The wind, the wind - is it once again the bad child? No, it's not! The wind is not to blame for the gruelling wait for the first starting shot in the 33rd America's Cup duel off Valencia. The real problem: courses and boats don't match.
Many worlds collide in Valencia. For example, the futuristic buildings designed by Spanish architect and artist Santiago Calatrava, the extravagant city of arts and sciences and, on the other hand, Gothic cultural treasures such as the Silk Exchange or Valencia Cathedral with its Romanesque influences. The contrast between the high-tech boats of the Americas Cup teams and the courses on which they are supposed to sail is just as stark.
For example, the course for the opening race: It is 20 by 20 nautical miles long and covers an area of around 450 square nautical miles. This makes it 44 (!) times the size of a course in the 32nd America's Cup three years ago. This is the main reason why Harold Bennett's task comes close to squaring the circle. The New Zealand race director has to find a time window within which the sailing conditions are consistently fair and safe everywhere on the course. But is that really possible?
Conceived around a century and a half ago for sea-going schooners that could withstand storms and rough seas, the long courses in today's America's Cup guise exude a rather antiquated charm. They do not suit the fragile high-tech boats that are supposed to race to the turning mark and back. To put it another way: both Alinghi and BMW Oracle Racing have deliberately solved the task they were set the wrong way round. They have designed marginal boats instead of rock-solid yachts, because otherwise they would not be able to win the speed competition. To do so, they had to sacrifice their seaworthiness.
It would only be fair if Bennett took no account of the sensitivities of the extreme boats and chased catamarans and trimarans into a duel at sea in all weathers. However, the race director cannot risk this because people and equipment would be exposed to too much danger. Until the end of the 33rd America's Cup, his task will therefore be a daily balancing act with many frustrating experiences. This was also the case on Friday: at 12.25 pm the wind was blowing at five knots (185 degrees) at the starting boat and three knots (135 degrees) at the turning mark. A race seemed possible.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
