At (the) Last
So frequently the bridesmaid, the USA took the Admiral’s Cup for the first time since 1969. But with two miles left to run in the ILC40’s Fastnet, it had looked almost certain that Italy was going to score a second successive triumph. Andrew Hurst reports.
Nearly thirty years after they first - and last - stood on the winner’s podium, the USA snatched a last-gasp victory in this year’s Champagne Mumm Admiral’s Cup. Leading into the Fastnet Race, as they had in 1995, the USA had seemingly lost all hope of taking the trophy as the now-Italian-led fleet approached Plymouth. The vagaries of Plymouth Sound for once favoured the US, however, and, much as in losing to France in 1991, the Italians were left wondering what went wrong.
In the end it was probably a fair result – although the manner of getting there seemed very harsh, especially on the Italian team who, in spite of losing many key names from previous Italian squads, had confounded pundits by sailing a quite exceptional offshore series. At the outset, Italy’s chances of retaining the trophy they first won in 1995 had looked relatively slim; indeed, their opening day could be regarded as relatively disastrous, culminating in their big boat crashing out of control after a steering failure. However, as the series progressed the Italians just kept getting stronger. In particular, they proved outstanding offshore – and Admiral’s Cup undoubtedly remains an offshore series.
Caught here mid-gybe during one of the Christchurch Bay inshore races, Hans-Otto Schumann’s Rubin XIV, in the hands of triple Olympic gold medallist, Jochen Schumann, was one of the best sailed boats at this year’s regatta. Having overtaken series leaders USA in the opening moves of the Fastnet, the Italians did not just lead overall at the Fastnet Rock, or at the Bishop on the return leg: they were still leading at Rame Head a handful of miles from the Plymouth finish.
But though in a final, dramatic, period of calm Italy’s big boat, Madina Milano, struggled home to lead its class, Italy’s Brava Q8 saw its race long lead in the ILC 40 class expire, watching impotently as the USA’s chartered Polish Judel/Vrolijk design, MK Cafe, came up from the back to sail round the fleet and claim a second in class to Germany’s Pinta. Although less than four minutes astern of her German rival, Brava had slipped to sixth in class and the Italian team had, almost in an instant slipped from first to third overall, behind the USA and Germany.
Nevertheless, the USA had led this series almost from the outset and went into the Fastnet 16 points (four individual boat places) clear. After the finish, five teams had scored equal points in the Fastnet itself, including Italy and the USA; so, in the final analysis, Italy did not lose the trophy so much as not win it. Italy always aimed to be within 20 points of the leaders going into the decider, but in this year’s small fleet that was simply too much.
This was without doubt a vintage Admiral’s Cup. Albeit there were only seven teams, the standard of sailing was exceptional. Five teams had vied for the series lead from early on, and when the much-fancied New Zealand effort collapsed on the first night of the Fastnet it became clear that there was actually little to choose between the six top finishers. Small variations in boat optimisation and sailing errors had drastic effects on the results in all three classes, and stories of first to last place changes abounded.
This series is increasingly an anomaly among grand prix regattas, with its strong emphasis on offshore racing. But this year, in spite of the fluky Fastnet finish, competitors at last seemed resigned to the event’s ethos. For once there was almost no talk of the Admiral’s Cup without the long races, only of whether such influential, unpredictable finishes could perhaps somehow be avoided.
Great Britain’s ILC40 Easy Oars (ex-Pigs in Space). Shorter and less stiff than some of her rivals, this much modified 1995 Farr design often struggled for upwind pace in a breeze against her rivals. In light air, however, she was among the quickest in her class. The opening two short Solent races provided excellent competition, causing the organisers to reconsider the option of running more of the event in Solent waters. The USA opened strongly, tying for second overall behind early series leaders Germany. Italy had looked weak on the first day, with crew errors common in the windy, strongly tidal conditions, culminating in a steering failure on Madino Milano resulting in a violent collision with Australia’s Ragamuffin. The English team had also shown reasonably well early on, Corum Indulgence helping her cause with a string of good starts from Chris Law.
