Lodging the formal challenge, part of the Cup’s theatre

RNZYS Commodore Aaron Young signs acceptance of the Royal Yacht Squadron Challenge issued by Robert Bickett.

Lodging the formal challenge, part of Cup’s theatre

By Ivor Wilkins For a brief moment on the final day of America’s Cup racing, alarm bells rang when a random swimmer circled around the yacht as the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and the British Royal Yacht Squadron were preparing to sign the formal challenge for the 37th Cup. There were concerns the swimmer might have a rogue challenge hidden in his togs, or attempt to launch a letter in a bottle.

Ever since Sir Michael Fay took the San Diego Yacht Club by surprise with his 1988 ‘Big Boat’ Deed of Gift challenge, the ritual of the ‘hip pocket challenge’ has become part of the theatre of the America’s Cup.

The courtship between the Defender and a mutually agreeable Challenger of Record (COR) begins long before the conclusion of hostilities on the water. Representatives of both sides hold confidential conclaves, discussing general terms to satisfy the mutual consent requirements of the Deed of Gift.

Then, by pre-arrangement, they stand by in a secure location waiting for the minute the current Match is decided. As the winning yacht sweeps across the finish line, the challenge is issued and accepted, sealing the arranged marriage and blocking any rogue, or hostile challenges.

The Deed of Gift dictates that once a valid challenge has been issued and accepted, all further challenges have to fall in line with the terms laid down by the Defender and Challenger of Record.

Because the trophy is formally contested by yacht clubs, this ritual exchange takes place between authorised representatives of the two clubs involved, with their respective teams fully involved in the drafting of the terms and present to witness the formalies.

In the past, defenders have gone to great lengths to ward off random approaches, letters slid under hotel doors and all manner of cloak and dagger excitements. The reality, however, is that no challenge is valid until the current Cup is concluded, hence the split-second timing of the exchange.

For the past several cycles of the America’s Cup, the New Zealand representatives have gathered with the prospective challenger group aboard the superyacht Imagine, which belongs to Emirates Team New Zealand principal Matteo de Nora.

In the two most recent Cups, with scores of 7-1 and 7-3, the process has been mercifully quick. Pity Past Commodore Steve Burrett, who spent nine days closeted aboard Imagine in San Francisco in anticipation of a result, while New Zealand endured the torture of Oracle Team USA clawing back from 8-1 down to snatch victory away. The COR exchange took place elsewhere between the American defender and a short-lived Australian challenge.

For the 2021 regatta, Commodore Aaron Young, Rear Commodore Gillian Williams and ETNZ’s legal representative Russell Green boarded Imagine after the riveting first match of Tuesday, March 16, when ETNZ swept past Luna Rossa on the final windward leg to advance to match point at 6-3.

The Ineos Team UK representatives were anchored nearby on a team RIB. “Their RIB was quite obviously branded and we did not want to attract attention to their coming across to

Power

your Aquatic

Passion

Superyachts Recreational Boats Commercial Applications

Diesel Marine Engines Recreational pleasure-craft engines and Commercial engines n Common-rail technology n Advanced efficiency, lower emissions

40-440 MHP

Electric Boat Drives For kayaks, dinghies, sailboats and yachts up to 120 feet. n Compact powerful outboards n Light and space-saving pod drives

Marine Generators Feature low sound and vibration levels, efficient size and built-in sound shields. n Single Phase 5.5-28kW n Three Phase 11.2 - 186kVA

Contact us for your nearest Dealer

New Zealand: +64 9 358 7478 sales@powerequipment.co.nz • www.powerequipment.co.nz Imagine,” says Young. “So I called my father, who was busy setting up the VIP area on one of the course marshal boats. I asked him to keep a low profile and pick up the British group and ferry them across to Imagine.”

Their group comprising, Royal Yacht Squadron Racing Chairman and Rear Commodore, Robert “Bertie” Bickett, Ineos principals Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Andy Currie, and skipper Sir Ben Ainslie with his wife Georgie, came aboard and settled in to wait for the next and possibly deciding race.

“There was definitely a sense of occasion about it,” says Young. “I had been in Bermuda when Steve Mair was Commodore and had the same experience on Imagine, so from what he told me I knew what to expect.”

However, the breeze shut down and the second race of the day was abandoned. “We all joked about it and reckoned it had been a good practice run.”

One concern about the trial run was that there was quite a crowd aboard Imagine at the time. It was felt a more discreet gathering would be more suitable, so Young asked Squadron member Colin Carran to have his motoryacht, Defiance, on standby as an alternative venue.

However, next day, the guest list on Imagine had significantly reduced, so Imagine once more played host to the exchange. The same two groups assembled aboard and settled down to watch Race 10, which was a start-to-finish romp by ETNZ to secure New Zealand’s momentous second defence of the America’s Cup.

As they crossed the line, the British challenge exchange was filmed with a TV monitor in the background broadcasting live to show the it place precisely at the conclusion of the Match. “This was important to prove it all happened above board and there was no funny business going on. It was all recorded and it all went to plan.

“As Bertie handed me the document, I jokingly asked him if he had edited it in any way,” Young laughs. “He assured me he had not. I could see it complied with the agreed draft, which had been compiled in a four-way process between the two yacht clubs and the two teams, so it was all signed and settled. It was a good feeling to put an end to the rumours and speculation.”

Back at the RNZYS, CEO Hayden Porter had ensured all the email servers were shut down to avoid any attempt at a rogue cyber challenge. Meanwhile, the random swimmer turned out to be just that — a random swimmer.

“He was a fit looking guy. He came over and started swimming around Imagine, quite close. Everybody on board was looking at each other wondering what this was all about,” says Young. “We were all on alert that if anybody approached the boat and made an attempt to deliver anything, we should just kick it over the side.

“When this guy was swimming around us, I wondered if he was going to try the old message in a bottle. But, eventually it came to nothing. He just swam off again.”

Immediately after the successful exchange, the two groups left Imagine. Young says the ride back up the harbour on an ETNZ chase boat, tucked right behind Te Rehutai, was when the victory really began to sink in. “Seeing the thousands of boats on the harbour and the huge public reaction showed what this means to New Zealand and what a fantastic achievement it was.”

As for the Challenger of Record, statistics show the odds of success are not good. Since 1970, the COR has never won the America’s Cup, and only twice progressed far enough to compete in the Cup match.

Nemesis™ Sailing Display

The power to see, the sailing data you trust, The way you want to see it.

INTEGRATION + CONTROL

Seamless link to your B&G data network and control your display via touchscreen or Apple Watch® . COMPLETE CUSTOMISATION

Choose the standard pre-sets dashboard or configure your way, and by point of sail. Portrait or landscape orientation.

VISIBILITY + VERSATILITY

Super wide viewing angles, brilliantly crisp data, in all lights and conditions from anywhere on board.

proud supporters of

HOME OF THE AMERICA’S CUP This new generation of intelligent sailing display offers unparalleled visibility, with complete customisation or easy to use pre-set multi-function templates and automatic dashboards based on your point of sail. Nemesis™ allows you to define what data you see, when and how you see it, no matter what the conditions, providing an intuitive link between your trusted instrument network and the real world. www.bandg.com