The America's Cup, the Winged Keel, and Innovation

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go through the Museum of Yachting in Newport, Rhode Island. In addition to being a very pleasant space on a beautiful spot overlooking the harbor, it has a series of exhibits that would be of interest to anyone even slightly interested in boats. The one that I found the most enjoyable was an exhibit on the history of the America's Cup, which was held in Newport for most of the 20th century.

What is interesting to me about the America's Cup is the paradigmatic shift that occurred beginning with the 'winged keel' of the 1983 race. In 1983, of course, the Australian yachting syndicate won the Cup, prying it from the hands of the NYYC for the first time in decades. Dennis Conner, the losing skipper, was saved from becoming the Bill Buckner of yachting by the Australian team's triple-secret winged keel, which they kept hidden until after the race.

The winged keel is an interesting bit of technology, and, of course, it was quickly imitated by other teams. This is to be expected - innovations are often promptly copied. What makes the America's Cup history a little more interesting is that shortly after the introduction of the winged keel, other, more substantive changes took place. Most notable of these was the introduction of catamarans to the competition - a huge paradigm shift. Catamarans are crazy, and crazy fast. I remember being in a boating store as a kid and seeing one for the first time. They're a completely different sailing experience - you hang out over the water in a harness, they flip over at the drop of a hat, and they are an absolute blast.

In the parlance of the Americas Cup, these are "multihull" boats. The question is, without the winged keel, would the racing world have gone "multihull"? Perhaps, but probably not so quickly. Small innovations can wake up other innovators, and they can create an environment where change is no longer so scary. It took some plucky Aussies to shake up the venerable yachting world, but once they did, the gangway was cleared and sailing innovators were off to the races.