Louis Vuitton Cup gears up
...but will it end in court yet again?As the Louis Vuitton Cup approaches, it seems more and more likely that once again the America's Cup will head for the court rooms.
This time the issue is about rudder elevators. These are small winglets on the end of the rudders that are adjustable and stabilise the boat when it is up on its foils.
They were previously banned by the original rules of the Cup, but if Iain Murray’s 37 safety recommendations are adopted they will become legal.
The trouble is, only the US boat Oracle has them. Consequently Emirates Team NZ’s Grant Dalton is livid as it will no doubt give the Americans an advantage.
It’s interesting to note that the elevators only give a potential advantage to a foiling boat, yet the incident that prompted the safety recommendation, the death of crew member Andrew ‘Bart’ Simpson, occurred on the non-foiling boat Artemis.
Meanwhile, the time ticks away inexorably toward the Louis Vuitton Cup and the start of serious racing.
The Louis Vuitton Cup, the America’s Cup Challenger Series, is used as the selection series to determine who will race the defender in the America’s Cup Finals and is scheduled to run from July 4 to September 1. The Louis Vuitton Cup will see challengers from around the globe battle each other in a knockout series for the opportunity to compete for the America’s Cup.
Significantly, 2013 marks the 30th anniversary of the first Louis Vuitton Cup, which took place in Newport, Rhode Island in 1983. It was an auspicious debut, as the winner of the first Louis Vuitton Cup, Australia II, went on to become the first challenger in the 132-history of the America’s Cup to beat the defender and take the Cup from the United States.
Prior to the first Louis Vuitton Cup in 1983, no challenger had ever found success in unseating the US-based defender. But following that first win by Australia II, the winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup has gone on to claim the America’s Cup four out of seven times.
It will be interesting to see if this trend continues in San Francisco.
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