ETNZ Practice sail
It’s getting hotter in San Francisco … and not just the summer temperatures, and what’s a Cup without a bit of slinging. There’s no doubt that Artemis has its back against the wall, and while entering an untrained team on an unproven boat is dangerous, I’m sure ETNZ is not keen to go full-barrel into the first dial up against a foiling AC72 newbie. Perhaps this is why Dalton is happy to tell it like it is … and be just as happy without the Challenger of Record on the course. Either way, Dalton tells it as it is, and with regard to the Louis Vuitton Cup schedule change announced last week (less sailing) Artemis management obviously doesn’t see it the same way …
Artemis’s official statement:
“In response to comments by Emirates Team New Zealand’s Managing Director Grant Dalton in a June 8, 2013 article in the New Zealand Herald, we would like to set the record straight. Dalton’s proposals to change the race (start direct elimination on July 19, rather than August 6, and alter the format to eliminate the semi-finals) would certainly not help Artemis Racing, as suggested, but make it even harder for us to compete. To shorten an already tight timeline is clearly not acceptable to us, as to any team in the same position. Dalton’s proposals benefit no team but his own, and his public insults are out of line and unsportsmanlike.
“Artemis Racing’s May 9 accident set us back immensely – on a human level and a campaign level. As competitors, though, we may be down, but we are not out. Our passion for the America’s Cup remains strong. We are committed again to competing. Anyone who knows our sailors knows that our team will not shy away from a tough challenge. We are doing our best to recover and our target is to be ready for racing in the Louis Vuitton Cup’s semi-finals on August 6, if not earlier. In the meantime, the race schedule should remain unchanged and the derogatory analogies should be left on the dock.”
To which Dalton could very well volley … “And that’s not that should be left at the dock.”
