Setting the record straight

The Protocol for the 33rd America’s Cup caught a lot of people by surprise. Put into context, ‘room for manoeuvre’ might have been a calmer summation. We talked to Alinghi managing director Grant Simmer about AC 32 and its probable successor

SH: Well done, of course, Grant, and in the end a lot of it was about the sailing. However, it did appear that if there was a little something to spare at any time, then the flexibility was with Alinghi?

Grant Simmer: Actually… we’d hoped for a bit more of a speed edge than we saw! But our post-race analysis does give us a significant edge upwind; you saw Alinghi living in some difficult conditions to windward of Team New Zealand, particularly off the starting line. And if we were to leeward and behind off the start then we were usually able to get into a strong position quite quickly. Obviously we would have liked to have had more, but this class was developing quickly and we always said we were looking for small differences; in the end I hope the technical team delivered enough of an edge to make it significant.

SH: Were you at all surprised at ETNZ’s all-round pace, given the contrasting tippy, slender nature of NZL 92?

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