Cup Spy March 5: Damaged AC40s force scaled down training by two teams
by Richard Gladwell/Sail-World NZ 6 Mar 14:39 PST
7 March 2024
American Magic - AC40 - Day 93 - March 5, 2024 - Barcelona © Job Vermeulen / America's Cup
Four teams trained off Barcelona in a sea state and funky breeze that tested crews. Damage to the British and US team's AC40s stopped them being used in contested training - and all teams trained with just one boat.
What happened in the Cup - March 5, 2024:
- INEOS Britannia - sailed with just one boat, after a battery fire damaged the forepeak of their AC40 Athena. INEOS Britannia has also damaged their test boat T6, which has not been sailed since November 13. They are one of four teams expected to launch their AC75 in early April - and their focus will shift to commissioning the AC75.
- Alinghi Red Bull Racing: Along with the French, the Swiss are the only team with a full muster of boats, and are able to run to their scheduled program. Currently they are training in their AC75 test boat with their AC75 race boat scheduled for launch not before April 5.
- Emirates Team New Zealand - Their sailing program has been disrupted by the late return of their one design AC40-OD. The other AC40 is being used as a LEQ12 test boat. Their AC75 raceboat is nearing completion and the team is one of four who have notified an April launch date. Over the past two months ETNZ has recorded the second lowest sailing days of the six 2024 AC teams.
- American Magic - Their AC40 America stayed ashore today after suffering what looked to be a topside compression split on the port side, forward of the port foil arm. It has not been disclosed as to what caused the split, or how long it will take to repair. Today they undertook more sail and foil testing - with a set of custom design foils fitted to the starboard side. Two custom design jibs were tested in today's session.
- Orient Express Racing Team - Today was the second successive day of testing for the French team sailing with one design foil arms and wings, and a custom design mainsail, which they paired with One Design J1 and J2 jibs.
- Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli - The Italian team have retired their LEQ12 test boat, which would appear to have served the team well. They too have notified an April launch date for their AC75 raceboat.
AC37 Joint Recon Team Reports:
Orient Express Racing Team - AC40 - Day 7 - March 4, 2024 - Barcelona
OE Racing Team launched at 07:45hrs. It had been left with the mast up and out of the shed overnight. The team docked out at 09.45hrs, forty-five minutes later than planned.
No specific reason could be identified for the delay.
A one-design J2 jib and the LEQ12-MN-A mainsail were hoisted while heading out of the harbor at 09:51hrs and 10:00hrs, respectively. The AC40 was fitted with One design wingfoils and foil arms.
The 0.90m easterly swell from the day before was still there, combined with a shifty and gusty north-westerly for the first part of the day.
After a ten-minute downwind, around 10:35hrs, this recon unit was asked to head back to the port to pick up a toolbox. Once we had it onboard, while heading back out, an oil alarm came off, finally forcing us to head back to the base again. After dealing with it for ten minutes with the assistance of one of their shore team members, we could head back out at 11:10hrs.
By 11:20hrs, we were back in contact with the AC40.
Once we handed in the toolbox, the battery was replaced, and the wind died completely. From 11:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., the team just waited for the wind.
At 12:05hrs, the AC40 got on the tow, and the OE Racing Team headed further offshore looking for wind.
Once further out, a pretty stable southwesterly sea breeze of 7kts to 10kts knots of intensity was found.
From 12:15kts till 12:40kts, the team sailed upwind and downwind doing a few tacks and gybes and practised to bear away on manual flight controlling mode, with difficulties staying on the foils while maneuvering the boat.
At 12:40hrs, there was a ten-minute break in which the one-design J2 got replaced by a one-design J1.
During the last hour and twenty minutes, OERT practiced pre-starting movements and maneuvers in what seemed like a virtual pre-starting line and box while in manual flight-controlling mode. The main goal was to maintain a stable boat balance while changing course in difficult swell conditions, combined with a light wind intensity that did not allow mistakes, and for the AC40 to continue to fly consistently - reflected in the indifferent tack/gybe statistics.
At 14:00hrs, the team ended the training and headed back to the base.
OE entered the port at 14.15 hrs, lowered both sails and docked at 14:27 hrs. After usual routine activities, the boat was craned out of the water at 14:50 hrs, indicating the end of the day.
