Umm..yeah. I think you can count on there being an addendum made to that rule this time around.

True. I was more or less referring to the fact that the World Series IS part of the AC35 now. The results count.

Yeah, but all that cartwheeling in Plymouth edition of ACWS was worth watching...

More AC62 info to ponder
http://www.blueplanettimes.com/the-new-americas-cup-cat/

Are the new set of rules out yet? You guys are talking like it is but I haven't seen it.

Edit...nevermind...I see the defender and challenger have them from M&M and are negotiating the points.

'The ISAF jury appeared to be on a crusade to 'save the America’s Cup' and I believe they may have allowed that belief to cloud their judgment.

'In fact, it is interesting to note that around the same time, the President of ISAF was actively discussing moves to try to grab more control over the event.'

'There are many very good people in ISAF that have worked hard and given up a lot to further the interests of the sport. However, the current administration with their politically charged agenda is doing our sport a huge disservice in my view.'

Coutts claims ISAF Jury on a crusade

A topic that was brought up during the cup. Coutts was saying it then.

ARTEMIS RACING STRENGTHENS DESIGN TEAM WITH NEW ADDITIONS

ALAMEDA, 17th April 2014 - Artemis Racing announced today that it has signed Vincent Lauriot-Prévost, Simon Watin, Juan Garay and Matthew Davis, who will join the design team as Artemis Racing prepares for a possible 35th America’s Cup bid.

Both Vincent Lauriot-Prévost and Simon Watin join from VPLP Design, a world leader in multihull racing and super yacht design founded in 1983. During the 34th America’s Cup they were part of the America's Cup Race Management design and research team, established to create an initial design package for the high-tech wing-sailed AC72 catamarans.

Vincent Lauriot-Prévost is a naval architect and co-founder of VPLP Design based in France. During his career Lauriot-Prévost has contributed to some of the most advanced racing prototype projects, including the design of the six last winners of La Route du Rhum, the record holders of the transatlantic (New York – Lizard) and round the world (Jules Verne Trophy) races, as well as BMW ORACLE Racing’s trimaran USA 17, winner of the 33rd America’s Cup.

“Having always been at the cutting edge of fast multihull design from the early age of VPLP Design, we were first involved in the America’s Cup challenge in 2007, when the Cup turned definitively to multihulls,” said the naval architect. “This time, it is a great opportunity to collaborate with Artemis Racing on such a great foiling racing cat project, at this ultimate level of technology in the America’s Cup.”

A specialist in performance prediction, Watin graduated as a fluid mechanics engineer before specializing in naval architecture. In 2011 he joined the VPLP Yacht Design office in France where he developed in-house performance prediction and Computational Fluid Dynamics capabilities, and was involved in maxi racing trimaran projects (Prince de Bretagne 80, Sodebo 4 and Macif 100), as well as Open 60 projects (Safran 2 and Banque Populaire) for the 2016 Vendée Globe Race.

"I’m really excited to be part of the Artemis Racing team,” said Watin. “They have done an amazing job putting together a group of people that are not only very talented and experienced but also team players, and it is really motivating for me personally to have the chance to work in such an environment. Accurately predicting the performance of these boats will be quite a challenge, and we will have to sharpen our tools to be able make the right choices before launching the boats, especially since the sailing time may well be restricted."

Artemis Racing also welcomes back British electronics engineer Matthew Davis and Argentine aero designer Juan Garay.

Davis studied electrical and instrumentation engineering in Southampton, and has sailed as navigator, engineer and crew member in multiple maxi yacht races including the Rolex Transatlantic Yacht Race and Maxi Worlds. In 2009 he received the Navigator’s Award for 1st in class for LA to Hawaii Transpac Race.

Matthew was Team Telefónica’s instrument engineer for both the 2008 and 2011 Volvo Ocean Races. The 35th America’s Cup will be his third campaign following the 32nd with Victory Challenge and the 34th with Artemis Racing.

