"When the others are right, we're wrong": that's old Cup wisdom. So far, Artemis was the only team whose AC72 was "normal", i.e. did not lift the empty hull out of the water even at high speed. Accordingly, the red boat looked average during the adjustment strokes against Oracle Team USA, which foils at speeds of around 20 knots. Loïck Peyron, head of the Artemis sailing team, "was not amused", as rumoured from within the team. Torbjörn Tornquist, the boss and cheque issuer, probably wasn't either. And the others don't have to be right to justify drastic changes.
A few weeks ago, the Swedish team's AC72 (boat 1) disappeared from the hangar and has not yet been seen again. Instead, Nathan Outteridge and his colleagues unpacked an AC45 on Saturday, which floated swiftly on its foils over southern San Francisco Bay. It is a kind of test balloon for the modifications to the big boat. Incidentally, Oracle had already pulled this trick with the foiling Fortyfive out of a hat six months ago.
"We deliberately kept everything simple so that we could foil as quickly as possible," explains Moth sailor Adam May, who was in charge of the operation. "We took input on the build of the second (AC72) from what we've seen from the other teams and added a healthy dose of 'just go for it'." For helmsman Nathan Outteridge, it was a relief: "The shore crew and sailing team worked long days and nights to get us on the water and foiling quickly. It's going to be an exciting summer."
With Artemis lagging behind, Outteridge is saving the America's Cup World Series in Naples, where the team is sending the young guns from Sweden, Charlie Ekberg and Chris During, who are also taking part in the Youth America's Cup and will get a valuable experience download in Italy.
The other teams that will be in action at the ACWS in Naples from 16 to 21 April: Dean Barker with Team New Zealand, Francesco Bruni and Chris Draper with both Luna Rossa boats, Yann Guichard with Energy Team and Oracle Team USA, which will be competing with just one boat, skippered by Laser champion Tom Slingsby. Mitch Booth returns to the underdog Team China, and Ben Ainslie will be back at the helm of J.P. Morgan BAR.
Team Korea, which was long rumoured to be building an AC72, is no longer involved. Instead, the Koreans have completely withdrawn from the action, as have the French from Aleph and the Spaniards from Green Com Challenge. It is also noticeable that Oracle is not sending Russell Coutts or Jimmy Spithill onto the track. Instead, the Austrians Roman Hagara and Hans-Peter Steinacher, who normally sail Extreme 40 and act as sports directors for the Youth America's Cup, will be taking part for the first time. In Naples, they will be sailing under the US flag as HS Racing, "in partnership with Oracle", as they say.