In the big boats, Flash Gordon 3 looked quick from the outset, benefitting upwind from deeper sails than her New Zealand rival Numbers, which often looked underpowered in number three conditions. Downwind the Kiwi big boat was using its radical forward rake capacity to the full, at times looking notably fast. Australia’s Ragamuffin also looked reasonably quick, but clearly would have to work to overcome a relatively high rating. The two Corel 45s (GBR and SWE) looked competitive offwind, and generally upwind until the chop kicked in, when they began to lose to their heavier IMS rivals.
In the ILC 40s, Pinta opened with two firsts, to continue her outstanding inshore record, while the big surprise was Australia’s G’Net, skippered by Colin Beashel, helped by Grant Simmer and the UK’s Rodney Pattisson. After poor showings at the ILC 40 worlds and at Lymington, G’Net, chartered by John Calvert-Jones, had really come together. Almost always well positioned, and strong offshore, it became no surprise when this crew finished third overall boat in their class.
In the Mumms, confusion reigned after day one, when the entire Mumm fleet followed Britain’s Bradamante in race two, to round the final mark in the wrong direction. A controversial decision by the jury to take advantage of a sailing instruction that allowed them exceptional rights of ‘accommodation’ for this event alone, saw all the Mumms equally penalised by just one place. Bradamante ended the day top, with some more fancied runners such as Breeze, Georgia Express and Thomas I Punkt often looking decidedly frayed.
The first few Admiral’s Cup starts can come as something of a shock to those on the smaller boats, as the implications of starting alongside their much bigger rivals become fully apparent. A bit of serious adjustment is necessary if disaster is to be avoided, and it was apparent how each class soon found itself sailing together in groups within a few minutes of each inshore start. Certainly the upwind speed difference between the Mumms and the big boats is growing, with IMS development; and open-minded, confident tactical planning paid dividends in the small boat fleet.
The second race, the 180-mile Channel Race, was run in light to moderate winds that turned very light and unpredictable as the fleet approached the finish at Poole. The USA came out of this first offshore test with a good points lead – which they were never to lose. Many were critical, however, of the race committee’s decision to finish the race so far from Cowes, leaving the Mumms with a five-hour motor home against the tide. In something of a precursor to the Fastnet, the Channel Race fleet was largely stood on its head in the final fluky stages, with New Zealand’s ILC 40 Mean Machine being a notable loser.
By now the closeness of the fleet was fully apparent, with just small nuances standing out. Brava Q8 looked particularly quick in the very light, as did Madino Milano; Easy Oars looked tender in a breeze but could clearly be devastating in light air; the Corels flew offwind as widely predicted. In the Mumms there were no clear favourites, but Breeze, Jameson and Bradamante showed good all-round speed, with the latter becoming increasingly brave tactically.
In terms of sailing finesse the boat that was stood out throughout was Hans-Otto Schümann’s Rubin XIV, which was being outstandingly steered by Olympic sailing demi-god Jochen Schümann. Schümann (Jochen) started superbly throughout the series, often leading much bigger boats around and port tacking the entire fleet more than once. After his disappointment in 1995 with the ultra-high tech ILC 40, Aerosail Anemos, success with a more pedestrian boat this year must have been rewarding.
The two days of racing in Christchurch Bay following the Channel Race were most notable for the tediousness of the hours of motoring that sandwiched each day’s two, brief windward-leeward races.
New Zealand hung on to her second place overall during these inshore stages, with Numbers having several very close races with Flash Gordon 3. In the ILC40s Mean Machine started with two firsts, only to slip to a fourth and a fifth on the second day. Meanwhile, Pinta held sway at the top of this class, one rogue eighth blotting an otherwise near-perfect score sheet consisting of firsts and seconds. While Italy’s Brava began to get into her stride with a first and a second, the bigger Italian Madina Milano never really threatened on these shorter races.
Madina Milano’s crew was stacked with helmsmen, in deference to the series’ offshore nature, and this may have caused her to be distracted inshore, with too many chiefs for such a tight series. Interestingly, however, Madina always looked to be slightly off the upwind pace of the relatively similar Flash Gordon 3 in a breeze, something which made her subsequent comprehensive defeat of her American rival on the hard Fastnet beat to the Bishop all the more creditable.