Sebastian Peri Brusa – Recon on OE Racing Team
Crew: Quentin de la Pierre, Kevin Peponet, Matthieu Vandame, Jason Saunders
Session Statistics: Orient Express Racing Team - AC40 - Day 7 - March 4, 2024 - Barcelona
- Weather:18° C. Mostly sunny
- Wind Strength 7-13kts
- Wind Direction: 185° - 210°
- Sea State: 0.8m swell from East with light chop.
- Crane In: 0745hrs Dock Out: 0945hrs
- Dock In: 1430hrs Crane out: 1450hrs
- Total Tacks: 29 - Fully foiling: 11; Touch & Go: 5; Touch Down: 13
- Total Gybes: 13 - Fully foiling: 5; Touch & Go: 1; Touch Down: 7
American Magic - AC40/LEQ12 - Day 97 - March 5, 2024 - Barcelona
American Magic's AC40-8 “Magic” was rolled out at 10:50hrs. The boat was at 11:10hrs.
Magic carried a one design wing foil and foil arm on the port side, and a custom design arm and wingfoil to starboard. They use custom design #1 Jib and custom design #3 Jib. J1.5, and two J2's were carried on the chase boat, but were not used in this session.
The teams second AC40 America was not used in this session. It is assumed that 'America' is being repaired after suffering a split topside on the port bow side yesterday. American Magic had only one boat sailing in today's session and the race practice was uncontested..
When alongside, sailors and engineers regularly checked to be sure everything was in perfect condition before the sailing session. Magic had a lidar installed on the starboard side.
At 12:25hrs Magic docked out towed by the chase boat. The custom design sails were hoisted at the harbour entrance, MC-2 for the main and a J 1 C-1 for the jib.
When Magic finished hoisting the sails, a breeze of around 6-8 knots from 190º just came in, and she could manage to go out from port on her own. They started with a quick warm-up sailing downwind, and after four gybes, they suddenly started sailing upwind, did two tacks and arrived at a spot where the chase boat had set two marks that were used for different exercises.
From here, a 90-minute, structured sailing session comprised various starting and racing drills.
At the end of that session, the wind increased to 12-16kts, and the decision was made to change to a One Design J3 jib and for a 15-minute discussion with the coach boat.
Dock-in was completed at 16:00hrs.
In summary, Magic today foiled for 120 minutes and performed an excellent and intense session with plenty of different manoeuvres that were almost all of them cleanly executed. Even without America today, they managed to pull out an excellent and very valuable training session.
[Edited and abridged Report from Piñana AC 37 Joint Recon]
Crew: Co-Helms: Magic: Lucas Calabrese / Harry Melges. Flight Control/Trimmer: Magic: Severin Gramm / Kyle Langford
Session Statistics: American Magic - AC40/LEQ12 - Day 97 - March 5, 2024 - Barcelona
- Weather: 16° C - Sunny, some clouds.
- Wind Strength: 8kts-16kts
- Wind Direction: 190°
- Sea State: 0.8mtrs - 1.2mtrs 179°
- Crane In: 1110hrs Dock Out: 1225hrs
- Dock In: 1600hrs Crane out: 1645hrs
- Total Tacks: 23 [80% fully foiling]
- Total Gybes: 37 [80% fully foiling]
Alinghi Red Bull Racing - AC75 - Day 123 - March 5, 2024 - Barcelona
Alinghi Red Bull Racing's AC75, Boat Zero, was rolled out at 10:00hrs and launched 20 minutes later. Systems checks were carried out with the sailing crew in their onboard positions. The team docked out at 12:00hrs, with Nico Charbonnier, noted in the starboard trimming position.
The legacy sails, an M2-2R mainsail and a J1-2R jib were hoisted in port, but the J1 was dropped and replaced with the J3-1R before heading out to sea.
The day began with a 30-minute warmup sail consisting of a short downwind leg on starboard tack in an 8-12kts breeze from 165°, with a residual swell of up to 1m.
In the warmup, multiple tacking maneuvers were performed upwind, none fully foiling. The team then turned downwind and performed four gybes, of which only one was fully foiling.
Some issues arose in this phase, with the tech team coming aboard before the session continued.
On the resumption, the breeze increased to 14kts as the crew continued their warmup and system check.
Then followed uncontested race practice with the crew using a set leeward gate mark. After that, the cyclor team was replaced, with Bryan Mettraux replacing Yves Detrey in the trimming pod.
The wind stayed at around 14-15kts but gusted 19kts, with marked shifts around 195°. After a 10-minute warmup, the tempo of the session escalated to race practice using the Chase Boat as an opponent, beginning with a starting session and then a two-lap race which the Chase Boat" won after the AC75 touched down in a gybe heading towards the finish line.
