NZ Herald’s Alex Chapman, around the world sailor Bianca Cook and AUT sailing Professor Mark Orams look back as the Prada ACWS and Christmas Cup come to a close after a bizarre day on the water. Video / NZ Herald
OPINION:
This isn't what was promised, and this isn't what people are tuning in to see.
On Sunday, fans watched as two AC75s - billed as high-action machines capable of flying above the water at rapid speeds – were reduced to a displacement race. Rather than travelling above 30knots, thevessels of Team New Zealand and Ineos Team UK were struggling to even hit double figures and the possibility of getting up on their foils wasn't even worth considering.
Their race, the opening fixture of the Christmas Cup, was expected to take 25 minutes. Neither team had crossed the finish line within the 45-minute time limit. The race was abandoned and, after about 90 minutes of waiting, hoping the wind would pick up, the day's events were terminated – and probably for the best.
Even if the wind did pick up to 6.5 knots - the lowest end of the wind limit in which racing could get under way - it was clear by the day's first attempt that it would have been far from the showcase event to build anticipation for next year's Prada Cup and America's Cup regattas that it should have been.
As one member in the media room put it; imagine going to watch a Formula 1 race and, instead of seeing the vehicles racing around the track at adrenaline-inducing, break-neck speeds, every car was racing on four punctured tyres.
Had it been a more traditional incarnation of the sport, that might not necessarily matter – though the wind limits would not be quite so low – but the major point of interest this time around is the AC75s; the radical, 75-foot foiling monohulls that were set to revolutionise how the world thought about the America's Cup.
Team New Zealand Te Rehutai and Ineos Team UK Britannia in race one of the Christmas Race. Photo / Brett Phibbs
But it poses the question – have the wind limits been set too low?
What Sunday's events displayed was that even at the lower end of the limit, it only takes a small shift to make conditions unsailable in an AC75. If the limit was raised at the lower end, it would provide that wiggle room where, should the conditions drop off mid-race, it still may be above 6.5 knots and the teams can sail a race, instead of coasting along the course off their foils.
As seen on Sunday, even when Mother Nature was providing (just) enough wind to get the racing underway, it was a rather embarrassing portrayal of what these boats are capable of. Ineos Team UK have had their issues throughout the America's Cup World Series, sure, but even Team New Zealand – who have shown their ability to perform in all conditions to this point – had no hope of getting airborne. There would be few people in the crowd on water and on land who were tuning in to see a displacement race.
The syndicates need to come together, discuss what they learned from the failure of the Christmas Cup and address it before the start of the Prada Cup Challengers' Series on January 15, where results really matter.
Because, after all, when it comes to the AC75s, getting airborne at high speed is what it's all about.
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