5:58 PM Sat 13 Feb 2010 GMT
Bob Fisher reflects on the Media Conference after the first race of the 33rd America's Cup:
'What do you want me to say, mate?' Those words, uttered by Brad Butterworth, will remain long in the memories of all who attended the Alinghi press conference after the first race of the 33rd America's Cup.
It had been pointed out to him that he had constantly reminded everyone of the importance of the technology in the determination of the winner and when this was returned to him, he simply smiled, before delivering the immortal line.
Some of us felt for him. It isn't easy to accept ones own pearls of wisdom being thrust down ones throat, but Brad followed up with the frank admission of defeat, indicating there is little that can be done when the opponent sails higher and faster on the wind. 'That's speed,' he said, 'with an S.'
Perhaps Alinghi was a little unfortunate to be penalised in the pre-start.
Constant reviews of the television coverage leave a certain amount to doubt, but there was sufficient conviction for the umpires to have made a decision in 45 seconds. With BMW Oracle sailing towards Alinghi 5 at 20 knots or so, there is little room for indecision.
But then what happened left us all wondering whether the aggressiveness of Jimmy Spithill had been beneficial to the cause. With a wing it is not easy to recover from a stalled position and even unrolling the headsail and backing that had little effect in the six-knot breeze. Doubtless, that will not be allowed to happen again.
Other members of the BMW Oracle hierarchy are convinced that the wing is contributing to the team's success. Russell Coutts declared: 'What about that wing? We are certainly not going to take our foot off the throttle.' While Larry Ellison was with him all the way: 'The piece of kit that we think most of is the wing.'
They were even joking about this remarkable structure. 'We are thinking of a de-icing system,' said Coutts.
Joke or not, it is certainly not one to Ernesto Bertarelli. Speaking a day after the race, he admitted: 'We didn't think it would have such a dramatic effect.' He gave me to understand that he had been unaware of the difference a wing had made to Stars & Stripes in 1988. Then Dennis Conner had the advantage of two identical platforms and trialled a wing rig against a conventional soft-sail rig, finding a huge difference in performance.
It always pays to consult history.
by Bob Fisher
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