By Susan Kruller
July/August, 2002

Did you know . . . There was no America's Cup racing between 1937 and 1958.

OneWorld Challenge Team At SYC

Members at SYC had two great opportunities in June to learn more about the exciting OneWorld Challenge campaign for the America’s Cup and meet with the team during the SYC Sailboat Dinner, and a special reception.

Executive Director of OneWorld Challenge, Bob Ratliffe, made a presentation to update members with an insider’s look at the team in winter training, and showed a video of sailing action. Twenty-five members of the OneWorld Challenge team were at the reception, along with syndicate sponsors and their guests. The team now uses two new IACC boats USA 65 and USA 67, and OneWorld still owns USA 51, which has been used as a training boat.

“We’re right on program, and we’re very pleased with the team’s progress,” said Ratliff, “And we look forward to the competition in October.”

Commodore Dwight Shaw was presented with "OneWorld Out Front" the SYC America's Cup Committee - commissioned oil painting depicting a OneWorld Challenge IACC boat under sail and racing.

2002-2003 America's Cup Sail Numbers:

Classic America’s Cup Yachts to Compete in Auckland

For members who will be in New Zealand for both the Louis Vuitton Cup finals and the America’s Cup, there is another event of great interest – the International Classic Yacht Regatta. It will be held in Auckland from February 6 – 9, 2003. The Classic Yacht Association of New Zealand is organizing the regatta. As of early June, two of the three remaining J Class Yachts - Shamrock V (K3) and Endeavour (K4) – had announced plans to make their way via freighter for arrival in Auckland December 2002.

These massive J Class yachts were the first true Class to compete in the America's Cup and are in immaculate racing condition today. Their sleek lines have rightly earned them the reputation as the most beautiful yachts in the world.

These yachts weigh in at around 170 tons. Their masts tower 170 feet above deck, with booms more than 60 feet long, and the keels draw 16 feet. Ten thousand square feet of sail area can be set in the mainsail and headsails when sailing to windward. Spinnakers are gigantic and run up to 8000 square feet set on poles 50 feet long.

Some SYC members got to see these great yachts in action during the America’s Cup Jubilee held in Cowes, England last August. This will be a rare treat for the thousands of spectators who are in Auckland for the America's Cup contest.

The OneWorld Challenge sailing team includes10 Olympic medallists, three Whitbread Around-the-World race champions, and more than 60 world titles in various classes, as well as members with two America’s Cup titles. When the sailing team selections were made for the syndicate, seven New Zealand sailors who had participated in the last two winning campaigns were recruited. In previous issue some of that group of “road tested” Kiwis were introduced. Here are the others . . .

Richard Dodson - Tactician

Tactician and weather coordinator, Richard’s list of credentials is impressive and difficult to list in full. He was part of New Zealand’s winning America's Cup team in 1995 and 2000. Richard has been a winning skipper in the Admiral’s Cup and has competed in five Kenwood Cup regattas. He is also an accomplished one-design sailor in the Finn and International OK classes. 2000 - Winner, Americas Cup, Team New Zealand. He is also a familiar personality hailing from the owner-level ranks of a prominent sail loft in Auckland.

• 1995 - Winner, America’s Cup, Team New Zealand
• 1994 - Steinlager/Logan Cup Match Racing Series, 2nd
• 1994 - Swedish Match Cup Match Racing Series, 2nd
• 1994 - SORC - Thomas I-Punkt, 2nd
• 1993 - One Ton Cup - Thomas I-Punkt, 2nd / Winner - China Coast Cup
• 1992 - Kenwood Cup - Matenrow, 3rd / One Ton Cup - Kateie, 2nd
• International OK Dinghy World Championships
• 1990 - Kenwood Cup - Propaganda, 3rd
• 1989 - Admiral's Cup - Propaganda
• 1988 - One Ton Worlds

Peter Waymouth - Pitman

On his second America’s Cup campaign in joining OneWorld Challenge, Peter brings vital experience in working below deck preparing for sail changes - takedowns, repacks and keeping the sail inventory organized. Waymouth was a regular aboard the high-performance Reichel/Pugh maxi racer Morning Glory, before joining Team New Zealand to win the Cup in 2000. He has also made his mark at the world championship and Olympic level in Finns as well.

• 2000 – Winner, America's Cup - Team New Zealand
• 7 World Championships
• 2 Olympic Trials - Finn
• Maxi Boat Worlds - 2nd, 3rd Place

America's Cup Related Television Programs

Here in the United States, the Outdoor Life Network (OLN) will carry the Louis Vuitton Cup Round Robin television coverage. The network plans to carry the event live, re-run it three hours later and then again two more times before the next day’s live coverage.

OLN may be on your cable system, and is available via satellite on DirectTV or the DishNetwork. Check your local cable operator listings for the air times in your area or go to www.olntv.com and select “find a show.” The OLN listings are in Eastern Time Zone. The Seattle Yacht Club also has access to OLN on Channel 34 in the Marine Room, and it will be another good option for members to view the coverage during normal club hours.

OLN has also created an interesting series called “Road to the Louis Vuitton,” featuring the America’s Cup environment in Auckland, technology, team culture and some key personalities from the syndicates. The series is being repeated right now and will be re-run again during September.

The Schedule:

Remember – the LV Cup event is in New Zealand, which is hours ahead of our time zone. Therefore the official event calendar is one day ahead of the date it’s actually broadcast live here in the U.S. (i.e. in NZ the LV Cup starts on Tuesday Oct. 1, but we will be watching it live in the evening on Sept. 30). So subtract one calendar day from the listings below for viewing.

Round Robin One (9 boats) Tuesday 1st - Friday 11th October 2002

Round Robin Two (9 boats) Tuesday 22nd October - Friday 1st November 2002

Quarter Finals (8 boats) Tuesday 12th - Tuesday 19th November 2002

Quarter Finals Repechage (4 boats) Saturday 23rd - Saturday 30th November 2002

Semi Finals (4 boats) Monday 9th - Monday 16th December 2002

Semi Finals Repechage (2 boats) Friday 20th - Saturday 28th December 2002

Louis Vuitton Cup Finals (2 boats) Saturday 11th - Tuesday 21st January 2003

30th America's Cup Match (2 boats) Saturday 15th - Friday 28th February 2003