Just as the US challenger "American Magic" completed its first practice stroke on the Cup course off New Zealand, the second team from the country made the headlines.
First practice stroke before Auckland by American Magic
Stars & Stripes is said to have asked the America's Cup arbitration tribunal whether it was in line with the rules to buy the New Zealanders' first boat, "Te Aihe". Cup insider Tom Ehman was one of the first to report this.
Each team is allowed to build two boats for the upcoming cup, normally the second one is a further development of the first one and superior to it, at most it can be used as a replacement boat in case of a total breakdown, so it is as good as worthless.
For "Stars & Stripes", however, the purchase could prove to be a coup. The team's own boat is only half built, and both time and money will be tight for the team to be on the starting line of the Christmas race off Auckland from 17 December, a show regatta that is mandatory for participation in the elimination of the challengers from 15 January. Should the team be able to buy or borrow the New Zealand boat for this, it would buy them some more time to complete their own yacht.
But the possibilities go even further. The protocol for the America's Cup stipulates that the hull of a challenger yacht must be built in the country of the respective team, in this case in the USA.
However, Stars & Stripes used design data from the New Zealanders for the construction of its own yacht; both boats are considered sister ships. Much more important than the hulls, which are not in the water in flight mode anyway, are the foil attachments and, above all, the mechanics and hydraulics for operating them. The Americans could therefore theoretically cannibalise the New Zealand boat and install the components in their boat, or, conversely, give the New Zealand boat a new hull. Opinions differ as to whether this would comply with the rules. In any case, it would be a unique process.
The reactions are correspondingly varied. Tom Ehmann finds the process "outrageous", while New Zealand Cup insider Richard Gladwell can certainly take some positives from the scenario. Because with only three challengers so far, the elimination series, the Prada Cup, in which the opponent for the defender Team New Zealand is determined, would be significantly less exciting than if four teams were sailing. In addition, more money would flow to the New Zealand organisers in the form of entry fees.
Even Team New Zealand could benefit from such a deal. If Stars & Stripes were to take part in the Prada Cup with the first New Zealand boat or a sister yacht, this would allow conclusions to be drawn about how competitive the other teams are compared to the New Zealanders and would give them time to make changes. After all, the New Zealanders only have a really meaningful comparison in the actual Cup final and could be in for a surprise there.
Financially, too, a course of events could be just right for Team New Zealand, as it was recently hit the headlines due to alleged financial irregularities have ended up. After the Cup, the boats are as good as worthless.
However, due to the potential competitive advantages, it is unlikely that the three challengers will put up with such a coup from Stars & Stripes. But it is the America's Cup, and it would not be the first dispute to end up in court. The court is based in New York, the home of Stars & Stripes.
The New Zealand team has so far only commented that there have not yet been any purchase negotiations.
Lars Bolle
Chief Editor Digital
