America's Cup - Ed Gorman's view

The new British America's Cup challenge has got a lot of the right bits in the right places, writes Ed Gorman.

Having been out of the Cup since before the International America's Cup Class (IACC) rule came in - when Britain last raced in Fremantle the tools of the trade were still 12 Metres - the next problem facing any new British challenger was how to get on terms in a design game which we have never entered before.

Again Harrison and co have come up with what appears to be an imaginative and realistic solution. By buying the two Nippon yachts, JPN 44 and JPN 52, which were campaigned up to the semi-finals last year, a good benchmark has been set. But bringing the Japanese designers, Akihiro Kanai and Taro Takahashi, in alongside them is a real bonus. They will work with our own Derek Clark and Jo Richards - the latter one of the unsung talents of British sailing and a lateral thinker who will bring an element of design creativity that could make the difference. Many in the sport who will applaud his involvement.
The speculation in the press had been that Harrison would put up £10 million to finance this bid, making it a very modest effort, even as a so-called "toe-in-the-water" campaign. In fact the total budget envisaged for GBR Challenge is £17 million or $25 million, some of which, it is hoped, will come from commercial sources. For a one-boat effort, this seems realistic, given the relatively tight time constraints, with the first races in the next Louis Vuitton series due to start in mid-October 2002.

Expectations of a new British campaign have to be managed carefully. Within sailing, people are aware of how difficult it is to climb the Himalayan peaks of America's Cup racing, but the general public may not appreciate this so readily and might view an exit in the semis or earlier as a failure. However, both Barnes and Harrison were clear at the launch that the aims of GBR Challenge must be realistic. When asked directly by John Inverdale who compered the launch, Barnes made no secret that, in his view, a place in the semis would be a "fantastic achievement". By setting out their stall in this way, GBR Challenge is much less likely to run into problems with unrealistic expectations later on.

Harrison is a keen sailor and a self-made millionaire. His generosity to our sport is superb. He made it clear in no uncertain terms that this is his campaign and when asked whether Walker and Barnes would have autonomy under his overall leadership, he answered with an unequivocal "no". Far from it, in fact, Harrison underlined that he expects to be intimately involved in just about every decision, big or small.

His is a big ego to accommodate and no doubt there will be plenty of battles fought along the way, but that's the way of the world in America's Cup sailing.

Good luck the GBR Challenge.