With just the Kenwood short offshore trophy to go before the Fastnet decider, the USA (90 pts) led New Zealand (105.63 pts) with Germany in third (106.5 pts). In the big boats, Flash Gordon looked very solid with few lapses, Madina looked good in the light, Ragamuffin in the heavy, and the previously heavily fancied Numbers crew were showing some signs of pressure, with occasional crewing mistakes in evidence. At times, Numbers looked very quick, but in this fleet the relative value of quick was minute: there was no margin for error.
Similarly, in the ILC 40 fleet it was Brava, looking quick in the light, Pinta and Mean Machine very quick in a chop and breeze, with the rest in very close attendance. Only Fram XIV, with little top-level practice, and Easy Oars, looked to be at a steady speed deficit.
Planned for a length of around 80 miles, the Kenwood Trophy was quickly reduced to about 35 miles in view of a very light forecast. After a drifting match in variable tidal streams, Italy scored well again, with firsts in class from both Madina Milano and Brava, who had kept company with many much larger boats throughout the race. A strong finish lifted New Zealand’s Georgia Express, to take the Mumm 36 fleet from Steve Kulmar’s Sea. Italy took the day’s team trophy from Australia, New Zealand and the USA all tied in second place.
With a Fastnet forecast of light airs for 24 hours followed by steady breezes, the USA went to the start line on 106.5 points, followed by New Zealand on 122.13 points and Germany – always strong offshore – with 126 points. Assuming everyone could get through the light airs there seemed little reason to doubt that the USA could retain its lead for an overdue victory.
But, for its relatively short length (609 miles), the Fastnet remains a complex test. A light-air start was soon followed by a first night of drifting and kedging. The popular forecast was for best breeze offshore, and several boats headed hard south as the breeze died away. Chief among these were the New Zealand team, with Numbers the furthest south of all. Further inshore, Italy’s Madina Milano, navigated by the UK’s Mark Chisnell, was making a particularly effective job of the tricky conditions, getting her kedging (using all 450 feet of line) and positioning just right.
In a replay of the 1991 Fastnet finish, with different players, the USA’s MK Cafe sails up to and around her rivals, having trailed the ILC40 fleet for most of the Fastnet course. When the fleet started moving again, Madina was close together with Flash Gordon 3, about eight miles off Portland, with Numbers at least ten miles further south and now comprehensively astern. A similar tale was told in the smaller boats, with Brava sailing well to establish a lead she held so nearly to the finish, and Breeze well up in the Mumms. The USA’s MK Cafe and Jameson were also both well south (along with their Kiwi rivals) and the USA was in serious trouble.
Meanwhile the UK’s Mumm 36, Bradamante, free of the conservative pressures of the leading teams, had got a huge jump on her fleet by staying closest to the beach as the breeze died, planning to take earliest advantage of the inshore flush to the west as the foul tide eventually turned. As the breeze built from the south-east, Bradamante found herself over an hour ahead of her nearest rival, Sea, with Breeze in third.
With strong breezes forecast, Italy looked in good shape and led the team standings at Land’s End and at the Fastnet Rock. A brush with Flash Gordon 3 at the Fastnet rounding forced a 720° penalty on Madina, but on the long 20-knot beat back to the Bishop she comprehensively outperformed her US rival. This was interesting, given the seeming upwind superiority of the USA’s 49-footer, but simple, harder hiking may have been the reason. The Italians had a two-mile lead when the boats reached the Bishop on the return leg.
With Brava still leading the ILC 40s and Breeze holding a good third in the Mumms, the Italians looked to be heading for a second successive victory. But it was not to be. The wind shut off, with Madina no more than three miles from the finish. She made the most of the occasional puff of land breeze to finish ahead of Flash, but the reversal of fortune in the ILC 40 fleet left Brava Q8’s crew near to despair: a three-day lead turned to a sixth-place finish. With it went Italy’s cup chances.
