Sailing: Kiwis wait for tide to turn
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Your support makes all the difference.Even a Kiwi nation fearful that one of its most prized jewels is about to be ripped from its sporting crown was joining in the frustration yesterday as yet another race was abandoned in America's Cup XXXI.
They have been stunned by the way Switzerland's Alinghi Challenge went 3-0 up during the week. They still rant about the defection of the New Zealander who skippered Alinghi to those victories, Russell Coutts – it may take him longer to live it down than the 20 years it took Greg Chappell to be forgiven for telling his brother to bowl underarm. But they still believe their beloved Team New Zealand can save the bacon and they want to get on with it.
Most impartial observers believe they are already fried. It is going to take something very special from the young pretenders carrying the hopes of their nation to come back. Faith is a powerful emotion.
So far, everything that could go wrong for TNZ has gone wrong. Structural failure, design disappointment, tactical fragility and stage fright have all contributed to a series of blows to confidence. Whether the highly hypocritical move of hiring FrenchmanBertrand Pace, will work has yet to be seen.
Right now, expediency outweighs the moral high ground, and the loyalty card was cast aside when tactician Hamish Pepper was elbowed aside for le petit general.
Both TNZ and Alinghi have written a protocol for the next America's Cup. But the defenders, who are thought to have talked not only to a now rejected Britain, but the French, the Naples Italians, and two United States syndicates about being the next Challenger of Record, are not treating progress on the document as a matter of urgency. They need a few wins on the board before it is brought out of its drawer and dusted down.
Front-runner to partner Alinghi in drawing up the format for the next Cup is still Larry Ellison's San Francisco-based Oracle syndicate. But, although he answered "absolutely" when asked if he intended to stay in the game after being knocked out in the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger elimination series, he has had time to change his mind.
Plan B for Alinghi could include not only the French, but a so-far undeclared Spanish syndicate.
The Swiss are likely to take their time to allow as many suitors as possible to woo them to a purpose-built defence venue. But the Challenger of Record needs to be on board minutes after they win to prevent a rogue challenger and allow an orderly transition to what would be a whole new atmosphere and approach.
Nationality rules swept away, the final series leading up to the Cup made much shorter than the four-month drag which this event has involved, and compulsory warm-up events around the world. It would also be more expensive, with the entry fee bumped up to $1m and the cost of living much higher in Europe than bargain-basement New Zealand.
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