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On our interview with Chris Law, de Savary's AC challenge, the Commodore's Cup and the new Pro25 sportsboat

We have continued to get your thoughts on our interview with Chris Law. Stewart Dyer writes:

If Prada have such a strong management team: Why do they find themselves at the mercy of the Arbitration panel (with potentially dramatic consequences)? And this as the challenger of record. Why are the personnel talking mixed messages in public? Why are nationality issues (do we need to mention family issues?) getting in the way of the objective? (Maybe it's an objective with conditions. There should only be one: be better than anyone else in every area.) Doug Peterson is good, but if he is that good why were they desperate to get Farr and his team? (With the so called "pick of the designers" at their disposal?)

Because they recognised that the game will move on big time (relatively) and needs the rounded brain pool to get there with the killer app: the product. If Peterson jumps to the kind of conclusions that he does in public (witness the 'it's all over bar the sailing' remarks during the keel days in 2000) what is he like within the team when he has researched his own ideas? Open to others?

The design issue is better considered within a co-ordination/resource management framework (see the info. management systems available to Oracle). A strong technical co-ordinator (in the John Marshall league) with a seamless link to the "jockeys on the boat" is clearly a must. It bears repeating that no team has beaten the Americans (twice) and then successfully defended it (once..so far) without Schnackenberg. Juan K. and Howlett will clearly bring new elements to the game, but this? Yes, they beat Cayard 5-4. And Cayard did have money (eventually): but Prada had more of everything earlier (especially time, design time) and still failed to recognise early that they needed someone in a) the Davis league b) the Davis league with enough time to qualify on to the boat.

Prada were also aware of the dye issue - that creates a weakness in the cloth - because they had time and money to find out. They also bought up large chunks of the best cloth, limiting the supplies to everyone else.

It needs pointing out that Cayard won some pretty big points (psychological especially) during that match. He also had to deal with his own: without the kite issues who knows? AmericaOne were placed first in the semis (and they were ahead in the race when Prada dropped the rig). So it's 4-4 in the final: what are both teams thinking? Prada: "Jesus these guys have been off doing the Whitbread, there major money walked off early, we nicked their campaign manager, we have let them come back to 4-4, and, oh look our coach has just jumped into the rib again". Aone: "U-S-A U-S-A! But what the hell kind of sick joke is this with the exploding kites??"

Prada got through, but what state were they in? It's a symptom of intense trauma sufferers that the bad part is after the event when you have got to thinking about it. If you don't have closure to that period then it creates another potential failure under high load/stress (like any structure).

Watch closely the reaction of the Italian crew after they narrowly beat GBR in the Jubilee (and Aone in 2000, even the road to America's cup regatta 98). Waves of relief delivered in celebration. There is a difference. You can celebrate your win creating relief from the event (we believed we could that and we have just achieved it), or you can celebrate that you are relieved (you doubted you ever would be).

So who really beat Prada? Bertelli talked of 'suicide tactics' when they failed to cover NZ. Well by that point they were probably in that mind frame. It was a major softening up in the LV Cup with them punch drunk in the finals. When NZ unfurl the code zero it's pretty symbolic: you could write a list of killer blows on that sail. Are Prada going to inflict these on themselves again?

Chris Allen offers this missive:

Congratulations to Chris [Law] for winning the recent Swedish Match event. He has proved he can perform on his day before now, and no doubt will do so again. However having so publicly (and petulantly?) resigned from representing Britain at the last Admiral's Cup, he should keep his rather bitter opinions to himself rather than taking cheap shots at a group of sailors who between them at their early ages have already acheived more than he has.

Ian Walker's record speaks for itself, how many other sailors could master the notoriously difficult Star in a year or so and win a Silver medal. However I think there are more than a few other members of the team who would have pretty strong views about the challenge being all about Ian. Ultimately it's a team, and all good teams need a good captain. The salaries of the GBR Challenge team are entirely their own business but probably rather less than Chris and marina gossip would have you believe. As British sailors we should be united behind GBR Challenge, our first challenge since 1987, the last thing needed is a return to the divisive, Machiavellian ways of the previous generation, ways that Chris himself acknowledges. Chris withdrew himself from representing Britain, he should prove himself a man of his word and in doing so keep sour grapes out of GBR Challenge. Good luck to the boys!

Farr International's Peter Morton writes:

Unless I am mistaken "We" (The British) did not discover New Zealand. A few South Sea Islanders now called Maori's moved there thousands of years ago and a Dutchman Abel Tasman was the first European to visit ( Chris that's why it's called New Zealand after Zeeland in the Netherlands) As for the rest! I think that's been well answered by other readers.

Rick Perkins from Whitstable (but who writes to us from Queenstown in NZ) says this:

I have had the fortune to visit the GBR Challenge base in NZ and what is going on there has to be seen to be understood. Mounting a serious challenge requires team work. The team dynamic has to work in every function for a challenge to stand any chance. The vibe at the base was great, would Chris contribute to that or would his influence be negative?

Kit Hobday's announcement that he and Peter de Savary may be launching another British America's Cup challenge, in addition to Peter Harrison's for the America's Cup after this has also provoked comment. Andrew Banks has this to say:

OK, so let's get this straight; two blokes whose previous America's Cup track record has been running teams that were beset by political in-fighting, wastage of resources (both financial and human), under performance and accusations of dodgy business dealings (the Blue Arrow affair) are back in town, and expect everyone to take their 'new' challenge for the America's Cup seriously.

Furthermore, they're not going to pay anybody much to sail these boats, as most of the talented sailors in this country who've struggled through International and Olympic campaigns with minimal funding just love living off a mixture of patriotism and thin air, as opposed to following the money to a foreign syndicate.

