Brits: Kicking the Tires

The Cup misses the Brits and the Aussies. While there are plenty of people from both countries involved with the twelve teams in AC 32, there is no Challenger from either nation. Given the heavy historical involvement of both, one hopes that next time around there might be.

So good news in The Times (London) yesterday. While the article speaks of a recky Keith Mills and the Rod Carr did here in VLC in May, we first met Mr Mills at the Malmo Act last year where he was already kicking the AC tires. Let's hope they now move to the next stage, and are front and center for AC 33. In the meantime, nice ink for Plus 39's Iain Percy....


Best of British to the fore in America’s Cup
By Matthew Pryor

SAILING closer to the wind than John Prescott, Iain Percy exploded his old boat in Valencia nine days ago. “I can’t wait for our new one,” a beaming Percy said afterwards. It is a familiar refrain at the America’s Cup, even repeated, hopefully ironically, by teams who are in new boats that are stalling.

You could be forgiven for not noticing, but a sailing race has been unfolding in the Mediterranean — the 32nd America’s Cup, the oldest prize in sport. The absence of a British-based challenge, after the unfortunate ducking of Peter Harrison’s dream in the wake of the 2003 Cup, has switched many off. The last preliminary races of 2006 have finished, but when the Cup reaches a climax from next April, there will be plenty of British interest.

A rich seam of talent from these shores runs through the first Cup being held in Europe since the schooner America came in 1851 to beat the best Britain could offer off the Isle of Wight. Even the architect of the signature building in the remodelled port of Valencia is English.

Percy, the 30-year-old Olympic gold medal-winner from Winchester who has something of the swashbuckler about him, is at the helm of +39 Challenge, one of three Italian boats. Ian Walker, skipper of the GBR Challenge, is the tactician and Andrew Simpson completes a trio of Britons on board. Even with the new boat, they will struggle to be among the leading challengers to unseat Alinghi, the holders, but even with the old boat Percy has been beating some of the bigger guns at the start.

Those who bemoan the lack of a British challenge and pin their hopes to the mast of Keith Mills, the man who helped to bring the 2012 Olympic Games to London and is trying to draw together interest for the next America’s Cup after Valencia, are perhaps missing the point.

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Iain Percy: former Finn and Star Class World Champion,
and 2000 Olympics Finn Gold Medalist.