Audio: Russell Coutts talks to Radio NZ
Russell Coutts, CEO of BMW Oracle, talked to PJ Montgomery on Radio NZ on Sunday morning. The legendary kiwi sailor, four-time America's Cup winner, mainly talked about the news Montgomery broke last week that the Defender had taken the decision to hold the 34th edition of the world's oldest sports competition in La Maddalena, Italy on multihulls.
According to Coutts, Montgomery's version is partially true, without further elaborating whether he was referring to the venue or the yacht. We are inclined to think that Montgomery was right on the boat. A 70-foot winged catamaran would give BMW Oracle a tremendous advantage over the challengers.
You can listen to the entire 11-minute interview but you will not hear Coutts revealing anything extraordinary. We will have to wait a couple of months more before we have the complete picture.
Training session of the C-class yachts on the eve of the Little America's Cup or preview of the real 34th America's Cup? Newport, 22 August 2010. Photo copyright Christophe Launay
Training session of the C-class yachts on the eve of the Little America's Cup or preview of the real 34th America's Cup? Newport, 22 August 2010. Photo copyright Christophe Launay
Training session of the C-class yachts on the eve of the Little America's Cup or preview of the real 34th America's Cup? Newport, 22 August 2010. Photo copyright Christophe Launay
Training session of the C-class yachts on the eve of the Little America's Cup or preview of the real 34th America's Cup? Newport, 22 August 2010. Photo copyright Christophe Launay
Training session of the C-class yachts on the eve of the Little America's Cup or preview of the real 34th America's Cup? Newport, 22 August 2010. Photo copyright Christophe Launay
Training session of the C-class yachts on the eve of the Little America's Cup or preview of the real 34th America's Cup? Newport, 22 August 2010. Photo copyright Christophe LaunayLabels: 34th America's Cup, BMW Oracle, Russell Coutts
34 Comments:
BOR has no interest revealing anything soon. Thus, while everyone is anxiously waiting they are getting ready.
This done under the cover of discussion, analysis and consensus. Anyone believing those craps is really naive. Coutts is a professional liar. Very good at it.
welcome to the 34AC.
Did he sign any contract? No!
What's about to create a cheaper event for all teams? It will be the most expensive ever!
How many teams will really show up?
It looks like he has nothing in his hands...looser!
well said
Why anyone will waste their money validating RC/LE et al as legitimate deffenders escapes me. This thing has been loaded since the summer of 2007. They have two goals, win the cup at all costs (LE) to legitamise the 33AC scam, make as much money as possible for themselves (RC). Everything else they talk about is just cover.
Be sensible guys let BMWOR and ML play amongst themselves at least then you wont waste money and they will pay for their own show themselves .
I hope there's an AC34 boycott till Oracle wisen up
Can someone please provide a link to a language deciphering program that can help interpret just what those two Kiwi clowns were jabbering and stuttering on about . WTF does "usualably" mean anyway ? No wonder the "New Deal" is taking so long to put together - I'll bet no one can work out just what Sr RsHle Cts is struggling to . . . erm ah erm ah erm . . .enunciate ??
It's a real shame what the AC has become, it used to be a great yachting event - now it's just poisonous and septic.
Sorry, but I have difficulties understanding all the hype and frustrations in this thread. The AC always has been and always will be a race between two yachts. So all that is needed for a sucessfull AC is one serious and capable competitor and I actually don't care how many teams participate in the challenger series. If Alinghi doesn't enter (which I would assume), ETNZ would be the team to step in. I am pretty sure they will and certainly will be a tough competitor for BMWOracle in AC34 (irrespective of the location and the boat type). To be honest I don't see any other team with sufficient potential and expertise to challenge anyway. The ones that cry "foul" the loudest are most likely those that have the least chance of whinning anyway (I am thinking pussy KM)
2:08 PM anon,
can you show me a single AC team that
a.) does not want to win the cup at all costs? (I wonder, who would sponsor a team that does not want to win the cup????)
b.) does not want to make as much money as possible? (Do you seriously think any of the AC hotshots would sell himself under value????)
In my eyes your comments sound a little naive. After all, the AC is about competition and it is certainly not a charity.
P.S. I don't really understand why BMWOracle would need to validate or legitimize their status as defender. They beat Alinghi in AC33 convincingly (by 15min. and 5 min. respectively !!!!) and consequently are the DEFENDER. There's nothing more to add...
10.27
You are right and wrong. Just go back and reflect on all the statements about fair play, open communication etc from RC, TE and LE prior to and just after they won the 33rd AC in the context of how they are now behaving. You may then see my point.
10:27
Funny enough, the AC is a charitable trust based in NY.