Garay has over 20 years of experience in sail design with North Sails South America, and has been involved in a variety of classes and circuits since 1990.

Juan started designing sails for Team GBR in 2006 and worked with Iain Percy, Andrew Simpson and Ben Ainslie on multiple Olympic campaigns including Beijing 2008 and London 2012. He was the sail designer for Team Origin and +39 Challenge, and the 35th America’s Cup will be his second campaign with Artemis Racing, leading the aero program development.

“I am excited to work again with such a fantastic team,” said Garay. “I have great memories of working with Iain and Bart on two successful Olympic campaigns. We worked extremely hard but managed to enjoy it at the same time. Having that collaborative and open environment in an America’s Cup team is extremely motivating.”

“We are pleased to welcome Simon and Vincent into the team, and have Juan and Matthew back with us,” said Artemis Racing design team coordinator Adam May. “Simon came to us highly recommended by a number of sources, while Vincent’s experience with big multihulls is undeniable. Juan and Matt are returning Artemis team members who bring with them a wealth of experience and great attitude in their respective areas. We continue to slowly grow our team, working hard to find the right fit of people within the group, and are fortunate to have had no shortage of great people reaching out to us, interested in getting involved,” concluded May.

Dirk de Ridder - 5 year suspension . . . Wow!

" America's Cup sailor Dirk de Ridder has been suspended from sanctioned events for five years by sailing's international governing body, two people with knowledge of the decision said Tuesday.

The people spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the suspension is being appealed.

Unless a review board or the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturns the suspension, it effectively ends de Ridder's sailing career. Not only is the 41-year-old de Ridder banned from the 2017 America's Cup, but he's unable to accept a $500,000 contract to sail in the Volvo Ocean Race, which begins later this year.

Word of the suspension came less than a week after two New Zealand attorneys criticized the international jury that punished members of America's Cup champion Oracle Team USA, including de Ridder, after investigating the illegal modification of boats used in warmup regattas. . . .

. . . .Henderson said the New Zealand attorneys wrote "an excellent report. You read it and say, 'Oooh. I'm not sure due process was done.""
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Right, wrong, or indifferent, I don't think the ISAF is ready to go up against the AC media machine. Even Henderson is criticizing...ooofff.

Not having an income for 5 years and the costs involved with the lawsuits and appeals is enough to ruin someone forever, both professionally and personally.
He made a mistake but the penalty is excessive, there is not even any proof that his actions had any effect on performance.
I think that he (and others) took a shortcut with the boat repair, in a series which no-one was taking very seriously anyway (the last regattas some teams didn't even bother showing up).

"...Given that GGYC was one of the parties to the negotiation and establishment of the Protocol, it essentially now faces a claim against the processes set out in that Protocol by one member of its own team - Oracle Team USA...."
Richard Gladwell weighs in

Personally, I'm hoping that the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rehears the entire case.

The Mechanic dropped by the Lahaina Yacht Club yesterday and brought a friend.

Iain Murray interviewed on the Protocol and AC62

Not sure what to think about the "one boat per challenger" rule, I think this is a big disadvantage to the challengers.
Traditionally the first boat is always the one where new ideas get tested, whereas the 2nd one is the actual match boat.
With this rule there is a risk that they will "butcher" their boats to incorporate new design ideas which could impact the structure and possibly safety.
Both Oracle and Artemis destroyed their first boat so not having a 2nd one would really be an issue when anything catastrophic happens.

America’s Cup: Sir Ben in the slow lane to progress as teams sent designs for shorter 62-foot catamarans:
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/...r-shorter-62foot-catamarans-9313634.html

I imagine this is being put in place to make sure that potential challengers on the fence who are trying to make the numbers work on their spreadsheet aren't dissuaded from showing up when they know that their competition will be able to pump out new boats like tictacs.

Well deserved

"Media production for the 34th America’s Cup has received five Emmy Award nominations, including for Outstanding Live Sports Special."

Part Two

Part Three