From the Feedback - 21/03/01

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From Awbanks
The Admiral's Cup: past its sell-by date? The number of people that seem to prefer IMS 50s over IC45s baffles me. Aside from the expense, IMS 50s are not nice boats to sail; indeed they exhibit the same sort of characteristics that owners and sailors seem to cite as reasons why they don't like the Sydney 40, which apparently was at the crux of the US Team's decision to pull out. Also, apart from the Spanish and the Italians, is anyone still building large IMS boats? There seem to be precious few new ones about these days. Could you stage a competitive IMS 50 regatta at the moment along the lines of the winter series, like the one the IC45s enjoyed in Palma? I doubt you could find six or seven competitive boats, and aside from this, the absence of a level rating class at this size makes following this sort of racing confusing and difficult for both competitors and spectators alike. The major problem seems to be that, aside from the Farr 40, there is an absence of one-designs that have truly international appeal, while IMS is in decline and IR2000 is still really in its infancy. I think, realistically, RORC was always going to have difficulty in filling spaces in this year's event, as things are in such a state of flux. However, whether or not this year's championship goes ahead, RORC now have the opportunity to make wholesale changes to the format to better reflect the preferences of crews and owners, whilst coming up with something that has broad appeal to the public and the media; thus making the Admiral's Cup more attractive to those who invest in it (be they owners, sailors or sponsors).

From Geoffrey Emanuel
Can the event be saved? I am embarrassed to be an American. Don Genitempo claims it would cost $500,000 to campaign a chartered Sydney 40 in this year's Admiral's Cup. This assertion, coupled with the decision to withdraw from this event at the 11th hour, smacks of a power play by the U.S. to attempt to change the rules of the game that have been established for over 4 years. Although the Sydney 40 is not a popular boat in the US, it has been known for 4 years to be the third boat for this event. Why hasn't the U.S. spoken out forcefully against its use until now, when it is clearly too late to do anything about it? And, as far as his budget to campaign the boat, I'd like to see the individual line items, especially the proposed salaries paid to the crew. Finally, the core of the debate has focused on our lack of participation. Underlying this debate is the professional aspect of this event. Let's go back to the event's roots. The format of day and overnight racing favours well-rounded vessels capable of exciting round-the-buoy racing but strong and comfortable enough to withstand a punishing Fastnet There is no international event left for the hardcore racer-cruiser sailing well prepared Swan, Baltic-type boats. Secondly, the event should ban paid professionals. If professionals want to participate, great. But no one should be paid by owners who are already challenged by the cost of the event. Third, eliminate one-designs. They're all the rage as far as conventional wisdom goes, but they remain a distinct minority of the total racing fleet. Fourth, use IRC and stick with that rating system for at least 10 years. The criteria for the event has been changed too many times over the past 10 years. In conclusion, I believe that the Admiral's Cup should be re-established as the premier international corinthian yachting competition that it originally was.

From Pips
The Admiral's Cup: past its sell-by date? The Admiral's Cup was huge fun in its original amateur format. The Cowes Week atmosphere and parties made up for the weather and the Fastnet Race created a stern challenge to end the week on. As it got more serious and more costly, it became less fun - and Cowes became less enjoyable as it became more crowded and more rules/no go areas etc. were introduced. So yes, it is past its use-by date. It's no longer part of Cowes Week, the Fastnet is gone from it and the weather is still mostly lousy and, there are a lot more quality regattas that have started up since. It's quite sad. My father had some of the best times of his life competing in Griffin and then in Roundabout, one of the first one-tonners. I had a great time too.The one-design, three boat-format sounds the best so far, but I think that the Fastnet needs to be part of that challenge. Either that or turn it into a day boat regatta for smaller one-designs like sport boats and trailer sailors and make it fun again.

From Clive
Are four nations really enough? No. Give it up. Why did the RORC dump all the IMS boats and go for these no-name brands? Forget about the Admiral's Cup, that is one reason why the Americans will not be coming. No American corporation is going to spend money on a campaign of $500,000 to $1,000,000 when they get no exposure when the real prize is the America's Cup. That gets live TV coverage over here. Dump the Sydney 40 and use the Coral 45, Farr 40 and the small Farr 30, then there will be a lot of American involvement. No American syndicate would want to rent a tub from Britain or go and race in boats they have never even seen.

From Sarah
Admiral's Cup? I read everyone saying that it's about money or not wanting to lose from the US side, but the reality is that when RORC chooses to race two classes which are not raced in the US, how much fun is it? There are either open classes like IMS 50s which can be variations raced all over the world or one-design fleets which are raced worldwide like the Mumm 36 and 30. Look at the success of regattas like Key West and you will see that there is plenty of racing in the States. We need an international solution for an international regatta. Otherwise it will become a localized European event.

From C Boy
Admiral's Cup? I cannot see how you can be suggesting the IMS 50 for the AC when there are so few of them around and only the latest are competitive. The reason they are not being built is the cost and the fact that the IMS rule is still only acceptable to a very few sailors. I believe the Admiral's Cup management committee needs to take a radical look at the whole event and the types of boat to be used. I also believe that consideration should be given to moving the regatta around the world to Australia, the States, northern Europe and the Med. What about a team made up of a 45 to 50ft OD, a Farr 40 and a Mumm 30?

From Paul M
Will Andy B fare better than Andy G ? That is a no-brainer - no way, Jose. No matter how good you are, you need to be in the "matchrace groove" months before hand.

From Sean Cody
What weight limit, if any, should they impose? None. The Olympic committee picked the class. Let them have it the way the class association has designed it. If they wanted a weight limit, they should have picked a more international boat like the J-22 that has a class weight limit.

From M Sempers
Thames Water sensible or silly? Silly without a shadow of doubt. But nothing new. Remember the bomb scares? Cavalier is one (polite) word for their attitude. I can think of many more. A veterinary risk assessment says more than any words I'm going to write, but most of all, this is an affront to common sense.

From Baxter Bradford
Thames Water sensible or silly? Extremely uninformed and they should compensate businesses on their premises for loss of income. If they feel that the government wouldn't reimburse, then this should make them. I think that Mike offers an excellent service and his hard-fought business should not be jeopardised by a bunch of wet-blanket decision makers.

From Penny Aikenhead
Yves Parlier. I think that it is absolutely fantastic. Adventures such as Yves Parlier had during the Vendee are what makes these races the fascinating subjects they are. Mich's novel 'starter motor', etc. A book should be written about all the amazing ways people got round rig and equipment failures. One chapter for each, plenty of drawings - it would be of inestimable help to ordinary sailors and to ARC competitors. It would take some of the fear of gear failures away knowing that, with common sense and a few elementary pieces of kit, repairs can be effected. Another section should be on The Race and how Club Med fixed their hull delamination, etc. etc. If such a book were brought out for Christmas it would be a yachting best-seller.