Bermuda and the America's Cup

I’ve just started working on a sailing catamaran as a freelance delivery and charter deckhand.  I was excited to get the job because I intend to buy my own sail boat in about five years to live aboard and sail for several  years.  However, I have very little sailing experience, so an opportunity to get paid to learn a little about sailing was pretty awesome.   Boat owners typically don’t like crew disclosing information about them or their boat, but I can say it is a 74-foot sailing catamaran that is typically crewed by a husband-and-wife team, and only takes on additional crew when the owners have bigger trips with extra guests.  In my case, they were going to Bermuda for the America’s Cup.

On our first day, we were treated to some good tail winds, following seas and the Gulf Stream, which gave us a good push around the top of the Bahamas.  Our route was taking us along the western edge of the Bermuda Triangle, which made it interesting for the superstitious, and I’m learning superstition is part of the sailing culture.  As the sun set, the eastern skyline lit up with a massive electrical storm.  It looked like we were sailing right into it, but it was miles off, and stayed ahead of us lighting up the sky and black seas around us for hours before it finally died out. 

The storm and sailing highlighted one of the biggest differences between this crossing and previous trips I have done on motor yachts.  In the motor yachts, we conducted our watches inside, but on the sailboat we were outside.  Although we still watched and logged wind and sea state on the motor yachts, it was much different being outside the whole time, feeling the wind and air temperature.  I enjoyed it more, but I was also thankful we didn’t get rained on. 

On day two, several small birds took refuge on the boat.  It was a wonder how they had found themselves so far out to sea.  Normally, I hate to see birds on a boat because it always means you’ll be cleaning up bird crap later, but this time I just felt bad for the little guys that must have been blown out to sea on one of the passing storms.  They were the size of a finch, and mostly bright yellow with some black and white on their wings and head.  We named one that was almost full yellow Tweety, and the other Bandit, as it had black on its face resembling a Zorro style mask.  We put out a little tin with bread crumbs and another of water, assuming they must be starved and thirsty.  They never took any interest in the food, but, much to our delight, they did go about eating any bugs that found their way on board. 

On day three, my evening watch started after sunset and well before the moon rose.  I was lucky because we also passed through some bioluminescence, which I may not have seen if the sun or moon was out.  The sky was nearly cloudless, so I alternated between watching our wake light up, and watching the sky for falling stars.  Again, I probably would have missed both of these on a motor yacht since you don’t have the unobstructed view from the bridge that you do when you’re outside. 

On day four, we saw some dolphins that chased us down, and played in our wake for a few minutes before moving on, and on our fifth day we arrived in Bermuda, with the early morning sun lighting up the colorful houses along the south shore.  We hugged the coast around to the east side, and entered Saint George harbor where we needed to check in for customs and immigration. 

St. George

If you ever travel to Bermuda, I recommend spending a little time in both St. George and the Dockyard area.  If you do, you will also travel the islands from end to end, which is also well worth it.  St. George is a UNESCO world heritage site on the eastern tip of Bermuda.  It was the site of first settlement on Bermuda, and the site of the Sea Venture’s grounding in 1609, after it was damaged in storms while sailing to Jamestown, Virginia, with supplies from Britain.  Sir George Somers and the crew of the Sea Venture were able to build two ships from supplies they recovered from the Sea Venture as well as the ample cedar that grew on Bermuda.  After ten months, the ships were ready to complete the resupply mission to Jamestown; however, some of the crew didn’t want to leave the island.

Replica of the Deliverance, located in St George.  It is one of the two ships Somers' crew built to replace the Sea Venture

Their experience and Sir George Somers’ report back to the British government led the British to colonize the island, which had no native population before that time.  Bermuda is still a British territory, but has also grown more independent since WWII.  Prior to the British, the island was first discovered by a Spanish sailor Juan De Bermudez in 1503.  Then the Portuguese visited in 1543, leaving behind wild hogs, which they planned to use to resupply meat supplies on future visits.  However, the cries of the wild hogs, tree frogs and birds – and the treacherous northern reefs – led future sailors to refer to it as Devil ’s Island, and they preferred to give the island a wide berth.  (These reefs have claimed more than 300 ships over the years, and I was able to snorkel around some of the wrecks during my stay.  The hogs have all been eaten, but they remain on the local ‘Hog Penny,’ which was one of the first forms of currency and is also the name of one of the islands oldest pubs.)

Today, St. George is filled with colorful and historic buildings dating back to the early days of colonization, and, despite being a British territory, it is also linked to a lot of American history.  Barber’s Alley is named for Joseph Hayne Rainey (1832-1887), an American slave who escaped to Bermuda and earned a living cutting hair there before he returned to the US and became the first African American member of Congress in 1870.  And, after building up defenses on Bermuda to protect it from possible attack from the US, it housed US troops multiple times.  The confederate Army had staff in St George, and US submarines were also stationed there during WWII. 

