

Campaign objectives

- Bring F1 standards of technology and logistics to off-shore racing

- Encourage green, sustainable and reusable energy technologies in the marine, 
automotive and aerospace sectors

- Utilize Caterham’s extensive experience in F1, R&D, engineering, competitive sailing 
and sports marketing

MGI is building an Akilara RC3 Class40, due to be launched in early August with sailing and training in The Solent and the English Channel.

The racing calendar for ‘Caterham Challenge’ includes the Transat Jacques Vabre 2013, leaving France for Brazil in November; the Caribbean 600 in early 2014, together with the Global Ocean Race, leaving from the Southampton Boatshow in September 2014 around the world. For the TJV Caterham Challenge will be co-skippered by Mike Gascoyne and Brian Thompson.

Mike Gascoyne, CEO MGI

“This is a fantastic day for MGI and me personally. With the announcement of the ‘Caterham Challenge’ project I will be able to use my experience of the past 25 years in Formula 1 and transfer it to my passion, short handed sailing.

There are lots of similarities between high performance engineering, project management in F1 and competitive yacht racing.

Caterham Composites and Caterham Technology already work in vehicle simulation, with the aim of introducing those models to the marine industry as well as high performance carbon fiber application in the yachting industry.

With Brian on board we have the perfect package to combine many years of experience in both competitive sailing and motorsport engineering; run global sailing projects, from developing young talent to managing fully fledged sailing teams in major racing series.

Brian Thompson, Sailing Director MGI

“I’m very excited the be on board for the launch of the Caterham Challenge project. As sailing Director of MGI I will be combining sailing duties with Mike and looking at the development of the whole sailing and racing program for the team.

It’s clear with the backup we have from the Caterham Group that our sailing objectives reach far and wide, to the Open 60 class and beyond. This is a truly inspirational and innovative program to be involved with, and I am sure the coming weeks and months will prove to be ground breaking.”

In 2014-15, each one-design Volvo Ocean 65 will race around the world with just 12 sails, a major reduction in the inventory from previous races and another significant cost saving introduced as part of the project.

Just eight race sails are allowed on board, with no (non-repair) recuts and only four replacement sails.
With the exception of the A3 and the storm jib, all sails will be built to varying deniers using North Sails’ 3Di process, using pre-impregnated tapes made of black Twaron Aramid and clear Dyneema SK75 fibres.

No carbon is allowed in the sail material as it blocks the signals to and from the satellites essential for communication and data transfer.

Production and delivery will be carefully controlled and a Pre-Race set of sails will be built and made available as the boats come off the production line every seven weeks.

North Sails will provide all the sails the VO65 fleet will be using in the 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race

Race sails will also be built in batches so that the same mould is used for the production of eight sails of one type. Each sail type will then be finished in the same loft by the same team in one go to ensure an identical shape and production quality.

Jeff Neri, General Manager at North Sails: “It is really hard for us to bench-test something then scale it up to going around the world. We can spend time trying to model what the sails will go through but there is no modeling when it comes to the Volvo Ocean Race.”

“Our main objective is to make a really durable sail that holds its shape and stays together for as long as the race needs it to stay together. Secondly is making sure that all the sails are exactly the same – we have to make sure that the sails weigh the same, perform the same and last the same.”

Jack Lloyd, Race Director: “We are very pleased with our agreement with North Sails and we are confident we have a good solution for our One Design sail package. We realised early that it would be too complex to keep the One Design sail project as part of the One Design boat project. So we removed it and dealt with it as a separate product. With North Sails, I believe we have a true One Design sail solution.”

Sail Inventory:

Mainsail: fully-battened, three reefs
J1: good for 8-15 knots upwind, has hanks and battens
J2: good for 13-25 knots, on a furler with vertical leech battens
J3: good for 22-35 knots, also on a furler with vertical leech battens
Fractional Code 0 spinnaker (affectionately dubbed the ‘fro’): used in a broad range of angles, sheets to the outrigger
Masthead Code 0: used in 0-6 knots upwind, or downwind in more breeze
Masthead A3 gennaker: the only dedicated downwind sail, typically used at true wind angles of 120° and above
J4: good for 35 knots+ as a storm jib, and also as a staysail

An additional four sails to choose from the above can be used during the race.

An outrigger will extend 1.5m outside the hull either midships for the jibs or aft near the stern for the MH0, FR0 and A3.

