Iain Murray and Tom Ehman on Review Panel, America's Cup Plans
Panel Begins Work Thursday, Report Expected in Weeks,
Racing on Track
San Francisco, USA, May 14, 2013
Iain Murray and Tom Ehman at podium, meeting the media at Pier 27.
Photo:©2013 Chuck Lantz
Iain Murray, Regatta Director and CEO of the America’s Cup Race Management organization (ACRM), and Tom Ehman, Vice Commodore of Golden Gate YC and longtime senior official with Oracle’s yacht racing campaigns, today clarified the status of the America’s Cup and the examination process of the fatal accident that claimed the life of Artemis Racing crew member Andrew Simpson last week.
ACRM is appointing a review panel to study the circumstances of the incident, evaluate the policies and procedures planned for the Louis Vuitton Cup and America’s Cup races, and determine what changes should be made in the interest of a safe competition.
The six-person panel is assembling this week and will begin work on Thursday. A deadline for the panel’s findings has not been set, though it will wait for the San Francisco Police Department’s Major Accident Investigation report to be released, which will happen likely next week. With racing set to start in early July, the work will have to balance time pressures while still being thorough, Murray admitted, with completion likely within weeks.
Members of the panel include: Iain Murray (AUS, Chair), Sally Lindsay Honey (USA, Deputy Chair), John Craig (USA), Chuck Hawley (USA), Vincent Lauriot-Prévost (FRA), and Jim Farmer QC (NZL). Honey, Craig, and Hawley participated in the investigation of the recent deadly yacht racing accident in the Farallones Islands, outside San Francisco Bay. Craig also serves ACRM as Principal Race Officer for the 2013 America's Cup and Louis Vuitton Cup. Lauriot-Prévost is a designer of large multihulls.
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Iain Murray, Capt. Matt Bliven
USCG, and Tom Ehman. |
The scope of work for the Panel focuses on safety, but will not be an investigation of the safety of the Artemis yacht design or why the boat broke. Murray and Ehman pointed out that the design of the AC72 is under a “Box Rule,” meaning that other than overall dimensions and a minimum/maximum weight range the specifics of the structure and the strategies for dealing with loads and stresses are unique to each team, their design staff, and their builders. Based on initial information that they declined to share publicly at this time, the considered opinion is that findings in that regard on Artemis Boat #1 are not going to be broadly applicable to the other AC72 Class yachts.
The Panel’s report will look at both the Artemis incident and the Oracle capsize from last October, and try to make recommendations to make racing as safe as possible. Ehman also made the distinction that the Panel is conducting a review, not an investigation to place blame.
Out of consideration for Artemis and the memory of Andrew Simpson, Murray mentioned that Oracle canceled last weekend’s planned sailing and that ultimately it was requested informally that all teams hold off on sailing activities for a week’s grace period out of respect. Artemis is due to assemble and launch their second boat shortly, though no firm date has been previously given, nor any indication of how the accident has altered their schedule. ETNZ is in the process of offloading their equipment which recently arrived from Auckland, NZ, and had previously mentioned plans to be sailing late next week. Luna Rossa arrived in late April and had penciled in a date of May 10th to begin sailing in San Francisco. The Italians may begin sailing on the bay this week.
Murray and Ehman were emphatic in pointing out that the Louis Vuitton Cup and America’s Cup are proceeding as intended, and not considering that they will postpone or delay in response to the accident. A meeting of all four America’s Cup teams was held this morning, attended by senior representatives including Paul Cayard for Artemis, and the tone was described as supportive of the appointment of the panel, with the competitors intent to learn from the review and adopt any recommendations. The teams were characterized as looking forward at this point in time to the summer’s racing.
Asked about the reported withdrawal of the German entry into the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup, it was pointed out that it was the German federation who withdrew their sponsorship of the team, though the team members themselves still would like to compete and might do so via other arrangements. Additionally, entrants from other countries are willing to step in if the German team cannot proceed. Murray has polled the rest of the accepted Youth teams and says they remain committed to racing in the event. Murray went on to point out that the Youth event is sailed in the smaller AC45 yachts, which have competed now in 9 regattas around the world.
A final question raised the subject of a report, fueled by quotes from the father of Artemis’s skipper, that the boat had folded up. Ehman responded that, based on what they currently understand, the report was “grossly inaccurate.”
Though not mentioned at the press conference, onboard video from the Artemis boat is said to be in the hands of the SFPD, for use in their investigation, and should presumably be of great help in analysis of the crash and aftermath.
Asked about how the Cup would proceed if Artemis were not to continue, Murray clarified that they have no reason to think that Artemis will not compete, though if so then the format of the Louis Vuitton Cup to select the America’s Cup challenger would obviously have to be adapted, but the Match would still proceed as planned, with Race 1 between the selected challenger and Oracle Team USA as defender Golden Gate YC’s representative starting on September 7.
---Robert Davis/©2013
CupInfo.com
Additional Links and Info:
Read Press Release from ACEA: Panel Named, Racing on Track
Read Biographies of AC72 Review Panel (pdf)
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