It's always a little embarrassing to pat yourself on the back. And Alinghi boss Ernesto Bertarelli is not exactly the type to have attracted attention with excessive self-praise in the past. But in Trapani he got carried away: "I think this new format is a great success."
He may have been lured out of his reserve because just a few weeks ago some journalists had made disparaging remarks about the Cup pre-regattas without having experienced them live. However, Bertarelli was probably simply carried away by the atmosphere in Trapani.
The Americas Cup has never received as much attention from the population as in Sicily. Even the final regattas in Auckland pale in comparison to the Italian enthusiasm. Crowds thronged the Americas Cup Park every day. Tens of thousands watched the live broadcasts on the big screens. And on the water, up to 400 spectator boats regularly had to be pushed back by the marshals.
Bertarelli may be happy about the development of the acts, but he will also be thinking about what would have been possible if he had sailed the Americas Cup in Italy. So everyone in the Cup family is a little sad that it's going back to Valencia. Also because the teams will then disappear back into their high-security wings.
In Trapani, people helped each other out with screws, bolts or pliers or cycled to the neighbouring team for a beer. In Valencia, the focus is once again on secrecy. Especially because most of the new boats are launched in March and April. Then things get serious again.
In this respect, the sporting results of the acts should not be overrated. Alinghi has maintained its place at the top, but lost a lot of ground in Trapani. After two defeats - including the prestigious race against BMW Oracle - the nimbus of invincibility in 31 match races has been broken. And in the fleet races, the Americans in particular proved to be on an equal footing. They finished level on points behind the Swiss. Not much was missing.
But Jochen Schümann is probably right when he says: "Our defeats were good for everyone." Because they show that Alinghi is not as far away as everyone thinks. On the other hand, the team can also be trusted to step on the brakes now and again. It would be devastating if the Schumacher effect were to materialise, which took all the excitement out of Formula 1 last season and cost many fans.
What was astonishing in Trapani, however, was that the New Zealanders and Luna Rossa in particular were unable to compete for the top places in the fleet races. The fact that the Italians only finished sixth is tantamount to a disaster. It cannot be explained.
The top story of Trapani is the positive performance of the South Africans. But at least there is an explanation for that. They are finally getting to grips with their new boat - the only new boat in the fleet - and they are finally realising the potential of the Jason Ker design. And that certainly has to do with a personnel matter: After working together for some time, Brit Chris Law has been replaced for Trapani by the experienced American Dee Smith.
Smith is the tactician, but he also shows the newcomers how to sail such a large boat. "We've now set much bigger sails than usual," says helmsman Ian Ainslie. "Dee has also given us a lot of confidence. We're no longer so scared when we're in front. He also brings a lot of his technical mind to the table and helps the designers."
So it should come as no surprise that Shosholoza is ahead of the German team. Ninth place after the fleet races is actually not too bad for Jesper Bank. Especially after a sensational fourth place in the first fleet race and a remarkable seventh place on the day.
Jesper Bank delivered some sensational starts and even on the second day, which turned out extremely badly with eleventh and twelfth place, he was in the lead on the strong cross until the side turned out to be wrong.
The afterguard with tactician Henrik Blaksjær and strategist Michael Hestbæk sometimes took great risks in order to achieve an acceptable result and disguise the lack of speed. However, this only worked on the first Fleetrace day. Bank said: "We have become faster and no longer have to sail so risky." But in certain conditions, especially with more waves, it became clear why GER 72 only came last in the last Cup. The boat pitches too much because it lacks buoyancy at the ends.
These predictable problems are increasingly disappearing from public perception behind the never-ending leadership crisis. At the end of the season, ZDF hardly reports on the Germans at all and, like ARD, rates the final position with the word "only". In Valencia, tenth place was still a miracle. Now ninth is bad.
The technical team's preparations behind the scenes are continuing as planned. The deck of the new ship is already finished in Kiel. The new hull is due to be added on 15 April. Only then will it become clear where Team Germany stands in comparison to the competition, who will then also be sailing the new ships. The next Act 11 on 11 May 2006 in Valencia will bring a kind of preliminary decision. This will show whether the teams have done their homework.
Alinghi is also eagerly awaiting this date. The Swiss want to scrutinise the competition in racing action there and incorporate the findings into the construction of their new design. However, it is not yet clear whether the challengers will put up with this. Perhaps they will get their old boats out of the hall for the acts after all. So trouble is inevitable.
Detailed information about the Trapani events from a German perspective in YACHT 23
The rest of the planned programme (the data has not yet been saved):
2006
Valencia, Louis Vuitton Act 10, Match Race, 4 to 15 May
Valencia, Louis Vuitton Act 11, Fleet Race, 18 to 21 May
Valencia, Louis Vuitton Act 12, Match Race, 15 June to 27 July
2007
Valencia, Louis Vuitton Act 14, Fleet Race, 3 to 7 April
Louis Vuitton Cup
18 April to 12 June (Louis Vuitton Cup Final, 1 to 12 June)
32nd Americas Cup Match
23 June to 7 July