First of all, it was our understanding from the press statements in the last few days that the panel or committee would be independent. According to the Webster dictionary, “independent” is defined as not subject to control by others, self-governing, not affiliated with a larger controlling unit. Here are the committee members, as per Tuesday’s announcement:

• Iain Murray (AUS, Chair)
• Sally Lindsay Honey (USA, Deputy Chair)
• John Craig (USA)
• Chuck Hawley (USA)
• Vincent Lauriot-Prévost (FRA)
• Jim Farmer QC (NZL)

How independent can this committee it be when it’s chaired by Iain Murray, CEO of America’s Cup Race Management (ACRM)? John Craig is currently the Principal Race Officer for the 34th America’s Cup, responsible for conducting the races of the America’s Cup World Series, the Louis Vuitton Cup and the America’s Cup match. Vincent Lauriot-Prévost worked with BMW Oracle with the design of their trimaran in the 33rd America’s Cup and two years ago he was commissioned by ACRM to work on the platform of a basic AC72 design package that would have been sold to teams without the sufficient resources to develop their own fully fledged design.

At no time do we put in doubt the expertise and knowhow of these committee members. They undoubtedly are brilliant and experienced but they do not constitute an “independent” committee. They are or have recently been affiliated with ACRM and to our eyes, this is simply an internal committee. Does Iain Murray need to hold a press conference to announce he will chair a committee that will then report to him?

One truly hopes this is the last time we see such sad images from the America’s Cup in San Francisco

Even the title of the committee is another letdown. It is called a “review” committee, not an “inquiry” committee. They will simply review the facts found by the police investigation and the facts forwarded by the internal investigation Artemis Racing are currently carrying out. Based on those two reports they will issue a number of recommendations to the organizers and competitors but they will not have the right to enforce any of those recommendations to either the organization or the teams.

Regarding the recommendations the committee will make, Iain Murray stated they had an “open book”. They will look at “everything” that in their view could make training and racing safer. They will look at the “type of racing”, “race courses”, “where we sail”, “the times that we sail”, “the amount of wind that we sail in”, as well as “various parts of the design”. This means practically everything that constitutes a sailing race. Ironically, setting wind limits for AC72 races will fly into the face of the original claims nearly three years ago that this new class would be able to race in winds that range from 3 to 33 knots!

While our above concerns might be brushed aside as simple semantics one major aspect of the procedure makes us think the committee will only have ceremonial powers. Tom Ehman, Vice Commodore of the Golden Gate Yacht Club, holder of the America’s Cup was adamant about the fact that America’s Cup racing this summer would take place as scheduled and that there wasn’t the slightest intention, either by organizers or the teams, to even suggest a modification of the plans. He clearly stated that “there was not even a thought given this morning at the teams meeting to do anything but continue apace and make plans and preparations for this summer”, referring to the meeting organizers and teams held on Tuesday morning.

So, America’s Cup organizers take it for granted that the outcome of the review will not require any changes that might cause a delay in the schedule. As Iain Murray and Tom Ehman stated a couple of times, the committee is expected to finish its work and issue its findings within two-three weeks. The Louis Vuitton Cup starts in seven weeks which means there are four weeks left to implement any of the committee’s recommendations. It appears organizers feel very confident everything will be done and dusted before July 4th, day of the opening ceremony, despite the wide range of issues under consideration.

They might be gambling or they might already have inside knowledge that we don’t. Even if we admit it’s the latter there is yet another aspect that makes the work of this committee look irrelevant. Oracle Team USA had scheduled to resume training on Monday but held a weeklong break in respect of Andrew Simpson’s memory. As a result, they are planning to be back on the water as soon as possible and they might even be, possibly, sailing tomorrow, Thursday. They could also be joined by Luna Rossa on that day, as the Italians had their boat ready for launch in the weekend.

As a result, two teams could be back training on San Francisco bay the day Iain Murray and the rest of the committee start working! What’s the reason of having such a committee when teams can sail in the breeze before the review panel has even sat down for the first time? If the committee finds that Andrew Simpson’s tragic death was the result of insufficient rescue resources shouldn’t the other three teams wait for the full facts? Let alone the simple question of whether the boat capsized because it first broke or whether it broke following its capsize…

We do understand that America’s Cup organizers are between a rock and a hard place but what will happen if another major incident takes place before the committee issues any recommendation? As a sailor told us yesterday after the press conference, it’s a review committee simply to review how they stop the wheels from falling off the Cup not about how to keep sailors safe. Let’s hope he’s wrong.

In parallel with completing the final arrangements for the America’s Cup, a highly experienced panel of sailing and safety at sea experts has been appointed and charged with reviewing the training and racing of AC72 yachts in the 2013 America’s Cup.

The Review Committee will make its recommendations following the loss of Artemis Racing crew member Andrew ‘Bart’ Simpson (GBR) in a training accident on San Francisco Bay on Thursday of last week.

Members of the Committee – download bios here – have strong backgrounds in the sport at its highest levels as well as involvement in other reviews where an incident at sea has claimed the life of a competitor.

