In his book, The Race, Tim Zimmermann quotes Joseph Conrad at the beginning of the chapter titled "A New Breed of Cat".

[color:"green"]"I suspect that . . . the love of the sea, to which some men and nations confess so readily, is a complex sentiment wherein pride enters for much, necessity not a little, and the love of ships -- the untiring servants of our hopes and our self-esteem -- for the best and most genuine part."[/color]

I can't help but think of those words as I read the posts regarding the revival of the Little America's Cup. What is the primary attraction? The boat? The sailor?

Is it really that simple? Steve Clark says the genesis of the "Little America's Cup" was a challenge between the England and the U.S. to see who had the best catamarans. But is anybody still around who remembers the exact words? Was it to determine the best catamarans or to determine the best catamaran sailors?

If somebody has the answer to that question, it would establish the intent behind the International Catamaran Challenge Trophy.

Interesting question.

'the love of ships the best and most genuine part' says to me that its the development of the boat thats the focus, theres an antique notion of boat as vessel, safety in extremes, creation of a womblike structure that protects us in the most dangerous and violent situations. an open 60 in the southern ocean. my hobie 16 in steep chop and 20 kn with two 9 year olds for crew is a stretch, but its a love and respect for the vessel that i read into the statement. maybe the americas cups are too civilized to be really appealing. i coulda raced on any of those days they cancelled (with my gorilla crew of course) and maybe have beat those fancy posers with my ancient hobie 16, bring em on, aarghhh!

Catamaran Racing by Reg White & Bob Fisher has a chapter on the history of the Little Americas Cup from the beginning up to 1970. The first challenge used the RYA Open catamaran class, 14ft beam and 300 square ft. of sail including the spars. At this time the C Class had not been established.

I think having a race along the lines of the currently proposed one is a great idea, my only concern is calling that race the "Little America's Cup" since it has clearly deviated greatly from the original intent of the trophy. If the current economic situation does not support the ICCT original intent then just adapt it, ala the "BIG" AC did when they changed from "J class" boats to 12 meters to keep costs/transportation/crewing issues in line. I would like to see the original developmental format, but modify it to one of the other, smaller, developmental classes like the "A", "B" or 18 square classes.
Just my opinion-

Kirt

The answer to the question is "THE CHALLENGE". It's not like any other race and it wasn't meant to be. It's a joke to use Italian built boats to defend or challenge for something called The Little America's Cup.

Mike

Hey! "The Challenge" sounds like a great name for a race.

Good ,then we agree. Use the PASTA wagons for THE CHALLENGE and leave the LAC as it was.

Mike

My view of "Little America`s Cup" as the name of a regatta which follows similar format & structure of the "Big" one, is that the primary intent of the original deed would have been to determine which country could put together the best overall package, ie boat design, construction & sailing skill. It should be a showcase of that particular country`s ability to combine cutting-edge design, construction methods that push boundaries and ultimately new ideas in both spheres that would determine the future trends in production cat design. It is what makes F1 motor racing what it is : A technology-developing sport where the benefits of research get passed down to the motor industry. That`s what ultimately keeps the sport alive, as the manufacturers use it as a test-bed for new ideas as well as a marketing tool.
To limit entries to the LAC to one manufacturer is like saying only Ferrari should enter F1.
Furthermore, I believe only the Italian sailors should be allowed to sail Bimare`s boat - As per the real Americas Cup, the boat must be designed & built in the country that it represents.
Perhaps it is time to change the format from very exclusive designs which allow very few to compete, to production beach cats, but then it should be an open F18HT challenge and be named as such. It would be a real pity to see the boats such as Miss Nylex, Cogito and others which pioneered radical ideas in sailing become a thing of the past.
If the Little Americas Cup has not been challenged for many years it may be an indication that the format no longer attracts attention, and that the title & honour attached to winning the event is not as highly prized as the effort in challenging would require.
Perhaps they should raise the level & profile of the event, by making the boats similar to the Dennis Connor cat that won against New Zealand`s aircraft carrier in the America`s Cup which ended in the courtroom. This would attract more interest by virtue of the fact that it involves bigger, faster cats with wing rigs and a larger crew compliment. This event should, if organised well, rival the real America`s Cup for Television coverage & prestige.
That would really live up to the title : A New Breed of Cat.

