No cup without controversy. This is part of the programme even at a miniature regatta with not even a handful of boats, just like press releases that do nothing to shed light on complex issues. The latest example of this is the arbitration procedure that was necessary for the teams to accept the safety proposals. "It was a useful and positive exercise, at the end of which only a few points remained unresolved," one jury member was quoted as saying. This left the challengers Luna Rossa and Team New Zealand seething.
The unresolved points primarily concern the trim tabs on the rudder blades ("elevators"), which are of the greatest importance when foiling. Point 8.6 of the AC72 class rules prohibits the adjustment of these trim tabs after measurement. It is said that Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa have designed and sailed their boats accordingly. Adjusting these elevators would bring invaluable advantages underway, because together with the legal tiltable and tilting centreboards, they influence the control of the longitudinal trim and thus help to optimise sailing performance. However, because the AC72 was not originally developed for foiling, rudders with permanently adjustable elevators, such as those commonly used on foiling moths, are not authorised.
Following the fatal accident involving the Artemis cat on 9 May (for which there is still no official explanation), these flaps are to be allowed to be adjusted up to five minutes before the start as part of the increased safety measures. This raises the question of how it can be guaranteed that the teams will not be able to do this during the race. In an interview with local broadcaster ABC7, regatta director Iain Murray hinted that the size of these winglets could also be an issue. "The bottom line is that bigger flaps are safer," said Murray. "I think everyone recognises that, but it depends on how you get to that point."
The fact remains that the elevators are the crux of the safety package proposed by a review committee after the Artemis accident. And this package is being pushed by the organisers and the defenders' club, the Golden Gate Yacht Club, because the approval for the regatta, which must be granted by the US Coast Guard, allegedly depends on it. Cup commentator Richard Gladwell from "Sail World" therefore even speculates that the Coast Guard will have to act as a kind of "Trojan horse" to enforce new class rules for the controversial AC72 cats. However, changes to the class rules require the approval of all participants. And this is precisely where the arbitration failed.
A juicy detail: Oracle was allegedly photographed in March testing a rudder equipped with winglets that could also be adjusted while sailing. Should such rudders suddenly be approved, the challengers Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa would have no time to develop and test such a system, as the first races for the Louis Vuitton Cup are already scheduled in ten days' time. Oracle, on the other hand, would have two months to continue tinkering and optimising.
Now the international jury has to take care of it, but somehow it is already in the dramaturgy that the famous New York Supreme Court could have the last word in the matter. As a precaution, the Italians have had their lawyer Luis Saenz speak on the subject: "We are prepared to do everything we can to respect the rules." Mr Saenz's statement may sound harmless, but it should be understood as a declaration of war.