Some colorful and historic buildings on Water Street, St. George

One of several torture devices you can find in King's Square, St. George. 

Although the Dockyard - on the western end of the island – is the largest and most impressive fort on the island, St. George is also surrounded by many interesting forts that reflect the changing nature of coastal fortification over the last 500 years -- from Fort St. Catherine, the oldest fort in Bermuda, to Alexandra Battery.   St. Catherine has the classic look of a coastal castle, complete with a dry moat and draw bridge, while the Alexandra Battery is nearly invisible from the sea, and was equipped with modern cannons to defend the island during WWII. 

One of the gun positions for a disappearing cannon at the Alexandra Battery

Fort St Catherines

The Dockyard

After the US declared independence from Britain, the British established a significant naval fort on the western tip of Bermuda to defend against American aggression and support what remained of its Colonial Empire across the Atlantic.  Construction began in 1809, with slaves doing most of the work until they were liberated.  Then convicts were shipped in to complete the construction and housed on old ships that acted as floating prison barracks until construction was completed.   Interestingly, rather than protecting Bermuda from US aggression, the Dockyard was the place the British planned and conducted their attacks on Washington D.C. and supported the blockade of the US seaboard during the war of 1812.  AND, it later housed the US forces it was built to deter, during WWII.

View of the clock tower mall from our boat at the Dockyard

The Victualing Yard, where the British Navy prepared and stored food and other supplies for their ships 

View from one of the gun positions in 'The Keep,' the final defensive fort in the Dockyard

The British operated the Dockyard until the 1950’s, and, although the British Navy departed, they maintained the historic lease on the site until the 1990’s.  During those 40 years, the site was largely left to the elements, but in the past 20 years, it has seen a major revitalization as a harbor for private boats, and major Cruise lines.  In addition, the historic buildings built to house supplies, personnel and naval ship repairs have now been renovated into shops, restaurants and an impressive museum. 

We were lucky enough to dock at Pier 41 for the duration of the America’s Cup.  This gave me an opportunity to explore the Dockyard, and provided a ‘backstage’ view of the America’s Cup team docks and Race Village. 

Watching Team Oracle(USA) leave the docks, as Team New Zealand preps their boat in the background.

America’s Cup

I didn’t know much about the America’s Cup before this trip other than it was a sailing race, but, I’ve learned that it’s actually the oldest trophy in international sport, and it was named after the first boat to win the race in 1851, which actually took place in England.  The victorious sailing yacht, America, returned to America and gave the trophy to the New York Yacht Club, which then began holding the race in which one challenger competes against the current champion.  This challenger is the winner of a race series – called the Louis Vuitton Series - prior to the final race for the cup.  However, the defender doesn’t even compete in the initial Louis Vuitton series of races.  Instead they are guaranteed the spot in the final series of races against the single challenger.  In addition, the defender gets to select the boat design for the race and decides some of the rules for the race.  One analogy I heard was that it would be like the winner of the Super Bowl being guaranteed a spot in the next Super Bowl, and writing the rules for the next season!  This explains why the race also holds the record for longest winning streak in sport history. 

The America’s Cup has led to many innovations in sailing as well as controversies.  This year’s race featured several of those innovations.  The primary one is the foiling catamarans that actually fly through the air and sea.  The main sail is actually more like a plane wing on a Boeing 737 than a traditional fabric sail, and it operates like a wing as well, providing horizontal lift as the wind flows around it, propelling the sailing ships at 3 to 4 times the wind speed!  On a traditional sailing ship the wing sail alone would not be able to provide enough power to overcome the drag of water flowing around the ship’s hull, so they have reduced that drag by using a hydrofoil.  The hydrofoil is a wing under water that provides vertical lift to raise the boat out of the water, so the only points of friction are the small hydrofoil wing and the rudder used for steering and stability, like the tail of an airplane.  They are amazing to watch in action, but also controversial within the sailing community, which has found it hard to accept such radical innovation in the oldest race in international sailing.

The second major innovation is a creative system to keep the boats ‘man-powered.’  I feel I need to put it in quotes because there seems to be a fine line the race teams sail in this regard.  The boats actually have a lot of computer devices to aid the sailors, and the majority of the ‘sailors’ on board are actually called grinders or cyclers, who really don’t need sailing skills or knowledge; some of them actually come from Olympic cycling backgrounds.  They are responsible for charging a hydraulic system that’s used to control the hydrofoils and other systems on-board.   Although controversial, these innovations have led to astounding speeds on the race course of over 50 mph!