Iain Murray, the Regatta Director, will chair and lead the Review Committee comprised of:

• Iain Murray (AUS, Chair)
• Sally Lindsay Honey (USA, Deputy Chair)
• John Craig (USA)
• Chuck Hawley (USA)
• Vincent Lauriot-Prévost (FRA)
• Jim Farmer QC (NZL)

The U.S. Coast Guard supports this approach and will assist as appropriate. Lt. Jon Lane, with 26 years in the Coast Guard and 10 years experience as a marine casualty investigator will serve as liaison.

Tom Ehman, the Vice Commodore of the Golden Gate Yacht Club (the America’s Cup Trustee), said, “The America’s Cup will go ahead this summer. We will see the world’s best sailors racing at the highest level on one of the most iconic race tracks in sport.”

With regard to the Review, Ehman added: “The Committee brings immense experience and expertise to this Review. At a meeting in San Francisco this morning, the teams expressed unanimous support for this Committee and this process.”

The Review Committee will report as soon as possible, given that racing starts in seven weeks.

For this, its 16th year, Match Race Germany is being held in Langenargen, located close to the Austrian border on Europe’s third largest lake, where the event sailed in Bavaria 40S.

As ever the Alpari World Match Racing Tour attracts the cream of the match racing world, all of whom are present in Langenargen ready for tomorrow’s practice sessions.

The line-up going to all the events – the Tour card holders – this year numbers eight rather than nine. Tour Director Craig Mitchell says the reduction is for reasons of simplicity. “It allows each event to have two qualifying invites and two wild cards. The last thing you want is a closed shop and it keeps the local interest up, which is vital.”

Phil Robertson won the 2012 Match Race Germany

The 2013 Tour Card holders are reigning world champion Team GAC Pindar skipper Ian Williams and Swedes Johnie Berntsson (Stena Sailing Team) and Bjorn Hansen (Hansen Sailing Team), runner-up to Williams in 2012. From New Zealand are Phil Robertson, winner of Match Race Germany last year and Adam Minoprio, the 2009 ISAF Match Racing World Champion. France is represented by Pierre-Antoine Morvan and his Vannes Agglo Sailing Team while with the retirement of Peter Gilmour last year, Keith Swinton and his Black Swan Racing team are flying the flag for Australia. A highly anticipated new tour card holder this year is Taylor Canfield from the US Virgin, whose USone team impressively won the final two events last season.

One of the strongest contenders this year is likely to be Adam Minoprio, making his return to the Tour after taking two years off to compete with an Emirates Team New Zealand crew aboard Camper in the Volvo Ocean Race. After competing at the Bermuda Gold Cup and the Monsoon Cup last season the 27 year old has felt inspired to make his return this season and has been fortunate enough to get backing for from Alpari, his team now called Team Alpari FX.

“I am really excited,” said Minoprio. “I’m looking forward to this first event and getting back into the match racing this year. Last year I had a taste of it in Bermuda and at the Monsoon Cup and wanted to do some more this year. I am lucky to have Alpari help me get back on to the Tour.”

Minoprio has also managed to get the majority of his crew back including Tom Powrie, Dave Swete and Nick Blackman, with Chris Main join as trimmer, having last competed on the Tour a decade ago with GBR Challenge.

But Ian Williams and his Team GAC Pindar crew remain the benchmark. If Williams wins the Tour this year he will be only person in the 25 year history of the World Championship to have done so for a fifth time. Williams has the same crew as previous years, including Bill Hardesty and Mal Parker, but has lost Matt Cassidy and Gerry Mitchell for Match Race Germany, replaced by Willem van Waay and Graham Spence.

Both Minoprio and Williams have been attempting to fire up their campaigns prior to the Tour kicking off this week. Both had their full teams competing at the Congressional Cup in Long Beach in April where Williams came home third to Minoprio’s fifth.

“We’ve never won it before,” admits Williams of his record at Match Race Germany. “It is one of the few that we haven’t. In fact I think third is our best result there, so it is one we’d like to win at some point.”

Keith Swinton is back with his same crew as he’s had for the last couple of years, including trimmers Olof Lundgren (SWE) and Ted Hackney (AUS), pitman Jakob Gustafsson (SWE) and bowman Ricky McGarvie (AUS). Swinton’s north European home is Sweden, where he spent three years up until London 2012 coaching the Sweden women’s match racing team.

“Competition on the tour this year is going to be really tough – more difficult than last year,” says the skipper, who heralds from Perth, Western Austria. “There is one less tour card, which thickens the competition up and some of the wild cards are going to be strong,” he adds referring to Mathieu Richard.

As to Match Race Germany, Swinton says: “It is an interesting event. The boats are very big and quite slow. But it is the first Tour event of the season and we’ll take it as it comes. I’m sure we’ll improve during the week and if that happens, we’ll have the possibility of doing a really good result.”

Tomorrow crews get to practice before racing off Langenargen starts on Thursday.