By JULIE ASH
The green light has been given for an umpire to be positioned on the back of the boats during the challenger series final and the America's Cup itself.
The idea was raised during the last America's Cup regatta, but could not be carried out because of technicalities such as
the communications bar being in the way on some boats, fears of radiation and insurance liability problems.
It came up again before the start of this series, but not all the syndicates were in favour of the system.
But now the competition is nearing its climax the two Louis Vuitton finalists, Alinghi and Oracle BMW Racing, along with the defender, Team New Zealand, say they support the system.
The idea has been approved and will be tested today, and if all goes well and insurance liability problems are resolved, it will be used in the challenger series final which starts tomorrow.
Chief umpire and chairman of the international jury Bryan Willis said the aim of the system was to place the umpires in the best position to see if an overlap occurs, which if it does may result in a penalty.
However the boats twist and turn the observer can always see that overlap aspect. Whereas, a chase boat with an umpire on is going to be shooting around all over the place.
"The other important aspect is that information is sent back through that onboard observer to the afterguard, and the afterguard knows whether the umpires in the umpire boat have determined certain things.
"It would mean the two afterguards and the umpires are all in sync.
"It changes the game a bit because part of the system is that the onboard observer advises the afterguard of certain things which they wouldn't have otherwise have known."
Teams can still have the 17th men because the umpires are positioned just half-a-metre from the back of the boat.
A safety bar is secured to the boat and the lighter of the umpires will carry corrective weights which are tied to the bottom of the telemetry [communications] bar.
Willis said the system was often used in world matchracing events and was first introduced in Auckland a decade ago.
"But it is a bit of a different matter being on the back of one of these boats which toss around like a bronco horse.
"I am a bit nervous about introducing it this late in the series, but we hope to have a bit of a practice [today] and be ready on Saturday morning.
"It is a good system. I just hope my umpires survive."
nzherald.co.nz/americascup
Racing schedule, results and standings
By JULIE ASH
The green light has been given for an umpire to be positioned on the back of the boats during the challenger series final and the America's Cup itself.
The idea was raised during the last America's Cup regatta, but could not be carried out because of technicalities such as
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