The problem with saying the boat has to be built in the country of the team sailing it means that if your country currently has no builder of the class then some wealthy individual has to foot the bill for a one off boat OR drum up sponsorship for the program. Since the LAC has virtually NO recognition, sponsorhip will be tough to sell.

I think this is what has happened with the C Class. The boatswere rare and VERY expensive. Combined with a poor return on sponsorship dollars, a LAC like the real AC was inpossible. I think they are taking the right track.
1) Build interest and participation using a Formula class
2) Once participation returns, ratchet up the technology by opening it up to other manufacturers.
3) Maybe in the future, with minimum weight limits and a ban on wing sails, the C Class could return.

For the C Class to return, one of the following has to occur:

1) The boat must be drastically less expensive (hence the weight limit and ban on wing sails) so that mounting a challenge is doable my more people. I belive this is the primary goal of the new format.

2) The boat has to be raceable in local or regional competitions. If the boat is to be more expensive, there must be a least SOME pockets or fleets in each country. As a related point of interest, why does something like a J-80 or Melges 24 have so much appeal (at $50k +) while an RC27/RC30 could be had for about the same money?

3) As in the case of the real AC, sponsorship money has to flow like a river.

If at least one of the boave does not exist for the boat chosen for the LAC, it can't stay alive, much less flourish. If you can combine all of these things, or at least two of the three, there is no reason this can't work.

Steve said...

" I believe only the Italian sailors should be allowed to sail Bimare`s boat - As per the real Americas Cup."

...which is a reasonable sentiment but I've got a feeling that part of the crew on the boat that defeated New Zealand in the America's Cup was in fact from New Zealand!! So perhaps "anyone goes" in the AC.

Hmmm. Point taken - It seems when any sport reaches that level the rules change to suit the competitors. My only concern about using production boats or making it a one-class event is that it removes the technology aspect (Look at AC where half the interest is developed by technological advancements within strict rules, mostly occurring under cover - everyone wants to know what`s under the skirts - and I`m not referring to Scotsmen in kilts here !)
Also, what differentiates the new format for LAC from a Jav2 World champs, the fact that it`s match-racing ? I believe it will get very little recognition outside of those who are already interested in beach-cat racing like ourselves.
To make the event stand out as the pinnacle of cat-sailing, it needs to be MORE exciting, MORE interesting, and MORE exclusive than most average beach-cat regattas.
Most keelboat sailors are keen followers of the real AC, even though they know it`s very unlikely they will ever participate. This brings me back to my original post - The aspect of which country can produce & race the fastest cat within a set of rules that are open enough for design progress & tight enough to control costs within reasonable limits - I`m not referring to costs that the average cat sailor can relate to, but that a syndicate could fund. (This regatta should NOT cater for the average cat-sailor, only the best from each country need apply.)
Perhaps one of the class rules could be a maximum cost which might prevent the richest country from winning.
Perhaps F18HT is the right path, but open to all boats which qualify under the class rules, not one chosen manufacturer. I believe this is the way they are approaching it, but using the Jav2 just to get it started ?
Personally I`d rather watch 60ft cats with full wing rigs & 10 guys out on the wire, but I suppose the costs would be ridiculous. having said that, it may be the route to go to elevate the event to America`s Cup status, something I believe difficult to acchieve on beach-cats. Maybe that`s why there was not enough public interest in LAC - the boats & teams are not big enough ? It`s what made "The Race" such a well-publicised event - the fact that they were bigger & faster than anything that came before them.
All points are my humble opinion based on what I know, which may not be enough to substantiate what I`ve written (which makes it possible for you to disagree without offending me !)

Cheers
Steve

Steve,

I in agree with you Steve. Excellent points, well put. I think it would be great to see 40' cats match racing. That would be an interesting spectator sport.

Rob.