The America's Cup is being revamped again. A lot is new, some things remain and there is plenty of fuel for fire in the new Regatta protocol which was presented to the public yesterday, more than seven months after the last race of the last Cup. Some of the highlights of the 78-page document: new boats, a new competition mode, a seeding list for the challengers, bonus points for the final, a nationality clause and an "asymmetric" boat distribution that only allows the defender to build two boats.
The boats
The new catamarans will once again be powered by wing rigs and sail on foils. At 62 feet (just under 19 metres), the boats will be more than three metres shorter than the AC72s that were used in 2013. The number of crew will be reduced from eleven to eight in order to save costs.
The tricky thing is that while the challengers are all only allowed to build one boat (a pair of hulls and a pair of crossbeams), Oracle Team USA as the defender is allowed to build two boats and carry out tests with them. However, the Americans must contest the Cup match with the older boat. The replacement boat may only be used in the event of a major breakage. However, if the Cup challenger suffers irreparable damage to its boat, the second boat takes its place.
"That was a point of contention," explained Iain Murray, head of the official challenger Team Australia, which negotiated the rules together with Cup defender Oracle Racing. "I'm sure many people here would prefer to see some things resolved differently." But the potential challengers are happy, Murray said, that there are finally rules in place that allow them to turn their attention to fundraising and subsequently to sail training.
The mode
Unlike previously in the history of the America's Cup, the defender will sail against the challengers in the preliminary rounds. In the next two years, this will be the case in the America's Cup World Series, which will be held again in 2015 and 2016 on the AC45s (which can be foiled according to the rules). At least six regattas per year are to take place and each team is to organise one regatta in its own country. The results are the basis for a seeding list for the other qualifying regattas.
From 2017, the new AC62s will be used in the America's Cup qualifying series, which is sailed by everyone. Victory is rewarded with a bonus point, which is taken into the America's Cup match. If Oracle wins, it is already 1:0 in favour of the defender even before a race is sailed in the actual Cup match. If a challenger wins, this does not mean that this team can actually claim the point, because it first has to prevail against the other three top challengers in the Challenger Playoffs in order to reach the final.
"I think it has to be about something you really want to fight for," said Oracle skipper Jimmy Spithill in an interview with the Associated Press. His team was famously penalised two points at the last Cup for illegal manipulation in the America's Cup World Series. "It's going to be a fight from day one because everyone wants to start the (Cup) match with a one-point lead." The America's Cup regatta is a best-of-13 series. Whoever has seven wins under their belt first wins.
Admission tickets for participants
The registration fee is 2 million US dollars and is payable in two instalments, with the registration period running from 9 June to 8 August. Speculation about the number of participants is pointless at this stage, but there are at least six teams to hope for. In addition to defender Oracle, the official challenger Team Australia and the revenge-hungry New Zealanders, Artemis and Luna Rossa are also likely to be back. And Sir Ben Ainslie will be back on 10 June. the British AC team introduce.
Wind limit
The protocol stipulates wind limits of five to 25 knots for all races in all events, measured over one minute at a height of ten metres above the water surface. However, the final decision as to whether a race can take place or not lies with the regatta director.
The nation clause
Two of the eight sailors on the AC62 cats (one of the five on the AC45) must have the passport of the country in which the yacht club the team in question represents is located.
Youth America's Cup
The success of last year's premiere is to be repeated or extended. The organisers are talking about "up to two" Youth America's Cup regattas, which should make it easier for younger sailors to join the closed society of America's Cup teams.
Jimmy Spithill on the new protocol
Venue
That is and remains the crucial question. San Francisco, San Diego, Bermuda and Chicago are still in the running. Much will depend on how the individual bidders assess the forecasts for the number of challengers, the expected spectators and the associated sales volume for the regional economy. The estimates given by the organisers before the last Cup for the economic impact of the event (1.4 billion US dollars) were unfounded. The truth was around a quarter (364 million US dollars), and in the end taxpayers had to foot the bill to compensate for the loss in the city budget. The final decision on the venue for 2017 is to be made by 31 December 2014 at the latest.
