America's Cup and legalised espionage
For the first time in 172 years of America's Cup history, espionage has been legalised: a team of spies has been posted to each team that will take part in the 37th America's Cup edition, with the aim to report and share developments and planning solutions on board. The material is then put at disposal of both unions and selected media. A Recon Game, which constitutes a major breakthrough compared to previous editions where confidentiality – or better secrecy – were mandatory within the hangars, where every single photo taken of the boats, even at great distance, became an exclusive. For this reason, in 2022 the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli opted for a camouflage livery for its own LEQ12 prototype: the geometrical style was the perfect way of confusing all the legalised spies.
Over the years, secrecy has been one of the most novel-esque aspects of the sport: trying to unearth the secrets of the opponents and, as a result, counterattack.
Sailor John Bertrand, who clinched Australia's 1983 America's Cup victory which marked the end of the American 132-year supremacy, in his book Born to win: lifelong struggle to capture the America's Cup recounts this particular aspect of the competition. «There was an uproar at our dock just as the crew was waking up. Our guards surprised an underwater cameraman trying to catch the keel of the Australia II on camera. Our tender skipper, Phil Judge, dove into the water with all his clothes on, dragged him out and handed him over to Newport police. We only dropped the charges when he handed over the footage and we were assured that there was only one diver. In actual fact, however, there were two divers and much later we found out the Canadian team had more footage of our keel».
Espionage has also swallowed up a major slice of each team's budget in the form of sophisticated technologies to try to capture and record speed, wing and sail design, and on-board control systems. Espionage attempts were also facilitated by the use of drones, trackers, and submarines to obtain shots and data that would make the difference between victory and defeat.
For the 37th America's Cup the decision was made to reverse course. It was Emirates Team New Zealand's defender who demanded the introduction of the Recon Plan, now part of the historic competition protocol, part F Rule 41, in order to organise and legalise espionage to provide a comprehensive view of all the teams' developments and techniques.
In an interview Matteo Plazzi, member of the America's Cup Recon Management Panel and Rules Advisor of the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team, stated: «Recon has always played an important role in the America's Cup. The event takes place every three or four years and during this period you design and develop your new vessel, so getting a grasp of which direction your opponents are going in becomes crucial. The more information you have, the more simulations you can run internally».
Although espionage has been legalised, there are still guidelines to follow on both sides. From the team's point of view, boats cannot either leave hangars or sail without informing the recons; they both follow (and photograph) the ship on an inflatable boat at their disposal and, at the end of the training session, they are entitled to approximately three minutes of interviews with the crew members.
On the other hand, photos must be taken from agreed positions and angles, that have been defined previously by the Protocol. Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli has three recon squares, red squares drawn on the ground that delimit the Recon area during the dock operations. In addition, in order to be recognised easily, spies must always wear a jacket with the word RECON on the back.
What is referred to as “reconnaissance” is particularly extensive and makes photos, videos and analyses on the official competition website (www.americascup.com).
