A forbidden but tolerated practice
From the very beginnings of sport's oldest trophy, espionage has always been forbidden on the America's Cup. But this rule has always been flouted. Resulting in a host of fantasies. Divers, follower boats, camouflage paint, microphones, drones: all modern technical means have already been observed. Australia II's famous fin keel has been camouflaged with various shades of paint, and many competitors have used tarpaulins to hide their food supplies. Not to mention the nightly manoeuvres to avoid prying eyes.
But the speeds observed in recent editions have made observation phases dangerous, so the New Zealand Defender has decided to make this habit of observing the competition official.
A new rule introduced by the Defender
For the first time, a dedicated spy and observation service has been set up on the America's Cup. Every training outing and every movement of a syndicate is monitored by a specialized image and video team. All documents are made available on a central server accessible to all syndicates. And this system is financed by all the Challengers, as well as the Defender.
Better still, every competitor has the right to ask this official spy service for a report focusing on a particular competitor or element, as long as the boat and crew are out of the hangar or on the water. Within the limit of 25 meters on land and 200 meters on water.
A new rule already flouted?
With the Cup remaining true to form, paranoia is the order of the day, and there are rumors on the Barcelona docks of deviations from this revolutionary rule designed to ease tensions and limit budgetary debauchery.
With just a few weeks to go before the start of the Louis Vuitton Cup, the main architectural lines are already set in stone on the extremely expensive and technologically advanced AC75s. Even if a revolutionary option or process were to be discovered, it would be very costly for a syndicate to change its guidelines and make profound technical modifications.
But it's still hard to change 176 years of bad habits...
