Ruling the waves?

Sailing attracts some big characters, but some display more courage than others. Egos won't survive where the Dame goes...

Whilst the likes of Ellen MacArthur carry the torch for modern sailing, Volvo's Round the World and the AC are determined to drag us kicking and screaming back into the Dark Ages.

For Ellen MacArthur to be awarded the Legion d'Honneur by the French President Nicolas Sarkozy at a recent ceremony in the UK, was an incredible honour.

Eric Taberly, the French solo sailor was the first sportsman ever to be so honoured, when in 1964 he won the second Single Handed Transatlantic Race. He became a national hero and a national treasure.

The elevation of ocean racing, particularly single handed, was meteoric in France and led to Marc Pajot becoming the highest paid sportsman in France, of any discipline, during the mid eighties.

Despite claims that yacht racing is boring to watch, it does have the ability to entertain huge numbers of followers. Ellen MacArthur's award not only reflects her remarkable sailing achievements, but also the way in which her courage resonated with the public - particularly the French.

What a pity therefore that the upcoming Volvo Round the World Race has been neutered; it has become a commercially driven 'world-tour' instead of the brutal Southern Ocean marathon it once was.

The race may now be longer and visit far more countries and ports, but what makes 'true' Round the World yacht races so unbelievable and spectacular are the people - either as individuals or as part of a team.

Nowhere is the full-on concept of ocean racing more forcibly expressed than when a Volvo crew undertake a spinnaker peal in the pitch black at 40 knots, with unimaginably large waves bearing down.

Yet they still complete it with the precision and urgency of a match race. How long will it be before the spirit of Ellen MacArthur and Eric Taberly's exploits return to fully-crewed ocean racing?

In New York's Supreme Court Justice Cahn has ruled Alinghi must defend the cup against Oracle, effectively giving the green light to a giant muti-hull battle. It is assumed that Oracle will turn up with a 90ft, probably a trimaran - but will they?

What if the Judge rules that, according to the Deed of Gift the challenge must take place within ten months of being issued? That could mean a match as early as this July meaning neither team would be ready.

Alinghi won't even be ready for the more likely date of October 08, meaning they may yet forfeit the Cup; unless common sense prevails and a date is set that gives both teams a fighting chance of being race ready.

Another factor that nobody seems to want to consider is: what happens if and when the Swiss and the American's actually meet on the water, and Alinghi prevails in the best of three competition? Where will we be then?

Will Alinghi, with the currently very unhappy Ernesto Bertarelli, reek revenge on Oracle by banning them from the 34th America's Cup?

Presumably we will see a return to the Swiss initiative of the 90ft box rule boats, as the remnants of the original challengers seem to agree that this is a good option.

But what of the so called modernisation of the event rules that sees the defender racing in the challenge trials, along with other absurdities, that brought about the dissatisfaction from Oracle and the subsequent court proceedings?

If the Swiss win on the water, then they are going to feel pretty superior and able to railroad through all sorts of unpopular changes to the oldest sporting trophy.

So Oracle had better win. At least Larry Ellison has indicated that he will return the match to multi challengers, and base his 'defence' in Valencia. However, if he wins, the pressure to take the Cup back to America will be immense.

It is in keeping with the history of the America's Cup and San Fran and the Golden Gate YC would like some tangible reward after all the support of Larry's various challengers.

We have to wonder also, if and when the Deed of Gift Match is decided, will anyone else be able to turn up for the 34th event? Most teams have either given up or are wound right down.

But wherever and whenever the 33rd America's Cup is held, Alinghi will choose a location where the weather conditions suit their design; making it a spectacular, but very short event.

There is a possibility of the match being run on a simple windward leeward courses of one leg each, and it just lasting two races - blink and you'll miss it!

It surprises me that neither team has gone to the designers of Dennis Conner's catamaran defender of 1988. They produced, in record time, what still to this day is arguably the fastest match racer ever.

What's more, they also realised that two boat testing and development raises the game substantially - even in multi-hulls. The second boat, sporting the third development rig, was demonstrably faster than the first.

Why hasn't Larry built two? Perhaps the Swiss reluctance to race as soon as possible is due to the fact that they are planning a two-boat campaign? The soap opera continues to rumble on...

Better known in the Middle East for his powerboat designs for Al Yousuf, Julian Everitt has a successful design practice that has produced many race winning racing yacht designs over the past 30 years. He has also been Editor of the Royal Ocean Racing Club's magazine Seahorse and a columnist for Asian Marine. Email: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

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