YP

Peter Huston (pronounced liked the Americans say "Houston", as in the city) is often referenced here on the EFB, and is a frequent contributor to the widely-read Scuttlebutt (North America) sailing newsletter.

A bit of a gadfly, but one of the keenest observers of the passing sailing scene, Peter has been a good friend since our USYRU days in the 80s. He is a native of cold, snowy Buffalo where he once again resides, though when we met years ago he was running the sailing program at Balboa Yacht Club in Newport Beach, CA. Thanks to Peter, we once raced together from Newport to Ensenada with America's Most Trusted Man.

When I gave a talk at Portage YC a few weeks back on the America's Cup, "YP" (as in "Young Peter," since he was among the youngest, to say nothing of one of the most outspoken, delegates to USYRU in those days) drove over to Ann Arbor for the night, getting the long distance award. He wrote this nice piece on the talk for a Great Lakes sailing newsletter....


America's Cup News, by Peter Huston: "Don, Thought you might like this report for the newsletter on the BMW Oracle Racing presentation I attended this weekend. Peter

BMW Oracle Racing Yacht Club presentation: This past weekend, I was the guest of Tom Ehman, who is the Chairman of the Executive Committee for the BMW Oracle Racing Team, the Golden Gate YC's entry into the coming America's Cup, at special presentation of the plans for the Cup next spring in Valencia, Spain. Tom spoke at the Portage Yacht Club, located on Portage Lake which is just west of Ann Arbor, MI.

The presentation centered around "What's New for 32" - meaning the improvements in the structure of the event so that is more understandable and interesting for the audience. Most of these changes have been well reported by the general sailing press over the past few years, and particular on the BMW Oracle blog. Simply put, the earlier regattas, called "ACTS", were vastly more accessible to the general public as they traveled throughout Europe. The ACC rule has been tightened up so that the boats are going to be more even in speed, hence the racing will be closer than ever. It is likely that one of the "Big Three" - Emirates Team New Zealand, BMW Oracle, or Luna Rosa will win the Louis Vuitton Cup and hence the right to sail in the America's Cup against the defender Alinghi, but it is also likely that these teams will lose occassional races to the up and coming teams. In any event, the racing will be more interesting than ever.

While some lament the good old days of a simpler time in the Cup, the fact is that the changes in the event, which are model after Formula One auto racing, are just another example of a natural progression and growth in the sport. The America's Cup gives the sport a great deal - a large percentage of technical advancements in the sport start in the America's Cup because this is where the R&D money is available to test new technology. I remember seeing the first 3DL sails in the '92 Cup.

But more than the technology development is the global media attention the Cup gives to the sport. Many people wonder how to "grow the sport" - we need to look no further than the America's Cup, and related events. Tom spoke of his trip last weekend to Malaysia for the Monsoon Cup, which by his estimate (and he's been involved in 8 prior Cups and countless other major championships, including the Olympics) had the largest TV audience ever, with a global TV footprint of 1.6 Billion (yes, Billion) homes, which was accomplished through Sail.tv. Not all homes of course tuned in, but no sailing event has ever had that sort of reach.

The America's Cup validates the sport of sailing as a desirable sponsor opportunity. While I have no real specific information, I think it is safe to assume that BMW is not partnering with Oracle Racing because they hope to eventually sell Larry Ellison an M6. BMW and Allianz know that their significant investments in Oracle Racing pay meaningful global marketing dividends. And one must consider that it is not just the money that is at stake for these companies - their very brand reputation is at stake. They have analyzed every sport, and picked sailing for a primary association.

Now a word about Portage YC in terms similar to our geography. This lake is no bigger than Abino Bay if it were to become a closed circle around its current radius. It is located in farm country much like Silver Lake. It is full of families that have had multiple associations with locally indigenous classes like the Interlake and Flying Scot, with the occasional Sunfish and Laser thrown in for good measure, just as we have Lighting's and now J-22's. Some of the people we race against in Lighting's, like George Fisher, race at Portage YC in Interlakes. The quality and depth of competition is similar. Indeed, Tom Ehman has won the US Sailing Championships of Champions twice.

The level of commitment to bettering the sport is evident when you look around the room during Tom's presentation and see the likes of US Sailing stalwarts Clark Chapin and Past President Bill Martin. Little Portage YC, located on a lake that is probably more a wide spot in the creek than anything else, is the type of place that makes our sport what it is. The sense of family support, long and deep roots, a casual and comfortable graciousness, a common sense approach to major accomplishments - these are the values that the likes of BMW and Allianz have elected to support when they partnered with Oracle Racing. These are the same things that all clubs have to offer to their sailing communities.

There are several excellent websites that report on the America's Cup, but for my five minutes in the morning while drinking my wakeup coffee, the one that I have come to count on for interesting information - and because it is the site of the only US based team is the BMW Oracle blog, which you can access here http://bmworacleracing.twoday.net/

One team will claim the Cup around July 1 next summer. But the whole sport is going to be the big winner because of what is 'new for 32'."



650-acre (2.6 sq km) Portage Lake, between Dexter and Pinckney, Michigan, 14 miles northwest of Ann Arbor, home of the Portage Yacht Club.



TFE and YP at Portage YC after my AC talk there Saturday evening 9 December. Self-portrait on the ubiqitous Palm Treo 680. Not a great phone cam, but passable -- even in poor lighting at night.