Then followed a speed session of a long upwind leg followed by a reach back to the base.
The sails were dropped in port and docked at 16:10 hrs. The day wrapped up after four hours on the water, with 120 minutes of active sailing. Throughout the day, 74 maneuvers were observed, achieving a 70% fully foiling rate despite the challenges presented by a residual swell of up to 1m with a 5s average period.
(Report: Jose Piñana - AC37 Joint Recon team)
Crew - Sailing: Maxime Bachelin, Arnaud Psarofaghis, Nicolas Rolaz, Yves Detrey.
Power: Nils Teuninck, Franco Noti , Thery Schir, Barnabe Delarze, Augustin Maillefer, Arthur Cevey, Paul Jacquot, Florian Trüb
Session Statistics: Alinghi Red Bull Racing - AC75 - Day 123 - March 5, 2024 - Barcelona
- Weather: 17°C. Sunny
- Wind Strength: 9-14kts
- Wind Direction: 195°
- Sea State: 0.9-1.2mtr
- Crane In: 1000hrs Dock Out: 1300hrs
- Dock In: 1705hrs Crane out: 1745
- Total Tacks: 35 Fully foiling: 28; Touch & Go: 5; Touch Down: 2
- Total Gybes: 30 Fully foiling: 24; Touch & Go: 4; Touch Down: 2
INEOS Britannia - AC40-10 - Day 2 - March 5, 2024 - Barcelona
INEOS Britannia put their second AC40, 'Sienna,' into LEQ12 mode today with a custom J2 headsail for an afternoon of race training around a short windward / leeward course in winds ranging from 10 to 17 kts.
Sienna was launched this morning at 1105hrs ahead of a bang-on-time dock out at 1330hrs
Helmsmen Ben Ainslie and Giles Scott were on board, along with trimmers/flight controllers Leigh Mc Millan and Bleddyn Mon.
The team had sails – M1-1 mainsail and J2-LEQ12 hoisted by 1340hrs and were up and sailing less than ten minutes later in a building southerly breeze of around 10-12kts.
After some free sailing / windward-leeward laps, the crew rolled into a series of five practice pre-start / starts/laps sequences.
Tacks and gybes looked generally crisp and under control.
Leeward gate roundings were mainly carried out on two boards. That said, there was still the occasional splashdown.
Notable was how thin and flappy the headsail material looked during gybes and some other manoeuvres (see image below). Also noted were some occasional whiplike high-speed bear-away turns during the pre-start manoeuvring.
A stop at 1610hrs saw a crew swap, with Ben Ainslie and Leigh McMillan coming off and Hannah Mills and Matt Beck (AC Youth team) coming on in their place. After less than ten minutes of free sailing, the boat suddenly stopped in a downwind nosedive shortly after exiting a foiling gybe. With the wind shifting to the left and becoming lighter and less stable, the crew seemed to have difficulty getting the boat back up and foiling.
A tow-up at 1650hrs was followed by a looping tow on two foils back to the harbour entrance. Sails were dropped at 1655 hrs, and the boat arrived back on the dock at 1730 hrs.
Another day of sailing with Sienna in LEQ12 mode has been scheduled for tomorrow Wednesday March 6.
Sebastian Peri Brusa – Recon on INEOS Britannia
Crew: Sirena AC-10: Giles Scott, Ben Ainslie - replaced by Hannah Mills, Bleddyn Mon, Leigh McMillan replaced by Matt Beck
Session Statistics: INEOS Britannia - AC40-10 - Day 2 - March 5, 2024 - Barcelona
- Weather: Clear Sunny, 16°C.
- Wind Strength 5kts - 17kts
- Wind Direction: 140°-180°
- Sea State: 0.4mtrs plus light chop.
- Crane In: 1100hrs Dock Out: 1330hrs
- Dock In: 1730hrs Crane out: 1800hrs
- Total Tacks: 27 - Fully foiling: 26; Touch & Go: 1; Touch Down: 0
- Total Gybes: 23 - Fully foiling: 22; Touch & Go: 1; Touch Down: 0
This commentary was written and compiled from video, still images and statistical content extracted from the AC37 Joint Recon program and other material available to Sail-World NZ, including photo files and other on the water coverage from the 2010, 2013, and 2017 and 2021 America's Cups. Its format is intended to give Sail-World readers a snapshot of all teams' progress on a given day or period.