Germany’s Pinta came through to take the ILC40 win – again – to finish top of her class overall, lifting Germany to second team to further Italy’s misery. In the Mumms, Bradamante held on through similarly trying conditions, as her lead was ground down, to eventually win by ten minutes from Sea. Bradamante’s win took her to the top of her class standings, to produce an excellent result for a strong young crew led by 470 Olympic silver medallists Merricks and Walker.
A last place finish for Numbers, with Mean Machine and Georgia Express each with fourth places, meant that favourites New Zealand slipped behind the UK to a dismal sixth overall. But this poor result by a well prepared team only adds to the Admiral’s Cup’s stature. All that is needed is a few more teams.
Future Prospects
Though the RORC’s recent announcement of a possible rule change for international regattas could yet muddy the waters, there were some strong feelings expressed in Cowes about possible changes to enhance future events.
On many points there was a high degree of accord among owners and sailors alike, and a very positive owners meeting held by the RORC during the event bodes well for 1999.
Chief among the likes and dislikes at this years event were;
- Duration of the event - commonly felt to be way too long with most teams needing a full month in the UK. With crew wages for an ILC40 at around £2,000 per day, costs are out of control for relatively little actual racing. One solution would be to return to the original format, starting with the Channel Race, ending with the Fastnet and packing as much inshore racing as possible in between.
- Courses - This is now accepted as an offshore event and the long races are relatively settled. But Christchurch Bay inshore races of 80 minutes requiring five hours ‘delivery’ motoring are regarded as ridiculous. More Solent based windward-leewards would please competitors and spectators alike.
- Administration - That the event has become administration heavy is an understatement; one team had two full time staff doing paperwork alone...
- Boats - Assuming the event remains with IMS it seems likely that the Mumm 36 fleet will have one more CMAC, with the 1999 big boat fleet being opened up to two IMS size bands, probably 39-43 feet and 44-49 feet.
Results
Team Results
1st USA 146.50 pts 2nd GER 166.00 pts 3rd ITA 169.50 pts 4th AUS 172.13 pts 5th GBR 180.00 pts 6th NZL 182.13 pts 7th SCA 272.50 pts Individual boats
Mumm 36 1st Bradamante GBR 2nd Georgia Express NZL ILC 40 1st Pinta GER 2nd MK Cafe USA IMS 1st Flash Gordon 3 USA 2nd Madina Milano ITA
Numbers’ Rig
The rig is best described as ‘hinged’, with the hinge pin at the deck. It is still a keel stepped mast, with a normal butt plate and a normal mast jack arrangement. When the rig is pulled from the boat, it all comes as one piece.
The basic reasson for the hinge is that the current form of the IMS rule strongly encourages very large diameter mast sections. Such large sections can achieve adequate stiffness with very thin walls, which helps keep the weight down, but these thin walls also are prone to local buckling if the spar is bent too far. Upwind this is not a problem, since rake and main luff curve can be adjusted to either a quite straight or significantly ‘pre-bent’ mast. Downwind, however, it is a problem, since bending the rig forward far enough to go fast downwind (‘rig forward’ works downwind on everything from Optimists to IACC boats!) risks local buckling failures at the deck partners with a conventional big diameter’ mast.
Matt Mason (Numbers’ boat captain) and Brad Butterworth (Numbers’ tactician) had discussed a deck-stepped rig for their Whitbread racer Winston, but the idea had been discarded by the Winston team as too radical and risky. The Numbers’ team recognized its potential for an IMS racer, and expanded on the theme with a hinge and keel step (thus still allowing for prebend upwind) instead of the deck stepped approach. Dirk Kramers was responsible for the detail engineering, and after an exhaustive review of the IMS rules to ensure the ‘hinge’ was legal, the go ahead for such a rig was issued. Hall spars built what amounted to a very sophisticated conventional rig, and Matt Mason did the assembly of the prefabricated parts for the hinge.
It is interesting that no one noticed what we were up to through the several weeks of assembly, (there was no barbed wire and armed guard security!), all through several quite open test sails and our first several races with the hinge. Finally about half way through Block Island Race week Swing noticed, and the cat came part-way out of the bag. No one outside the Numbers’ camp knows, to this day, quite how it works, but it does, and it is effective.
Jim Taylor