Another interesting fact about sail racing is that the race actually begins before it starts.  In the America’s Cup races, the two competitors enter the race course two and a half minutes before the start, and spend that time trying to out maneuver their competitor as they approach the starting line.  They try to cross the start line with the best angle and speed to attack the first mark or turning point on the course.  However, if they cross the start early, they have to drop back two boat-lengths behind their competitor as a penalty.  All of this makes for some very exciting racing before the race has officially started.  One shocking statistic that highlighted how crucial this pre-race jockeying was is the fact that Team New Zealand never lost a race if they won the race to the first mark.

I was fortunate enough to get to watch the races from several vantage points ranging from a small boat on the edge of the race course to a TV in a pub.  But the best place was at the America’s Cup Village Grandstand, where I was able to see the race course, listen to the animated play-by-play of the announcers, feel the wind in my face, and watch the race footage on a big screen.  Without the race-course graphics and camera angles on the big screen, it could be hard to tell who was in the lead at times.  In addition, they have put multiple cameras on board each boat, plus chase boats, helicopters and drones; so the race footage and instant replays are excellent, making TV viewing the second best option, beating out in person viewing from land or even a boat on the edge of the race course. 

Watching Team Groupama come into the finish line from the Grandstand

Not only did I get to watch some of the preliminary Louis Vuitton Challenger Cup races from the Grandstand, I was also lucky enough to have the owners of the sailboat that I work on gave us tickets to join them in the sold-out final day of races.  It was a great experience. 

The mood was set early, before we even left the yacht, as we could hear the announcers doing sound checks and announcing winner ‘XYZ’ and ‘ABC’ before cuing pre-selected victory soundtracks.   As the announcers were rehearsing, we could see the teams preparing their boats for racing and leaving the docks. 

We arrived at the race village shortly after the gates opened and, despite our early arrival, the Grandstands were filling quickly.  However, we were still able to claim prime seats behind the announcers’ booth.  After claiming a seat, I went to the Cup merchandise tent and discovered a fire sale crowd in a feeding frenzy of half-price bargains.  The line for check out extended the entire length of the store, and, as I waited to buy a T-shirt and hat, I heard some other shoppers chatting.  "This is the danger of a sale," a man lamented. "You buy a bunch of stuff you don't need. We came in here for one shirt.  Now look at all this.  I don't even know what this is,” the man said, holding up a tote-bagged item as his wife ran about the store returning to his spot in line with nearly one of everything.

I returned to the stands just in time for the announcers to begin their pre-race analysis, and pump up the crowd before the races began.  As the announcers probably said, the mood was electric.  The Team New Zealand fans knew they only need one more race to win the first-to-seven competition, while the American fans hoped it would be the start of another epic turn-around similar to their famous come-from-behind victory in 2013 when they won eight straight races to beat New Zealand 9-8. 

As the race started, the American fans were cheering early as Team USA won the race to the start line and around the first mark, a critical task when racing Team New Zealand.  However, the mood began to change and then the energy flipped as Team New Zealand pulled into the lead, causing the other half of the stands to erupt in cheers of excitement. 

Throughout the races, the announcers had been throwing some groan-worthy analogies, and they didn’t disappoint on this final day of racing, as they announced that “Team USA’s chances are slipping through their fingers like sand at the beach!” And it continued to slip, as Team New Zealand slowly gained ground.  “It is their race to lose” the announcers loved to say as a team secured a lead, and in this final race it was close, and New Zealand could lose if they slipped up, dropped off foil, or jumbled a jibe.  But they didn’t and the New Zealand fans were elated as they brought home the win and the cup, for the first time since 1995 when they beat the American’s in San Diego.

Typically, the race is held in the home country of the champion.  However, after successfully defending the trophy in San Francisco in 2013, with one of the greatest comebacks in sport history, the US team decided to open a bid for next race venue, and Bermuda won the bid.  It turned out to be a pretty great location for racing, with a large lagoon protected from the big sea swells of the open ocean, and fairly-consistent winds.  Five of six teams in the race actually voted to keep the races in Bermuda in the future; however, New Zealand opted out.  As it turned out, New Zealand won, so the next America’s Cup will most likely be held in New Zealand, much to the Bermudian’s dismay.

If I stay with the yacht I’m working on now, I might just make the journey to New Zealand in 2021 for the 36^th America’s Cup.  The owners of the yacht were rooting for America and a return to Bermuda.  It was a beautiful and central location for the races, and as my boss says, “New Zealand is 100% farther than you think.”  I certainly wouldn’t mind experiencing a Pacific crossing, but 2021 is also 100% farther than I think.