America's Cup 2021: AUT's Sailing Professor Mark Orams - Sir Peter Blake's DNA remains in Team New Zealand's campaign; and why testing dual helmsman makes sense

OPINION:

The DNA of Sir Peter Blake still runs deep within Team New Zealand.

TNZ boss Grant Dalton served his leadership apprenticeship as a watch captain aboard the Blake-skippered Lion New Zealand in the 1985/86 Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race.

Chief operating officer Kevin Shoebridge held the same role aboard Steinlager 2 four years later.

The strong team-first ethos of the Blake-led campaigns remains central to the Kiwi America's Cup syndicate. Every member understands how important their role is, from high-profile Te Rehutai crew members to office and boatshed workers.

Sir Peter Blake in the America's Cup parade through Auckland in 1995.

There will be a sense of calm tinged with excitement throughout the team at this point. The hard work has been done. Te Rehutai is measured in and ready. The crew are practised and prepared.

There is not much more to be done, but they are trying a few things on the water. There still remains enough time to further refine their starts, get completely comfortable with their race set-up and final configuration over a range of conditions and, most importantly, explore how they stack up against the challenger Luna Rossa.

The sighting of Te Rehutai flying a light-wind oriented downwind sail from their bowsprit last week is an example of their leave-nothing-to-chance mindset.

The TNZ brains trust will have reviewed the Christmas Cup race where they led Ineos Team UK by well over a leg but did not record the win because the 45-minute race time limit ran out. This scenario is unlikely to occur again yet if it happened once, it can't be ruled out.

A light-wind sail which can be used off the foils, when sailing in displacement mode downwind, would have seen them finish within the time limit and win the race. So, the decision to develop and test this sail is a smart call.

Similarly, Glenn Ashby and Peter Burling have been observed spending extended periods helming Te Rehutai from each side, as opposed to their normal routine of crossing sides during manoeuvres.

This is a smart move, even if they don't actually use it.

The best way to understand your opponent's strengths and weaknesses is to try it out for yourself. The dual-helmsman approach being used on Luna Rossa is new and has proven to be successful for them, especially in the pre-starts. Trying this out allows them to learn about the Luna Rossa set-up.

I don't expect TNZ to adopt the dual-helmsman approach but understanding it and developing counter strategies is wise.

Emirates Team New Zealand in action during the ACWS America's Cup World Series Christmas Regatta. Photo / Michael Craig

This has all reminded me of a memorable speech made by Blake to the Steinlager 2 crew before shipping the boat to England for the start of the around the world race.

Blake asked each of us (I was privileged to be a part of that crew) to reverse our thinking for a bit. We had spent the past two years preparing for how to win the race. He wanted us to now think about how we might lose the race.

This was not a negative mindset, rather it was an approach born out of his many years of experience. Having the fastest and best prepared yacht, and the most skilled, well-trained and cohesive team maximises your chances of winning.

But if the mast breaks, if you capsize and nearly sink, if you are disqualified for a rules infringement, if your key helmsman is injured and unable to sail … any of these calamities can stop you from winning.

The best way to minimise risks is to understand them, then plan on how to prevent and deal with them.

Until the end of the America's Cup regatta, the team will continue checking and rechecking equipment, have key replacement parts ready to go, safeguard against injuries to key crew members (sorry Peter Burling - no surfing, cycling or wing-foiling) and ensure the boat is squeaky clean in terms of rules and measurers' sign-off. All of this is as much a part of winning as having the fastest boat and sailing it well.

Team New Zealand is the longest operating and most experienced America's Cup team. They are led by wise old salts who have learned their craft through the challenges of multiple round-the-world yacht races and America's Cup campaigns.

This wisdom has guided this team from its inception and the Blake days. It has been further developed and tested through successes and failures.

There is no better preparation for what is to come over the next two weeks.

Professor Mark Orams is a former NZ and world champion sailor, Team New Zealand member, author, environmentalist and Professor of Sport and Recreation at the Auckland University of Technology.