Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Ben Ainslie: "A multihull with a wingmast clearly gives Oracle a massive design advantage"

Ben Ainslie, the triple Olympic medalist skippering Britain's America's Cup team Team Origin, frequently publishes very interesting posts in his personal blog. In the latest article, published today, Ainslie talks extensively about his latest Finn regatta at Skandia Sail for Gold but also makes interesting comments on Team Origin, in particular regarding the America's Cup, the TP52 campaign and the World Match Racing Tour.

As far as the America's Cup is concerned, Ainslie comments on the type of boat that will be chosen by BMW Oracle, suggesting that a multihull with a wingmast will "clearly" give the Defender a "massive design advantage" over the other teams. We'll have to wait until next Monday for the official announcement by Russell Coutts.

"There is still a lot of TEAMORIGIN racing to be done and America's Cup discussions to be had. As it stands the suggestion is that BMW Oracle are still very keen to proceed with a multihull for the next Cup and we have concerns with that, as not only is there a question mark over how good multihulls are for match racing but also going with a multihull with a wingmast clearly gives Oracle a massive design advantage over the rest of us.

The channels of communication are still open with BMW Oracle and we had some dialogue during the 1851 Cup at Cowes Week, which was a great event and saw some fantastic racing between the two teams. There will be an announcement on the 13th of September as to the class of boat, date and rules for the next event. This announcement is eagerly awaited by all involved. Russell Coutts and BMW Oracle have talked at length about improving the sport and taking the America's Cup into an exciting future, let's hope these changes are good for the sport on and off the water.

The TP52 regatta in Cartagena last month was acceptable for the Birtish team that, despite the disastrous gear failure in the coastal race, finished third and are still in the hunt for a podium spot in the circuit.

The other racing for TEAMORIGIN is the TP52 Audi Med Cup and the World Match Racing Tour. We have just completed two back to back regattas with the TP52 in Cartagena, Spain and the World Match Racing Tour in St Moritz, Switzerland.

Cartagena was a better event for us in the TP, we have struggled all season to find our grove in learning the boat and the fleet. We had a very disappointing coastal race where our forestay ram broke down and resigned us to last place in this high scoring race. We came back okay on the final day to finish third overall and be in the hunt for a top three finish for the season's standings. Team New Zealand continues to be the stand out boat in this class, sailing with good boat speed in most conditions and smart tactics.

Finally, Ainslie is disappointed with his performance in last week's St. Moritz Match Race. He's aiming at winning this year's ISAF World Match Racing Championship but he's only competing in half of the Tour's nine events, so even a third place can prove costly.

St Moritz ended in disappointment after losing the semi finals and third place sail offs. In both races we were close to the opposition, with a penalty on them, but were unable to keep the race close enough to win. It was a frustrating way to end what had been a fun week and a fourth place finish, while not being a disaster, is not going to be good enough if we want to be in contention to win the tour. We are only competing in half of the tour and so every event for us is a counter. Sailing in St Moritz is a unique experience as the lake is very small and surrounded by mountains at 1800 meters above sea level. The air is thin and the wind incredibly shifty, apart from that it's the most stunning scenery anywhere in the World.

Next up is the Danish Open Match Race. Hopefully we can turn things around from Switzerland and sail better at sea level.

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23 Comments:

At 3:59 PM, Blogger WetHog said...

1. Does Mr. Ainslie truely believe BMWO has a significant advantage if the Cup goes with winged Multi's (Once again, the wing on USA-17 was fucking huge, but not technically advanced and USA-17 was a tri not a cat, where is the advantage?), or he is setting up his excuse in advance when it becomes clear he cannot transition to multi's successfully as James Spithill has? I point to the ladder.

2. Mr. Ainslie and Team Orafice once again blame the boat for their performance to date in the Audi Med Cup.

So there you go, as I see it once again its excuse after excuse for Team Orafice. Enough already.

 
At 4:51 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The defender always has a design advantage. After all it's design has won the previous cup. What's new??

 
At 4:53 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Give it a rest Wethog, we know that you are an illiterate redneck from the suburbs of Annapolis and you think that makes you an authority on the America's Cup, but you are particularly wide of the mark with this one. I don't think Ben Ainslie needs to prove his sailing skill to anyone, least of all you.

As for Origin's TP52, yes its a dog, just what you would expect from Juanker.

 
At 5:16 PM, Blogger Wayne said...