Also, the biggest criticism made to ACM-Alinghi is that they were too commercially minded. You obviously think these accusations were wrong!
As 10:54 states, the problem with BOR is not what they o, but the gap between their speech and their acts.
Finally, for 10:12, a challenger series with 3 to 5 teams will not change the outcome of the Cup, only the perception as a world class event.
Well, so far I don't see anything unfair beeing done (yet). A boat type needs to be determined (and there will always be some teams complaining about the outcome, be it monos or multihulls). A protocol has yet to be published but will be shortly. So what ewxactly is unfair at the moment?
We also have no clue how open the channels of communication are between potential competitors. Open channels of communication do not require that the public (you and me) be involved in the decision making process. Our opinion, (as sad as this may be) is simply not relevant in this process.
It's pretty clear that Larry and Russell have intended to push through a multihull regardless of whatever every other team wanted. The only reason a proposal for a monohull was shown at the designer's meeting was to give an illusion of consultation and consideration of alternatives.
Russell has continued with the facade by developing a monohull rule in parallel with the cat rule, but in reality, the monohull has been a diversion from day one. BMWO never intended to consider it seriously, they just hoped that if they persevered long enough with the cat concept, opposition to it would wear down, and they could push it through with little resistance from the challengers.
Unfortunately, challengers are now falling by the wayside at a rapid pace, either out of impatience or disgust with BMWO. Luna Rossa has gone, Azzura has gone, and teams from other countries seem to have sunk without a trace. Pretty soon it may only be Mascalzone, ETNZ and Origin left, and Origin has already said they will bail out if the AC goes to winged multis.
In the meantime Russell is courting multihull teams, not that he will find many among the X40 circuit that will be willing to throw tens of millions at a futile quest to beat BMWO at their own game. Quite ironic now that Groupama is sponsoring a canting monohull in the Volvo race.
Wake up Russell before you totally stuff the America'sCup with your own hubris and arrogance. You are killing off teams faster than you can find new ones, and you may just succeed in killing the AC too.
@10:54
How do you know the lines of communication are not open? Are you involved with one of the potential challengers? Besides Dame Mills spouting off during the 1851 Cup (and probably only doing so to draw some attention to that boring spectacle) has he said anything since his reported meeting with Coutts?
I looked back to see how long it took to get AC31 and AC32 organized and announced and AC34 is right with them in regards to time frame. So whats the problem?
When the protocol, boat rule, and venue is announced then it will be time to debate and argue they are wrong. But for some to spout off that BMWO is no better than Alinghi prior to the AC34 info to be released, well ignorance is bliss right?
Wet Hog
I think you might have a large plate of words to eat very soon. Watch this space.
In case you didn't notice Team Origin did some pretty good talking on the race track in Cowes so lay off the insults old boy.
Arrogance is bliss!
@7:12
Yeah Dame Mills and his boys did great around Cowes. So great that BMWO had to stop and wait for them during the race around the island. Stunning performance. And Dame Mills and his boys are doing great in the Audi MedCup as well. Spectacular performance.
Shit, BMWO entered one Audi MedCup regatta two years ago, before shifting solely to multi's leading up to AC33, and BMWO won the whole regatta. Has Dame Mills and his boys even won one Audi MedCup race this year? Your response "old boy"?
As for the "plate of words" I will have to eat soon, well I'll eat off that plate when/if the time comes. My point is this, there is no point in bitching about what BMWO might do when the protocol, boat rule, and venue will be announced shortly.
Finally, in response to "Challengers" being driven away if BMWO goes with multihulls, I say fuck 'em. I prefer Mono's personally, but if some "Challengers" like Dame Mills Team Orafice cry foul and turn tail and run if multi's are named then good riddance. Jimmy Spithill went from knowing dick about multi's to helming a 90x90 tri to win the AC. Is Dame Mills stating he doesn't think Prince Ben Ainsle isn't as good a sailor as Jimmy Spithill? Seems to be the case. lol
Don't worry Wethog - Origin will be in the AC in a multihull - and they will do it with key members of the ex-BOR wing team who no longer want to have to deal with that fucked up work environment.
If you still think that the BOR effort, under the stewardship of Sr RsHle Cts,is anything other than a self-interested exercise in making as much money as possible in the shortest timeframe for one particular indivdual, then you really are just a sad example of the sort of dickhead who swallowed their salty PR ejaculations whole.
Wet Hog
No longer understand your message.
Good luck--out
Wet behind the ears Hog
The only match race that BMWOR won at Cowes was when Team Origin didn't even cross the start line due to shoddy maintanance by guess who.
