The Maritime Report: For July 11, 2013

Dave Bloch

Thursday, Jul 11, 2013

Artemis Racing offers the media a tour of their Alameda Point home base. Video courtesy of Artemis Racing.

LOTS of America's Cup-related news this week.

GREAT ARTEMIS TOUR VIDEO

On Saturday, Artemis Racing held a long-awaited media tour of their base at Alameda Point. No photography or video was permitted, but their own staff had cameras all over the place. On Tuesday, Artemis released a 15-minute video of tour highlights, including some really good comments by CEO Paul Cayard and Helmsman Nathan Outteridge. Readers of this blog know that I'm partial to Artemis - they're our (original) Alameda Home Town Team, after all - and I'm happy to say that I heard nothing but pride and determination from all the team members who spoke with us.

THE JURY - STILL OUT?

As I write this at 5:30 Wednesday afternoon, the promised-today decision from the America's Cup International Jury has not yet been issued. The protests from Luna Rossa Challenge and Emirates Team New Zealand center on the size of the winglets attached to the rudders on the boats. I won't go into detail here. The most important thing about the decision will be that, if it goes in favor of Luna Rossa/ETNZ, it will effectively knock Artemis Racing out of the competition. Artemis has rudders that are eligible under the new safety rules, but they will not have anything they can use if the Jury throws that particular rule out. If this changes overnight or Thursday morning, I will add the information to the bottom of this article as a comment, so scroll down!

RACES - SORT OF

You all know that the Italian Luna Rossa Challenge team skipped the first race against Emirates Team New Zealand on Sunday. The Alameda Point-based team explained that they wanted to wait until the International Jury ruled on their protest.

SO, ETNZ went out on Sunday and sailed the full course on their own, winning the first point toward the Louis Vuitton Cup. They shattered several America's Cup records, reaching nearly 40 knots even with relatively light winds. New Zealand was out there again on Tuesday, sailing the race originally scheduled against Artemis Racing, which is still building their AC72. They won this race too, earning another point.

It's looking pretty good for ETNZ to win the round robin this month! That will advance them directly to the LV Cup Finals in mid-August, while Luna Rossa and Artemis will race a series that will pit one of them against ETNZ for the LV Cup and the right to advance to the America's Cup itself.

FUNDRAISER FOR AMERICAN YOUTH SAILING FORCE JULY 25

The highlight of the summer regattas might actually be the Red Bull Youth America's Cup, with 10 teams from eight countries (real national teams; all members from the host country) competing in fleet races for four days starting the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. These 19- to-24-year-old sailors are really excited, as well as being very nice people.

Oakland Yacht Club will host a fundraising dinner for the AYSF on Thursday, July 25. A member of the team will be at each table; there will be a fundraising auction, gourmet dinner, sponsored wine throughout the meal, and an America's Cup update. You'll see video of the team in action and they'll talk about their intense training program.

Tickets for this are $65 online or $75 at the door, and are LIMITED. You can buy yours now at http://forcealameda.eventbrite.com/. For more information, visit http://americanyouthsailingforce.com/.

Comments

Submitted by sierradave on Thu, Jul 11, 2013

The jury has now announced that their decision will be posted at 11am at americascip.com .

Submitted by sierradave on Thu, Jul 11, 2013

The decision has been posted. In the 23 pages you can glean that the ruling is in favor of the protesting teams. It eliminates Artemis from competition, UNLESS all the teams can agree on "dispensation" for Artemis in some form that lets them continue.

Submitted by Michele Ellson on Thu, Jul 11, 2013

Thanks, Dave. Can you explain a little more about the decision? I found the Regatta Notice that the jury appears to have nixed - which acknowledges the lack of support for changes: http://noticeboard.americascup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/RN189-USCG.... But it looked like the jury said the competitors had ti comply with the notice regarding the rudder elevators, here: http://noticeboard.americascup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/RN188-Assy...?

Submitted by sierradave on Thu, Jul 11, 2013

It is really complicated. But the most important factor appears to be that the Regatta Director really does not have the power to change the Class Rule (which is the big document dealing with the design of the boats) without the consent of all four teams. The safety of each team, as far as boat design issues are concerned, is the responsibility OF THE TEAMS and goes beyond the authority of the Director. RD Iain Murray put his recommendations out and said they were the rules, even though ETNZ and LR had not agreed to those two items. They protested and the Jury agreed; he did not have that power.

Submitted by Michele Ellson on Thu, Jul 11, 2013

And as you've said, Artemis has rudders it can use under the new safety rules but not based on the jury's decision to throw them out. Thanks Dave, and we'll see what happens next!

Submitted by Michele Ellson on Thu, Jul 11, 2013

Artemis just responded to the jury's decision: Artemis Racing is disappointed that the Jury’s decision leaves uncertainty. Artemis Racing is here to compete and remains confident that a solution will be found allowing for a safe regatta that all can compete in.

Our team is working hard and we are currently in the midst of completing the structural testing of our boat. This should be completed by weeks end. Final assembly of the boat will take place next week with the goal of getting on the water in ten days time. Artemis Racing has been working intensively for two months and we are eagerly looking forward to racing.