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The street circuit of Monaco, converted for F1, is as famed for its tight turns as it is for glitz and glamour. Due to the proximity of the cars to the temporary barriers it is known as a demanding track that tests the skills of the drivers.
As the cars exit the tunnel they traverse the perimeter of Port Hercules that contains some of the most expensive yachts in the world, the favoured ‘grandstands’ of the international jet-set.
Yet, while those aboard were able to watch the return of Jenson Button and the struggles of Lewis Hamilton, they were not aboard the only sea-faring vessels making a splash in the sporting world.
Across the ocean Bermuda was playing host to the opening of the 35th America’s Cup, the oldest sporting trophy in the world, pre-dating the modern Olympics by 45 years. Six teams, including the defending champions, Oracle Team USA, were unleashing the most technologically-advanced – and expensive - yachts ever witnessed as the qualifying races commenced in the iconic Great Sound.
There are a number of similarities between the F1 circuit in Monaco and the historic race in Bermuda. The natural boundaries of the Sound combine a low rim of hills with dangerous reefs that limit space, resulting in a claustrophobic racetrack.
The new AC50s being raced are ushering in a new era of technology with stored-energy being used to assist with the grinding through a hydraulic accumulator.
Perhaps, unsurprisingly, Formula 1 is behind some of the advances, with Land Rover BAR having tied with Red Bull Advanced technologies, particularly one of the most successful designers, Adrian Newey. He has been joined by Martin Whitmarsh, former CEO at McLaren Racing while Oracle Team US is partnered by Airbus and Artemis Racing by Cosworth.
The end result is 50ft-long carbon fibre catamarans hydrofoiling at speeds approaching 50 knots – approximately three times the speed of the prevailing wind!
It’s a spectacle in the Sound that is thrilling for the thousands of spectators lining the course and millions tuning in over the airwaves.
The ‘flying’ boats are raised from the water by fins while winged dagger-boards and rudders also generate ‘lift’ as the speeds increase. The ‘fixed’ sails bear a closer resemblance to an aircraft wing than those found on traditional yachts.
Its all a far cry from the first event, held in 1851, when a syndicate of businessmen from New York sailed the schooner America (that gave the trophy its name) to race at the World’s Fair around the Isle of Wight, UK, securing prize money of GBP100.
This was the start of the longest winning streak in the history of sport, a 132-year stretch that saw boats representing the US successfully defend the trophy 24 times. It was in 1983 that Australia II became the first successful challenger to lift the trophy.
With the winning team having the right to set the rules for the next competition it is perhaps unsurprising that it is harder to win the trophy than to retain it!
Each race will feature approximately 25-minutes of lung-busting action where the boats and those on board experience frightening G-forces while being battered by saline forces equivalent to those from a fire hose.
Throughout this the skipper and tacticians are plotting strategies with precise choreography across the oceanic chessboard, with the ever-changing racing conditions increasing the challenge.
They don’t always get it right, as evidenced when the GB boat crashed into that representing New Zealand before the start of a practice race!
The British boat then caused an even bigger crash in their second race of the opening day when they landed on their Japanese opponents, fortunately missing the six-man crew, but leaving a gaping cavity in their hull.
Fortunately, with most of the racing being done with their hull out of the water they were still able to compete, although they took on water every time they turned.
The incident also appears to have left a hole in their fortunes. At the end of the preliminary series (with all teams using a standard boat design), the Louis Vuitton World Series, Ben Ainslie’s Land Rover BAR crew, claimed the top spot by a comfortable margin, thereby carrying two points into the America’s Cup.
However, after a disastrous start this advantage had been overhauled by the American team and the form-crew of the challengers, the Kiwis. Emirates Team New Zealand have the longest history of the challenging teams having competed since 1987. In Peter Burling and Blair Tuke they have two of the rising stars of the sailing world.
Their catamaran boasts an innovative design where the grinders sit on board exercise bikes to generate the power required to gibe and tack and will be hoping to go one better than in 2013 when they were on the receiving end of one of the greatest comebacks in sporting history.
The man largely responsible for helping the American’s to overturn an 8-1 deficit to win 9-8 was Sir Ben Ainslie, the most successful sailor in Olympic history. Now at the helm of the British yacht he will be hoping to take the trophy back to home shores for the first time in 166 years.
However, it is the defending champions who look to be in prime position to complete a hat-trick of wins. They are led by Jimmy Spithill who made history by becoming the youngest to compete at the age of 19 and then the youngest to win at the age of 30.
Another team to watch out for is Artemis Racing from Sweden who will be hoping for a better series than in the 34th America’s Cup in San Francisco when an accident cost them the life of Andrew ‘Bart’ Simpson.
As Sir Peter Blake, who skippered NZ to two Cup victories (1995, 2000) once wrote: “The America’s Cup is what it is because it is so difficult to win ... It is not a game for the faint hearted. It is a game for those who are not scared of pitting themselves against the best that the world has to offer. It’s a game where winning is almost impossible, almost, but not impossible. And this is why it is worth fighting for. It is the difficulty that gives any challenge some sense. This is the essence of life itself.”
The qualifiers conclude on Saturday with the top four teams entering the knockout phase for the right to compete against the defending champions.
