As the Defenders of the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup, Emirates Team New Zealand have staged an impressive campaign all round, absolutely determined to hold onto the trophy with a full team effort that has drawn on individual’s skills to create a powerful collective. Ask any of the top team members from the Challengers, privately, who they are most watching and it’s unanimously the Kiwis as they strive to set the barrier ever higher through ultimate team-work, design logic and sailing skill.
Never afraid to do something different, this is a team where everybody’s opinion and input counts in the search of boatspeed. If it doesn’t make the boat go faster, don’t say it. Heads down day-in and day-out, Emirates Team New Zealand are executing on a masterplan set from the top with a team culture that is of the very highest in international sports, regardless of discipline.
Within this team backdrop is a deep-rooted culture of continual improvement and there have been no signs of resting on laurels or past performance. Much of the on-water drive has come from a team of coaches and performance analysts, led from the front by Ray Davies, now into his seventh America’s Cup campaign across a variety of roles. As a legendary sailor (and winner) of the Whitbread Round the World Race and Volvo Ocean Race, Ray has competed in the Cup both in the afterguard as well as in shoreside and coaching roles so has a unique perspective that is highly regarded and respected. He’s a popular and ever-present member of the team, always seen out on the water, on the boats prepping sails, rigging and de-rigging whilst, crucially, setting the daily structure for the sailors to achieve their very best within.
Dealing with talent is a given at Emirates Team New Zealand from the established sailors to those coming through the Women & Youth teams, and Ray Davies is unquestionably the go-to when it comes to developing that talent, sharpening the edges, instilling the racecraft and pushing the team to their limits. Now with an extremely strong line-up of Challengers for the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup, we caught up with Ray ahead of the final Preliminary Regatta to try and dig into the DNA of what makes Emirates Team New Zealand really tick from the inside.
Ray is quick to acknowledge the ‘team’ approach to coaching saying: “There are a number of us in the coaching team, I am leaning hard on our backup sailors Josh Junior and Sam Meech and of course the likes of Elise Beavis, Richard Meacham Kim Simperingham, Ash Draper and Roger Badham are all integral in ensuring we are covering the vital rolls that embrace the ‘coaching’ of an America’s Cup team.”
Looking at how the Kiwis have broken down the various areas of opportunity is an insight into the team’s thoroughness, with Ray saying: “From a racing standpoint, in the America’s Cup there a two main factors, your boat and your crew, each category can be broken down into many aspects, from a crew standpoint we have used our two AC40’s for practice race sessions, and our simulator, and as a team improved a lot since AC36 in Auckland. As far as the boat goes, well it’s a technology race broken down into many aspects, all teams would have faster boats with more time, so it’s also a management game making the right decisions throughout the campaign, pushing the limits, so it’s a very challenging balance. Also ensuring you have a reliable boat that can compete across a wide range of conditions, between the boat and crew, this is the tougher battle as it requires a huge amount of work between the sailors, designers and shore crew.”
Now with gloves-off racing about to begin, Emirates Team New Zealand are itching to get racing in the Preliminary Regatta where, for the first time, they will start to see the level of the competition. Will they be tailoring their style for different teams? Ray gives an interesting answer, saying: “Absolutely, this is a big focus from now until race one of the America’s Cup, as we are just getting to a point when the challengers will be locked into their configurations, and we will see how they race their AC75 in anger. We will have notes in our playbook for each team.”
Those notes will be scribbled frantically as the coaching team assess and analyse the pre-starts where everyone is eyeing an immediate advantage. It’s an area that Emirates Team New Zealand have worked super-hard on both back in Auckland in their AC40s and in the AC75 in Barcelona. Ray sees it as crucial, saying: “The prestart is actually a very important part of the race. If you can come off the line with an advantage or in control, then you can capitalise on this from the outset, i.e. heading to more wind and therefore extending the advantage. From that point, it's up to you to lose the race, and the other boat must stay close and apply as much pressure as possible to force a mistake/or have a faster boat… the time to the first boundary is really short so you can’t rely on speed to get you into the lead.”
Something that was noted throughout the period of the Joint Reconnaissance period was the concentration on maintaining speed and height out of the tacks plus rapid exit speeds and tight angles on the gybes downwind. These areas are where the crucial inches are gained and it’s something the Kiwis are alive to with Ray saying: “These are tight courses that require a lot of manoeuvres. We are racing for inches to get control of the race, and then you can lose meters in a manoeuvre if you're not working in precise harmony balancing the boat as you transfer the huge loads from one side of the boat to the other, in a couple of seconds, then accelerating back to full speed.”
Just how comfortable the Kiwi helms and trimmers are in moding the boat to the conditions is an area where they have always excelled but it’s still a work in progress and the work is never done as Ray says: “We are very comfortable, however the challenge is also learning how to sail when conditions vary throughout the day or race, so you really have to be all over your targets and your sail setups, to get you through the ever-changing wind field. The class rules have us locking in with our foils and rudders, the biggest tool we have during racing is the engine (sails) these are what pushes the boats forward, everything else slows the boat down, so you are constantly aiming for the correct balance of the aerodynamic forces between the jib and mainsail, to provide maximum forward thrusts or sideways in the very light air to keep flying, it’s a difficult job with a lot of seconds on the table.”
Emirates Team New Zealand will be taking on the Preliminary Regatta with gusto whilst their inclusion in the Louis Vuitton Cup in the Double Round Robin stages will give the team an even greater handle on the levels they need to achieve to win. As Defenders they automatically progress to the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Match in October and meet the winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup for all the marbles. How confident are they in their design and sailing technique? Ray appears quietly confident, saying: “Well, I don’t think any team is ever going to feel comfortable that they will have a performance edge, certainly in all conditions, there are just too many opposing factors in hydrodynamics to have the optimal boat in all conditions. Our sailors and design team are confident we can squeeze out every potential second in our boat across the wind range, but some boats will have their sweet spots, it’s about having more of those than your opponent.”
Should Emirates Team New Zealand defend the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup they will re-write the history books as the only team to win three in a row. It’s a mighty task ahead of them with the Challengers snapping at their heels and it will take an all-encompassing team ethic to achieve what’s never been done before. Can they do it? Hard to bet against.
(Magnus Wheatley)
Image: Job Vermeulen / America's Cup