Conventional Wisdom

SA thought it would be fun to do a "Who's Up and Who's Down" piece like the "conventional wisdom" columns in newsmagazines, but using key figures in the next America's Cup.

The photos were taken last Thursday in Valencia as these Cup personalities were leaving the day-long Teams Meeting run by AC Management. We hear it was a rocky session, with teams unhappy about continuing delays and confusion over ACM's plans and preparations for team bases in Valencia's inner harbour, and high prices teams are being charged for ACM services. Maybe that explains the tense, tired looks on a few of these mugs.

DEREK CLARK (GBR Challenge). The nerdy but bright Technical Director cum general manager carries his own combo extension cord and power point to meetings. The Conventional Wisdom ("CW") is that Clark also has his hands full trying to keep Peter Harrison, team owner and knight-in-waiting, from "talking away" any of the remaining sailing talent, while securing the so-far elusive big sponsor said to be in the wings. Can the knight get the check? ARROW - SIDEWAYS.
GRANT DAVIDSON (BMW Oracle). Davidson has gone from being Viaduct Boss to all the teams in Auckland to being bossed around by ACM as he tries to get Chris Dickson's base set up in Valencia. The CW is that without all the coaching ACM has gotten from Davidson and Alinghi's ops man Michel Marie, ACM would be so deep in dung that even the King of Spain couldn't sail to their rescue. ARROW - UP.
TOM EHMAN (BMW Oracle and Challenger Commission Chairman). Over twenty-plus years in the AC Ehman's arrow has been up and down, but the teams he has rules-advised always come out near if not at the top. Dickson has also tasked him with the Challenger of Record job, and the CW is that "The Chairman" is getting high marks for his firm but diplomatic negotiations with ACM and Alinghi on behalf of the challengers. ARROW - UP.
LUC GELLESSAU (Le Defi). Vive le France! The spirit of Lafayette lives on in Luc et cie for refusing to throw in the towel after another sloppy showing in Auckland. Like most of the teams they are desperately dialing for dollars while getting ready to race in "Act 1" next month in Marseille, even though not yet an official AC challenger. At least their boat is no longer nuclear-glow green, but the CW says, at least historically, red is sloooow. Vive le Liberty? ARROW - SIDEWAYS.
MICHEL HODARA (ACM COO). Why is this man smiling? Has he just dreamed up another scheme to charge the teams for services that should be free? The Uncle Fester look-alike is smart and hard-working, but runs fast and loose. Unlike ACM CEO Michel Bonnefous, Hodara is not a boyhood bud of big boss Ernesto Bertarelli, so the CW says to look for Michel H to be the first to go if the teams, starting with Alinghi, don't find things improving soon. ARROW - DOWN.
MARCUS HUTCHINSON (ACM P.R.). On the one hand, Cup vet Hutchinson has moved out of the shadow of his former boss, Bruno Trouble. On the other hand, he has not managed to become the new Bruno. The CW is that Hutchinson has been working overtime behind the scenes to recruit challengers, and may have been the "brains" behind the Bertarelli loan to Team NZ while also securing concessions from ACM for other teams so they could afford to put in challenges. Our source inside ACM says a new PR boss is coming, and Hutchinson will be delegated to run the media center where his real expertise lies. ARROW - SIDEWAYS.
DYER JONES (ACM Regatta Director). The CW on the gentlemanly former NYYC Commodore is that he rescued the Louis Vuitton Cup in Auckland after the initial challenger chief, Pierpaolo Gardella, was forced out. Now Jones is doing even more heavy lifting, entrusted by both the challengers and defender to run the overall on-the-water show - another Cup first. The only Cup personality more popular than Jones is his frisky, modelesque wife, Kim. It's no surprise which direction Jones' arrow is going. ARROW - UP.
BRUNO TROUBLE (Louis Vuitton). After conceiving the Louis Vuitton Cup and building it up over 20 years into a showcase event, Trouble has so far been on the sidelines of this Cup. The CW is that Alinghi was "troubled" when Bruno appeared to back Team NZ at the end of the last Cup, and said "au revoir" to him after they won; and that ACM's Bonnefous did not want to share the limelight with the charismatic Frenchman. But Trouble did get his long-time client Louis Vuitton across the finish line ahead of Rolex as the first-ever overall Cup sponsor, and signs are that ACM has smartened up and is starting to tap his experience - he will run the opening ceremony in Marseille. ARROW - UP.
ROLF VROLIJK (Alinghi). Speaking of up and down arrows, is the Peter Principle in play at Alinghi? With Coutts out, former technical director Grant Simmer is the new General Manager, and Vrolijk has moved up to become TD. The quick-witted and gregarious German yacht designer will be severely tested in his new role. The CW is that, in the modern AC, designers rarely make good technical directors and vice versa. Only time will tell.... ARROW - SIDEWAYS.
TOM WEAVER (Mascalzone Latino). Never at a loss for words, Weaver and his Italian boss, Vincenzo Onorato, have been talking "merger" lately. First with Team NZ, and when that fell over with a number of other teams. One combination mooted is a merger of both fledging Spanish efforts with Mascalzone into "Mas Latino" (for our culturally-challenged readers, this would be a nice Spanish play on words meaning "More Latin"). So far Onorato and Weaver have no takers, and without a partner it could be "Mascalzone Adios." ARROW - DOWN.

Alfonso