Get raedy to those words, old boy I
@8:51 PM
Dame Mills already stated Team Orafice would not be in AC34 if its raced in multihulls. Are you calling him a liar?
@9:13 PM
Team Orafice requested that both BMWO boats be used for that spectacle. Why was that? GBR-75 not up to the challenge? And there was a reason why people like Grant Dalton were pissed when BMWO stated they weren't going to fix their boats in time to finish the La Maddalena LVT. They are quality built boats.
As for Coutts motives in regards to AC34, I won't pretend to know what they are, and I don't really care. I will wait for the protocol, boat rule, and venue to be announced before I raise holy hell.
And what are you trying to say here?
"Get raedy to those words, old boy I" And its said us Colonists butchered the Queens English? lol
Wethog, I am 100% with you, but I am afraid that is is futile to argue with some of the dickheads in this thread
wethog .get over yourself .you sound like a right prick!
@7:54 AM
Futile but fun.
@3:08 PM
Takes one to know one right bud?
Wethog
I appreciate your loyalty and nationalism, but what you should remember is that many of the dissenting posters on here and sailing anarchy are actually closely involved in the America's Cup and are not simply observers and spectators like yourself.
Some of us are seriously pissed off with the "say one thing, do another" stream of bullshit that has been coming out of BMWO. Russell and Tom Ehman are masters of propaganda and have managed to get lots of people in the U.S. to believe their BS, but many involved in the Cup know better.
The brave new world of consultation and level playing fields promised by Larry and Russell in February has rapidly been replaced by a dictatorship that shows no sign of being benevolent. Pushing through winged multihulls in the face of almost universal opposition from the challengers will be the final sign that BMWO are not listening, and only care about capitalizing on their technical lead at the expense of the challengers.
As they say, all power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.
to 5:39
you are absolutely right!
LE and RC are a shame for the Cup
@5:39 AM
Are you someone closely involved with a potential Challenger for AC34? If so, you assume my comments are influenced by nationality and loyalty to BMWO, but what influences your opinion about BMWO's handling of AC34? Are you un-biased in anyway? If you are a member of a potential Challenger I highly doubt it. Especially if you are a member of a potential Challenger that favors Mono's. Primarily because if you are, and AC34 goes multi, then you might be out of a job. If that is the case I understand the negative comments, especially in this current economy. But the AC is not around to provide a nice pay check to team members. Might be time to try and latch on with a VOR team.
And what technical advantage do you speak of in regards to BMWO? I am not boat design expert, but from all I read by those that claim to be experts is that USA-17's wing, besides being fucking huge, was nothing revolutionary. Simply put, BMWO had a wing and Alinghi didn't, that decided the match. Now mono Challengers rail on and on about BMWO's advantage if they go Multi. I don't see it. All I've read is BMWO will propose a cat design. Going back to USA-17, that thing was a tri from what I gathered. Once again, where is the advantage?
And the "Little AC" is going on right now and those involved with C-Cat's have been using wings forever. ARe you telling me if someone involved with the LAC decides to challenge AC34 that they would be at a disadvantage to BMWO? I doubt it. And what about multi teams from say France? Me thinks they would probably give BMWO a run for their money.
From my perspective, as a casual fan whose judgement is apparently clouded by nationality and loyalty to BMWO, the bitching about BMWO's advantage with multi's comes from those involved with Challengers who prefer Mono's and if they don't get their way they'll take their toys and go home and cry. Well, if teams like Team Orafice are un-willing or un-able to adapt to Multi's then they didn't deserve to Challange for the Cup in the first place and they should stick to the Audi Med Cup.
5:39 AM anon,
so you want to make us believe that you are working for an AC team? Byo, you must be dreaming...
PS. And who are the teams that are so opposed to multihulls and wings other than pussy KM???
Facts please!
@ 7:19
Can you name a team that has come out in support of winged multihulls. No? I didn't think so.
Problem for the challengers is that if they stand up and say that they will be seriously disadvantaged by sailing in cats with wings, they will be killing their own cases for getting sponsorship. So what people are saying in private and what they are saying in public are two different things.
What I find amazing is that Keith Mills actually came out and said that they would not be able to beat BMWO if it went to wings, as it will potentially cost him millions in sponsorship deals when Russell rams through his preferred option. I say good on him for having the guts to come out and say publicly what everyone else is thinking.
Wethog
Regarding your questions, yes I work for a challenger and yes I have a job, so I'm not biased by needing work. Would I love to work on a winged cat? Absolutely, its a fantastic challenge and would be a heap of fun.
Do I think that BOR has an unassailable lead? No, they have a big lead but in four years they can be overtaken easily.
