Sailing opponents are allowed to spy on Alinghi Red Bull

It’s a quiet revolution at the America’s Cup: for the 2024 edition of the sailing regatta, the teams agreed to abolish a centuries-old tradition. A tradition no one ever talked about – spying on each other’s tech secrets.

There are episodes like 1983 when an underwater diver was caught shooting the legendary keel on the Australian boat. It was part of the espionage standard that each training of an America’s Cup competitor was followed by several escort boats. On top of that: the adversaries’ spies with all sorts of photo and data recording equipment.

There were fast crashes with spy ships

An expensive and, since the introduction of the flying sailing monsters, also a dangerous thing. Speedboats and spyships nearly crashed.

That’s the end. For cost reasons, the game is now played with open cards. Every team must be officially spied on. Reconnaissance units are responsible for this, or reconnaissance units. An analyst, a photographer and a boat pilot form the “Recon Unit”, which now accompanies Alinghi Red Bull Racing in Barcelona during training for the America’s Cup comeback.

The official spies even wear fluorescent vests. But of course there is still a game of hide and seek. At the Swiss syndicate, sailing legend Rodney Ardern is responsible for keeping the spies in check.

Sailing legend controls the access of spies

In other words, the New Zealander makes sure that the areas that can be documented are documented. But not anymore. Ardern: “It is a big challenge for me to keep them informed about our plans, but at the same time to arrange access because the other teams have insight.”

But Alinghi Red Bull also gets a lot of details from opponents without having to send out their own spies anymore. For example, the boat Ineos Britannia capsized violently off the coast of Palma last week.

And sailing freaks also benefit from the “Recon Units”. The spy reports with many sail-specific details are publicly available on the America’s Cup website.

Source : Blick