In addition these guys have actually got a bona fide F1 team interested in collaborating with them to design their boat. With most F1 teams struggling to keep up with the dominance of World Champions Ferrari, they are obviously going to be only too willing to lose a number of their most talented people for two F1 seasons, while they work their way through an AC design cycle.

Finally, there are Commercial companies out there that might want to be involved, but only if De Savary is? What companies? His own? Anyone else notice a funny smell??? If this was April, I think I know what day it would be.

It's a shame that this will inevitably steal thunder from the GBR Challenge, - interestingly most pundits have praised Peter Harrison's for avoiding the sort of pitfalls and management style of previous Challenges, Victory amongst them. Following the implosion of De Savary's last much trumpeted Challenge (a boat that was designed but never built), Bob Fisher wrote that De Savary's presence on the Cup scene always hurt British Challenges when trying to raise commercial sponsorship, and that he should withdraw for good. I don't think anything has changed on that score; meanwhile the whole thing strikes me the equivalent of the Hesketh F1 team of the 1970s trying to enter the modern F1 Championship, whilst using a rather vague connection with (the McLaren?) F1 team to boost their credibility.

Still from an entertainment point of view, I suppose seeing and America's Cupper steered by a chap who has a (much remarked upon at Cork Week) resemblance to Sideshow Bob from the Simpsons would add a bit of colour to the LVC, and De Savary always manages to be a great soap opera.

Bill Dann has this to say:

What are these two driving at? Sailing is a team sport and if they want to get involved great but don't do it in a devisive way so as to detract from the current efforts of the GBR Challenge as your article suggests. One only has to walk down the dock and look at the fleet of Farr 52s to work out which boats are properly looked after and who has the required level of skill to mount an AC Challenge. If this is a mystery to people ask why the results from Cork Week do not show the Bear team on top. They train every day but it doesn't show on the water or on the presentation of their boat. If the Bear Team are to be the basis for an AC Challenge don't expect anything from it - if they can't win in a fleet of 3 Farr 52s what are they going to do against the best in the world. I am sure Messrs Coutts, Cayard and Connor will be shaking in their boots at the prospect of a match up with these people.

Colin Strain sums up:

United we stand, divided we fall... What else is there to say?

The pre-Cowes Week turmoil over the Commodore's Cup , brought this response from an anonymous reader.

When will people get off the RORC's case? Last time the Commodore's Cup was held under IRM and there were lots of criticisms that the event was not open enough as the lack of IRM boats made the event only accesable to a few teams. This time IRC, sounds fine to me for what is meant to be a top level amateur event, and even though there are now 11 good quality teams entered the moaning minnies are still at it!

RORC even get slated for matters beyond their control! Mr Struth don't blame the RORC that the England team trials (not UK trials as you call them) were held on the south coast. These trials were organised by the RYA who probably justifiably thought the best place to hold the trials was in and around the Solent where most of the English racing boats are based, and also were the Commodore's Cup itself is held. Any local knowledge gained by the selected English boats during the trials in Burnham for example would not be particularly handy at the Commodore's Cu!

To sum up: stop moaning and get on the water. If everyone put as much effort into making events such as the Commodore's Cup a success as they do in criticising then we'd all be a lot better off! The Commodore's Cup is a great event, let's get behind the RORC and ensure that 2002 event is one to remember! Signed: a disgruntled RORC member and Commodore's Cup competitor

Eddie Warden-Owen (coach/advisor to the Mascalzone Latino America's Cup challenge) writes:

Comments by an anonymous Welshman (Eddie Owen reveal yourself) were brought to my attention in comments about an article/interview by Chris Law. I have not read the Law article nor followed the Commodores Cup 'antics' neither would I want to anonymously use your excellent website to make comment. I am also flattered that you regard me as Wales' greatest sailor. Surely Ian Barker and Richard Tudor to name but two deserve much greater credit. I have no comment regarding Chris Law's involvement with GBR challenge - Chris needs to earn a crust and is looking for a job. Regarding the Commodore's Cup - great event and long may it continue. Who cares about the politics lets go sailing and keep our fingers crossed that GBR Challenge have a good series.

We have received some correspondence about the new Pro25 sportsboat . Stefan Lloyd writes:

The Pro 25 looks an attractive boat, but it is not the only one recently launched in this market - the V8 which Race 1 are marketing is a similar boat with a similar price tag. The problem both face is that outside Cowes Week and the Round the Island, racing for sportsboats in the Solent is now completely dominated by three one-design classes - 707, 1720 and Mumm 30. In the Warsash Spring series this year there were just a handful of boats in the mixed sportsboat class, while in many events there is no sportsboat class at all. Racing boats like these in IRC is not viable - remember the mostly poor results the Mumm 30s got when they tried racing against IRC 40 footers? Unless these new designs can get themselves adopted by a like-minded group of sailors in a club what are you going to do with one if you bought it?

From Slovenia Kristian Hajnsek has this to say on the Pro25:

Well for my opinion the boat is way to expensive for its size. There are a plenty of small designs which offer the same fun for almost half of the prize, but without some fancy name as a designers. Just to mention one of such designs; young Slovene designer Marko Pas made new project Xpress 770, which is an evolution of his premier project the Murphy 26. The boat is built in polyester (to keep the costs down), weights around 800-850kg, the mast is 12m tall and carries 135 sq meters of downwind sails (with huge 110sq m symetric spinaker). The boat speed record is 18+ knots and the best thing about this is the price; it costs 17.000 EUR fully equipped and ready to sail. So why would somebody want to buy boat of the same size and performance for twice amount of money?

Never heard of the Xpress 770. However readers can find out about it here .

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