Identifying past mistakes will give syndicate opportunity to make vital improvements from the top down.
Success will often be the product of the recognition of past errors. On that basis, Team New Zealand have started their next challenge for the America's Cup on the right footing. Often, when victory has been tantalisingly close, it is tempting to believe that any mistakes must have been minor and that little needs to change. But a review of last year's failed campaign off San Francisco blew that idea out of the water. Commendably, its message has been accepted by the team leadership. The task now is to ensure that those mistakes are addressed in a way that provides the best-possible chance to win the 35th America's Cup regatta.
The focus of Team New Zealand's announcement this week was therecruitment of top Olympic sailors Peter Burling and Blair Tuke. This infusion of youth is particularly welcome because the team remained largely unchanged after the 2007 regatta in Valencia. This was unhealthy on two counts. An enthusiasm that would have revitalised the team was absent, and there was little pressure on the incumbents. In that context, it was interesting that team boss Grant Dalton declined to give a categorical assurance that Dean Barker would be the skipper at the next regatta. Burling, who is regarded as his natural successor, would have the opportunity to stake a claim.
Change is also in store for the management of the syndicate. Effectively, Dalton has sidelined himself by stepping back from day-to-day operations and concentrating on fundraising. The chief operating officer, Kevin Shoebridge, will be more hands-on. So far so good. But the changes become more problematic when they spring from a belief that the team's decision-making in San Francisco was compromised by having one man at the top making all the calls. Dalton said the key decisions would now be made by an executive group that included himself, Shoebridge, Barker, wing trimmer and multihull specialist Glen Ashby, design team leader leader Nick Holroyd and designer Daniel Bernasconi.
That sounds awfully like decision-making by committee. If so, it is more likely to be a recipe for lengthy debate and, potentially, paralysis. The pressure implicit in the America's Cup, especially when races are on almost every day, demands decisions are made quickly and in a clear-headed manner. The only proviso is that the one man making the decisions makes the right calls. Dalton, to his credit, has conceded that he needs "to take a good look" at himself. But any failing on his part does not mean the ability to react swiftly to changing circumstances should be compromised.
