AC34: Made for TV

Andy Green (former match racer and well-known America’s Cup commentator) and Tucker Thompson (owner of www.t2p.tv/‎ video production and broadcasting) have the onerous task of commentating on the first “races” of the Louis Vuitton Cup. Here are some ‘Greenisms’ that Michelle Slade gathered last week in an interview for Sailing World…

Commenting the ‘one-boat’ races:
Tucker and I have taken the view that we’re served with a plate, and we have to make the best meal of it that we can. What we’ve tried to do is bring in lots of guests, other experts, we’ve been able to get very comfortable with some of the rules and things that we will see on the racecourse. It’s an opportunity for us to educate the super keen fans who are watching about the racing.

There are a remarkable number of people who will take anything from the America’s Cup. They’ll watch anything, including one-boat racing because they want to see the boats foiling, and they want to see the crew work. A lot of people have been very passionate one way or another about this new boat and the America’s Cup, so we’ve had loads of messages on Twitter and Facebook. The last couple of one-boat races we had Dave Carr (Luna Rossa) and Richard Meacham (ETNZ), both of whom have been our best guests, who provided some fascinating insight into what’s happening on the boat.

The races are shorter, so when we get closer to “sporting” races with two boats and hoping that the races will be close enough, there won’t be any time to talk about the more intricate elements of putting the board up, the wing faring, the aero and hydro design packages.

Thoughts about the boats:
AG: I think they’re amazing; I think they’re mesmerizing. They’re beautiful, which is one of the crucial elements of having an America’s Cup design. America’s Cup has been very lucky to have developed beautiful boats. The TV coverage makes them look even better. We’re still in the early stages, so there’s not as many cameras about as there will be, but all the bells and whistles on board will come. The TV is fantastic with the boats.

One big concern for me is that they’ve got rid of the spinnakers. You don’t get quite the same sense of upwind and downwind. You know the boats are going downwind because they’re foiling, but it’s a shame for the non-sailor not to see someone pulling a line and the spinnaker going up and rolling out. I really enjoyed that with the AC45s. My suggestion for the next go around would be to find a boat you can have a gennaker, but it’s hard to do that when the jibes are so fast on these boats downwind.

Full interview.