The wing design problem is mainly structural rather than aerodynamic. As you said, the Dogzilla wing was crude aerodynamically and the C-cat guys are way ahead in terms of the aerodynamic design of wings, and that technology is on display for all to see.
But the C-cats are small and their wings are fragile, Aethon's wing was initially broken by Steve Clark falling on it and it crumpled like it was made of cardboard. A wing designed for a 22 metre cat, intended to sail in high wind venues like SF bay for 100+ days per year, is a different story. Building a wing that can take that sort of abuse and still be fairly light is a major challenge, and if the boat does ever pitchpole the wing will only be good for the dumpster.
So my objections are more that I just don't think winged cats are good for the AC. They will be expensive and very fragile. They will be difficult to handle in port and on shore. They will result in huge speed differences between the teams. They will not provide close tactical racing. They will be high risk devices with catastrophic results for a team when things go wrong.
They will tend to have races where one boat gets in front and stretches out its lead through the race. All this talk of providing passing lanes in racing is so much bullshit. Passing lanes just allow faster boats to get in front and sail away. The beauty of the old AC was that skillful sailors like DC could win races with slower boats by sailing smarter.
I think the Little America's Cup this time is a bit of a microcosm of what will happen in AC34: A wide disparity between the speed and skill levels of the teams; an occasional close race, and a whole lot of one-sided processions; high rates of gear failure; catastrophic rig failure resulting in complete elimination for some teams.
Personally I think Russell is well intentioned, but wrong on a lot of points. For example, his idea of making the first windward leg shorter to remove the advantage for the boat that wins the start will have the opposite effect, as the boat that wins the start will have an even greater chance of rounding the first mark in front. If he really wants to negate the startline advantage, the way to do it is to have two windward marks the first time up and allow boats to round either one.
Anyway, excuse the ramble, but my objection to wings or cats is not personal. In fact I'm now pretty convinced that my next boat will be an A-cat. I just don't think the winged cats will deliver the cost savings, close racing or even visual excitement and broad spectator appeal that Russell and the challengers are looking for.
continued...
I think the Little America's Cup this time is a bit of a microcosm of what will happen in AC34: A wide disparity between the speed and skill levels of the teams; an occasional close race, and a whole lot of one-sided processions; high rates of gear failure; catastrophic rig failure resulting in complete elimination for some teams.
Personally I think Russell is well intentioned, but wrong on a lot of points. For example, his idea of making the first windward leg shorter to remove the advantage for the boat that wins the start will have the opposite effect, as the boat that wins the start will have an even greater chance of rounding the first mark in front. If he really wants to negate the startline advantage, the way to do it is to have two windward marks the first time up and allow boats to round either one.
Anyway, excuse the ramble, but my objection to wings or cats is not personal. In fact I'm now pretty convinced that my next boat will be an A-cat. I just don't think the winged cats will deliver the cost savings, close racing or even visual excitement and broad spectator appeal that Russell and the challengers are looking for.
to 2:59 AM anon,
here are two teams:
ALINGHI and ETNZ (At leased ETNZ are not opposed to multis and will compete in any boat class if the rules are fair - in contrast to pussy KM)
@3:39 AM
We are not far apart on our opinions. I to feel the same about the switch to multi's but it is what it is. BMWO won and they decided ultimately.
To your points about fragility of the wings, etc..., V5 IACC boats were anything but sturdy would you agree? AC32 had stupid wind limits to race because the boats could only handle so much. And look at the 1851 Cup match between Team Orafice and BMWO. A lot of break downs and it has been said during past LVT matches that teams were impressed with the quality of the construction of the BMWO AC32 boats. Still they broke in "fresh" conditions.
So reliability of components for AC boats is not something new. The best team will adapt and over come and that team will win it all.
What really gets me are those, like Dame Mills, that make comments that they can't compete if its Multi's without event trying. Why can't Ben Ainsle make the switch to Multi's? James Spithill did it.
As for Coutts, well his agenda has been set for somtime has it not? Wasn't it 4 or 5 years ago he teamed up with Paul Cayard and announced the World Sailing League (WSL)? The boat announced for the WSL sure seems similar to what Coutts has been hinting to for AC34. It would seem his plans for AC34 are picking up where the WSL left off.
wethog - now you get it finally. Coutts is morphing the AmCup to suit his initial commercial project for a sailing league based on a 70ft cat platform. That is the same thing Bertarelli was roundly abused for attempting. Funny how both Bertarelli then Ellison have ended up pursuing the same "vision" - just ask yourself whose and for what end ?
This is all about "refocussing" and existing sailing "brand".
Pretty soon expect to hear a whole lot more about "franchise holders" and a whole lot less about "Cup Challengers".
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