MainSail
Episode 35
Valencia
It’s sailing’s biggest event – like Formula One and the World Cup combined, the America’s Cup has all the glamour, money and rivalry to compare with any other sporting event in the world. And this could be the biggest and best ever. For the first time since its inception in 1851 it’s being held in Europe, with all the ensuing advantages of television audience reach and sponsorship money. Double Olympic gold medallist, Shirley Robertson presents Mainsail from an America’s Cup yacht for a close-up view of what the event is all about.
BRIEF HISTORY
This is sport’s oldest trophy – the original race was watched by Queen Victoria in 1851. She saw the British fleet beaten by the yacht, called America, from the New York Yacht Club. The trophy was then named the America’s Cup and carried off to New York and stayed there for 132 years! Australia was the first nation to wrest it from the grip of the USA, then New Zealand. During the last Cup in 2003, the Swiss team Alinghi took it from the Kiwis.
CUP VETERAN
One of the world’s best sailors and a veteran of six America’s Cups, there’s not much Paul Cayard doesn’t know about this event. But what is his take on this latest edition of the event? Will it be the biggest and best ever? Will the changes and modernisation make for the best racing ever? What does he think of the venue of Valencia and the Spanish team for whom he is now working?
BEHIND THE SCENES
A winning team has to have good sailors, but more often than not, the team with the fastest boat wins. So, what is an America’s Cup boat?
Shirley explains the features of an ACC boat, while Louise Moran takes a look at one of the main challengers, the American outfit, BMW Oracle Racing. They’ve used motor-racing technology and spent millions of dollars on research and development to try to give their yacht an edge over its rivals. With so much at stake, great secrecy surrounds each boat’s individual characteristics and the hulls are hidden when out of the water, by skirts.
THE OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE AMERICA'S CUP
But the America’s Cup is not just about technology, like any sport it has its artistic side. Carlo Borlenghi is one of the finest marine photographers in the world and is the official photographer for the America’s Cup, capturing these magnificent boats and their crews in action. Mainsail follows him out on the water to see him at work.
ON BOARD 'VICTORY CHALLENGE'
Shirley gives the rundown on an America’s Cup crew – how does everyone work together on the boat to achieve maximum speed? Mainsail climbs aboard Sweden’s yacht, Victory Challenge, for a close-up view of these speed-machines.
AND FINALLY...
After all the secrecy of teams hiding their technology secrets from each other, all is revealed in a grand unveiling day before racing begins. Everyone gets to see what lies beneath the skirts hiding the boat hulls. Then the challenger series begins to see who will face Alinghi in the America’s Cup.
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