I am a Oracle supporter, but your language is uncalled for and childish. You can make your points just as forcefully without resorting to profanity and name calling. People will take your comments more seriously if you write like a mature adult.

 
At 6:32 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

So much for a "fair" America's Cup. Oracle has more than 3 years advantage over everybody else. As for James Spithill, WetHog, he "transitioned" with great success but after 2 years of unlimited testing and training. The new protocol simply prohibits that. Even if Origin had their multihull ready tomorrow they wouldn't be able to train as they felt like.

 
At 6:36 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Since he admits the decision has already been taken, I wonder what's the point of further whining.
Anyway, a wingmast is what Alinghi5 had, the new cats will have a hardwing or a wingsail, your choice

 
At 8:16 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yea, maybe the TP52 is a dog.. Ah, maybe the boat Team Origin uses for the match race series is also a dog... wait, maybe the boat Team Origin used for Louis Vuitton Series is also a dog...
What a bad luck they always have a bad boat, even in the events were there is boats rotation... what a shame, all that talent wasted in bad boats.
And now they cannot win because the defender has lots of advantage... what a bad luck, im so sorry.

 
At 11:03 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anonymous 8:16... you are not from Argentina are you???

 
At 11:52 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

WetHog the only thing BMWO has won is in Multi's there Monohull record is poor... so yes thay are going to have advantage... what i dont understand is why owners who are ment to be respected business men still cant work it out that they are going to just be making up the numbers when this one comes around.. Torbjorn, Vincenzo, Mills what smoke is Coutts / Cayard etc blowing up your ass i want some.

 
At 1:30 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ben, you are right. There is no hope if the challenge is that big!

Concentrate on the Finn and aim for the Olympics, maybe you can win there? Origin can find plenty of guys to race the AC multihull, don't worry about it so much.

 
At 1:41 AM, Blogger Norby said...

so, maybe team origin is a dog.

 
At 9:17 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

It's true, Oracle even gave them the bad boat for the 1851 Cup, but anyone can thrash Oracle in Version 5s right?

 
At 10:57 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think it’s refreshing for sailors like Ainslie to come out and make honest comments, it’s not something we always get to hear. The more open the AC is to the public domain the more coverage it will receive and the more it will be respected outside of the sailing community.

On the advantage BMWO has I don’t think its rocket science (if the next AC is Multihuls) to realise they will have a massive advantage over all the other teams, they are two years ahead on development!

 
At 12:46 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Uhh!! Advantage? There are 3 years on ahead. Advantage? Grant Simmers is on your team, he designed Alinghi catamaran at 33th AC. Advantage?
Don't cry and look excuses up.

 
At 1:01 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Even if Origin had their multihull ready tomorrow they wouldn't be able to train as they felt like."

So who on f***ing earth is stopping little Ben from training on a multihull??? A professional strategy for Mills & co. would have been to at least consider multihulls in their team strategy and to train accordingly. They could have started that easily one or two years ago...

 
At 4:58 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Grant Simmer had designed Alinghi? Are you sure? What's about R.V. and D.K.?

 
At 4:59 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Grant Simmer had designed Alinghi?
Are you sure? What's about R.V. and D.K.?

 
At 5:12 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Grand Simmer had designed Alinghi?
Are you sure? What's about R.V. and D.K.?

 
At 11:32 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

shut up wetlettuce

 
At 11:34 PM, Blogger WetHog said...

@11:52 PM

BMWO enter the Audi Med Cup event in Marseille back in 2008 and won the thing with a brand new boat.

http://yachtpals.com/medcup-1824

Can Team Orafice make the same claim?

I won't sit here and say that BMWO has a sterling record in mono-hulls, but it aint bad either. And certainly better than Team Orafice.

 
At 9:41 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

WHO CARES!!!!!!!!!!!!

 
At 12:49 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oracle do have an advantage, Ben is correct. The advantage is the ability to twist the rules in their own favor and claim that they are doing what all the challengers want.
Case in point:
Claiming to have an open design consultation process, and no decision on the type, yet for the past 2 months they have quietly been building 2 70´cats with soft sails for next years LVS, right here in NZ. Have a look at their facility in Warkworth.......
Oracle have every right to change the game, but no right to the hippocracy they are spewing forth.

 
At 1:07 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think it’s completely unfair for Ainslie to sail a Finn in the Olympics. He has such an advantage over the new kids in the class. They should have the Olympics in Toppers.

 

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