HIGHS AND LOWS IN CHICAGO WRAP WITH SPECTACULAR SUPER SUNDAY
This Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series has been snake-bit like I have never seen. They’ve lost more days due to too much wind or lack of wind, to a point that is really unprecedented. Usually it happens once in a blue moon, but in the past year it has become all too common. The America’s Cup solution is the Substitute Race. So, if there are good conditions on the practice day, they put a race in the can and use it on a day where there potentially is no racing. On Saturday in Chicago the first race ended up being counted as the substitute race from Friday. I haven’t talked to the teams, but if I was a competitor I would say put three substitute races in the can on Friday. Television and promotion of our sport is a huge part of what the America’s Cup is trying to do, so it’s simply being a bit more creative and open-minded about how to pull it all off in less than ideal situations.
“The enthusiasm of not just Mid-West sailors but sports fanatics was out there on the Navy Pier. Anyone who was out there Sunday walked away going “Woah, that is not the sailing I’ve seen before”. That’s good for sailing.”
The other thing that sailors don’t realize is that every time you go out on a race course, in your local bay for example, and conditions are too light or windy in the morning, you just delay and wait for the conditions to get better. So essentially you have an all day window to pick the right conditions. Well, because of television and when the racing goes live around the world, you don’t have that luxury. You go when you go. That’s it, whether it’s the best or worst conditions of the day. It’s one of the drawbacks of modern, televised sailboat racing. The substitute race buys a little bit of broadcast time. And the great thing in Chicago was that after the race period expired for live television, they kept the boats out and the wind filled in to deliver a terrific race that afternoon, and that became a substitute race for Sunday. But what it also did was offer a sailboat race to the thousands and thousands of spectators on Navy Pier. Too put it perspective, it’s tough to hold a crowd during a rain delay in baseball, but on Saturday in Chicago, nobody left the pier. The boats put on a great show in a good breeze later in the day, and everyone went home happy.
Then Sunday doesn’t even compare: on schedule, three race day, drama, upsets, cool passes and great sailing by Artemis. Although they did try pretty hard to lose it at the end of the final race! It was great to see some of the new blood thriving. I felt really happy for Soft Bank Team Japan finishing off the regatta with a win, and getting on the podium. I’m also happy that Artemis pulled together a string of consistent races. And some of the big guns like Ainslie figured out how not to sail his best but at the same time come within a couple of points of winning the regatta. And Oracle Team USA and Emirates Team New Zealand did not have their best regatta. You can really see how the breaks come your way from time to time. They didn’t get any breaks and they didn’t sail perfectly. All of a sudden the overall series is really tight.
Chicago was great: the venue was unbelievable. The enthusiasm of not just Mid-West sailors but sports fanatics was out there on the Navy Pier. Anyone who was out there Sunday walked away going “woah, that’s not the sailing I’ve ever seen before”. That’s good for sailing. But venues, and venue times, are becoming more and more critical with televised sailing. Everyone is really learning that you have to consider the time and place based on historical wind and weather data. But I’m really proud of Chicago – the VIP experience through to the fan experience was especially well done.
Next is Portsmouth – the first time for me that I’ll be returning to a venue for the second time. The first event was terrific, heaps of people. But it was only a one day regatta. So let’s all root for two good race days. And we know the British are enthusiastic not only for their team but also for sailing and for the America’s Cup. I have no doubt that what they have learnt across all the events since last time, it should be a great experience and a heck of an event.
