America’s Cup: Stuff with Hutch

The speed of the America’s Cup yachts changes the onboard dynamics too. Traditional jobs of navigator, strategist, and tactician are gone, as once the race is underway, there is little time for conversation. Duncan Johnstone with Kiwi news site Stuff checked in with America’s Cup challenger Terry Hutchinson, skipper and executive director of American Magic, regarding roles on the boat:

About Dean Barker:
“I was always candid in my mind about the person that was going to steer the boat had to have a couple of qualities in them and Dean fits each one,” explained skipper and executive director Terry Hutchinson. “He has America’s Cup experience, he has the whole package when it comes to the development of the high performance multihulls and the foiling multihulls and then he also has the big boat monohull experience. The final thing was having somebody that I could personally trust on the water and off the water. You want the team to always be going in the right direction and with his hand on the helm we are certain that we have that.”

About himself:
In a Cup scene becoming increasingly youthful, the 52-year-old Hutchinson bucks that trend. The shift back to an 11-man crew means there is room for a tactician though with that comes a requirement for some serious work on the grinding handles at times.

“I can assure you, if we’re not producing enough oil to make the boat to go fast and to allow the guys to sail it properly, well then you just have to step aside to make sure you have the right athlete in there,” Hutchinson said. “And yet, if all the functions of the boat are performing and you can provide good tactical input and help the boat win, it’s a no-brainer then as well.

About tactics:
“Once the boat is off the starting line, as a tactician-strategist, basically you’re presenting simple facts to Dean and Paul (Goodison, the wing trimmer) to position the boat in the proper spot. But it is boundary racing and there is only one other boat out there. I’m 100 per cent confident between me and Paul, we’ll keep the boat in the right pressure. But the thing (boat) had better be fast. If it ain’t fast, it isn’t going to matter.”

Details: www.americascup.com

36th America’s Cup
In addition to Challenges from Italy, USA, and Great Britain that were accepted during the initial entry period (January 1 to June 30, 2018), eight additional Notices of Challenge were received by the late entry deadline on November 30, 2018. Of those eight submittals, entries from Malta, USA, and the Netherlands were also accepted. Here’s the list:

Defender:
• Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL)

Challengers:
• Luna Rossa (ITA) – Challenger of Record
• American Magic (USA)
• INEOS Team UK (GBR)
• Malta Altus Challenge (MLT) – WITHDRAWN
• Stars + Stripes Team USA (USA)
• DutchSail (NED) – WITHDRAWN

Of the three late entries, only Stars+Stripes USA remains committed, however, it is unclear what entry payments have been made, nor is there knowledge of a boat being actively built or sailing team assembled.

Key America’s Cup dates:
✔ September 28, 2017: 36th America’s Cup Protocol released
✔ November 30, 2017: AC75 Class concepts released to key stakeholders
✔ January 1, 2018: Entries for Challengers open
✔ March 31, 2018: AC75 Class Rule published
✔ June 30, 2018: Entries for Challengers close
✔ August 31, 2018: Location of the America’s Cup Match and The PRADA Cup confirmed
✔ August 31, 2018: Specific race course area confirmed
✔ November 30, 2018: Late entries deadline
✔ March 31, 2019: Boat 1 can be launched (DELAYED)
✔ 2nd half of 2019: 2 x America’s Cup World Series events (CANCELLED)
✔ October 1, 2019: US$1million late entry fee deadline (NOT KNOWN)
✔ February 1, 2020: Boat 2 can be launched (DELAYED)
✔ April 23-26, 2020: First (1/3) America’s Cup World Series event in Cagliari, Sardinia (CANCELLED)
✔ June 4-7, 2020: Second (2/3) America’s Cup World Series event in Portsmouth, England (CANCELLED)
• December 17-20, 2020: Third (3/3) America’s Cup World Series event in Auckland, New Zealand
• January 15-February 22, 2021: The PRADA Cup Challenger Selection Series
• March 6-15, 2021: The America’s Cup Match

Youth America’s Cup Competition (CANCELLED)
• February 18-23, 2021
• March 1-5, 2021
• March 8-12, 2021

AC75 launch dates:
September 6 – Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Boat 1
September 10 – American Magic (USA), Boat 1; actual launch date earlier but not released
October 2 – Luna Rossa (ITA), Boat 1
October 4 – INEOS Team UK (GBR), Boat 1

Details: www.americascup.com