America's Cup Hall of Fame: First Dutchman, first Hamburger: Rolf Vrolijk "ennobled"

53 Americans, eleven Australians and eleven New Zealanders, ten Britons, three Frenchmen and one Italian and one Swiss have so far formed the illustrious circle of the America's Cup Hall of Fame. As of today, an eighth national flag can officially be hoisted in this group: Hamburg-based yacht designer Rolf Vrolijk is the first Dutchman to be inducted into the glorious "club of Cup personalities". In keeping with the current times and the challenges they present, the induction ceremony took place online rather than in the stylish setting of last year's Robbe & Berking Yachting Heritage Centre in Flensburg. It was interesting nonetheless.

The programme with invited guests and fans with purchased tickets was hosted by TV journalist Gary Jobson, America's best-known Cup voice, on behalf of the host Herreshoff Marine Museum. The one-hour exclusive event featured well-known and current Cup stars such as New Zealand's team boss Grant Dalton (Emirates Team New Zealand) in a live conversation from Auckland and eleven-time Cup participant Grant Simmer (CEO for Sir Ben Ainslie's Ineos Team UK), who paid homage to the newly inducted members of the America's Cup Hall of Fame, which one (Simmer) has been a member of since 2013 and the other (Dalton) has belonged to since the Kiwi victory in 2017 at the latest.

On this evening, the British rules expert Bryan Willis, who is not only known to sailing enthusiasts as a Cup expert, was recorded. The author of well-known rulebooks also earned great merit and recognition as a fair role model at major regattas such as The Ocean Race and Olympic regattas. Franklin Osgood was posthumously inducted into the club of Cup celebrities. He was the first American defender of the Cup 19 years after its premiere in 1851 and a two-time Cup winner. This year marks the 150th anniversary of Osgood's victory as owner and manager of the schooner "Magic", whose name is also reflected in the current 36th America's Cup in the American campaign with the team name American Magic. Osgood emphasised that his first Cup victory in 1870 was no coincidence with his second success on "Columbia" just one year later. Osgood was also one of the members of the first America's Cup Committee of the New York Yacht Club.

The star of the evening from a Dutch and German perspective was yacht designer Rolf Vrolijk (judel/vrolijk & co design + engineering), who became the third Cup winner to join the historic ranks. In addition to many warm and very personal congratulations, for example from colleague, companion and friend Grant Simmer, the two-time America's Cup winner with the Swiss team Alinghi, who lives with his wife Dorit on Hamburg's Elbe beach, also spoke about his own sailing and design life. Vrolijk recalled the call from Russell Coutts, who brought him into the newly formed Swiss team at the turn of the millennium because Vrolijk's previous design of the Spanish Cup yacht was so convincing. He also remembers how Alinghi achieved the two victories, was celebrated at home like a fairy tale and then lost the coveted silver jug to the Americans again as a result of a forced court marathon.

New Zealander Brad Butterworth, who first won the America's Cup twice for New Zealand, then went on to win twice for the Swiss Ernesto Bertarelli alongside Russell Coutts and Rolf Vrolijk and is now in the service of the Italian Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team, paid tribute to Rolf Vrolijk: "I'm a huge fan of Rolf Vrolijk. I worked with him in teams, most notably Alinghi. He was always a true sportsman who upheld the ideals of yacht racing." Butterworth also attested to Vrolijk's famously popular approach to major projects: Vrolijk always approached and still approaches his tasks in the closest co-operation with the sailors. This often sets him apart from other colleagues.

A short clip about the three challenger teams from England, Italy and America. At the beginning of 2021, it will be decided who can challenge the New Zealand defencemen in the 36th Cup duel

Another Vrolijk compliment came from Grant Simmer: "Rolf Vrolijk has this good mix of artistic and technical skills. It's an absolute pleasure to work with him. Together with his wife Dorit, they have become good friends with my wife and I, and I can't wait to see them again when the world returns to normal." Currently, Simmer as CEO and Vrolijk as design consultant are once again part of the same Cup team: Both are working towards success for the British Ineos Team UK, which is preparing for the challenger series to the 36th America's Cup in New Zealand. Bryan Willis' closing words are therefore fitting: "I'm relying on Sir Ben to bring the Cup back to where it all began."

This clip is only a day old and shows the British team led by skipper Sir Ben Ainslie testing the new "Britannia" off Auckland