War of the boats

I have always enjoyed "doing" journalism where you immerse yourself in whatever it is you're writing about. So writing about the forthcoming America's Cup this week from the end of a telephone has been a bit frustrating.

Typically I'd find myself speaking with a team skipper or manager and they'd say "Why don't you come down?" assuming I'm somewhere in Valencia where all the crews and yachts are gathered. "I'm in Woking," I say.

Martian invaders

Woking is not known for its glamorous ocean sailing. In fact it's not known for anything other than its setting for H G Wells War of the Worlds. Old H G must have had it in for Woking. I don't blame him. The town council has done a much better job of wrecking the place than could ever have been achieved by Martian invaders.

So I call these bosses of multi-million euro funded yacht-racing teams and what do they do? They complain about money. They never have enough. These are the "poor" teams with less than €50m to throw around although I heard the same complaints from one with upwards of €60m. The top teams have more than €100m to play with so they don't complain so much.

Team tough

The Emirates Team New Zealand isn't complaining. In fact it isn't saying anything. The so-called "team tough" has gone to ground, locking itself away in its compound. That must be great news for the sponsors who invest van-loads of dosh in these teams for the kind of worldwide media exposure that would be guaranteed if they were only to take a call from Woking.

In reality I don't mind being in Woking. I hate glamour events that are not at all glamorous when you're doing them. Well, I suppose they're a bit glamorous. Last year I had the chance to sit at the back of ABN Amro, the Volvo Ocean Race winner when it raced off the Isle of Wight. There is a lot of razzmatazz on the pontoon but out on the water the crew just gets on with the job.

Afterwards, when things have calmed down and you get to chat to people you find that everyone has the same concerns. These crews have this immense drive to compete but when the competition is over they just want to be with their families and friends, having a chat and a laugh together.

Broken mast

I'd hate to have a microphone-poking job. I detest the cult of celebrity that corrupts human relationships. Maybe the New Zealand team has the right approach but it can't be squared with the media/advertising/marketing machine that underpins so much funding in this event that it allows teams like Alinghi, the defending champion, to accumulate 16 masts. Two yachts and 16 masts? How many do they expect to break? I suppose the answer to that is 15 at a stretch.

The +39 Challenge (the boat with the strangest name - it never did get a big name sponsor) has just the one mast and it has been broken into three pieces. The race is on to repair it. Alinghi generously offered it one of their masts but other teams objected. What ever happened to sportsmanship and the Corinthian spirit?

I like the +39 team made up partly from world class dinghy sailors who compete fiercely against each other in world championship and Olympic events but who have banded together for what has turned out to be a sparsely funded entry racing hand-to-mouth.

Clapham omnibus

The America's Cup is big - as big as it gets. Yet how many of those on the Clapham omnibus have any idea how the racing works? I'm supposed to know yet it beats me. First of all there are some races called "acts" where everyone is racing, including the defending champion. Points (but not a lot) are awarded that are carried through to round robin races that are the start of the Louis Vuitton Cup. With me so far?

To recap: first over about two years there are a series of races (in a bit of sea, this time off Valencia in Spain) that don't count for too many points. These are used to generate media interest, check out the opposition and to build first rate teams. Next there is the Louis Vuitton Cup in which the defender of the America's Cup cannot take part. This is because the Louis Vuitton Cup is held to find the challenger.

Only then, when the rest of the field has been eliminated, does the best-of-nine duel between the defender, Alinghi, and challenger (the Louis Vuitton cup holder) begin. Once the America's Cup has been secured the next defence is determined by agreement with potential challengers. For more explanation of the whole event and its history read this.