Burling lost overboard as 'hairy moments' highlight Team NZ testing

by Duncan Johnstone on 31 Mar 2017 Team New Zealand skipper Glenn Ashby admits to 'plenty of hairy moments' - even losing helmsman Peter Burling overboard - as they push their new America's Cup catamaran to the limit.

The Kiwi syndicate are in the final phase of testing in Auckland before transferring to Bermuda ahead of the opening races on May 27 (NZ time).

It's been a hectic six weeks since launching their new AC50 and bedding in radical new systems. Once comfortable with them, the team has really put the heat on squeezing every bit of performance out of the foiling monster.

Rewards don't come without risks and given the G-forces involved, Burling found himself thrown off the back of the boat during one transition from hull to hull.

Thankfully it was the back of the boat and not the front, given the dangers of being exposed to knife-edge foils and rudders.

'I've seen the Oracle guys go over the front beam a few times in manoeuvres, and that's something we definitely don't want to be doing,' Burling said, speaking of the dangers to his five other crew rather than himself.

'Chances are they're going to be hit by something and have a pretty serious injury. We're definitely trying to negate those risks as much as we can. It's definitely in the back of your mind that you're responsible for that.'

Importantly there was no panic on board without their key man at the wheel. The boat was slowed, Burling collected and returned, and training resumed - with a fair bit of ribbing, of course.

Ashby says there have been a few heart-in-mouth moments but that's the price of development.

'Every day you have a few of those moments where you think, 'oooh we got away with that one'. It's the quest of developing,' Ashby said, likening this America's Cup to motorsport.

'If it's MotoGP or Formula One through that testing phase in the off season, that learning and development is where you have most of your thrills and spills.

'When it comes race time, hopefully you are nice and smooth and know your settings really well. That's definitely the program at the moment.

'When you are sailing in breeze we have to learn to sail the boat really hard and fast in those conditions. You are pushing to find where the edge of those limits are.

'A few skids and a few wobbles is sort of par for the course.'

As the old head in an increasingly young crew, Ashby feels a bit of added responsibility.

'Knowing when to button off and be a little bit safe is probably more on my shoulders than the young guys because they just keep pushing hard. So sometimes you need to pull the reins back a little bit for the safety of the campaign.'

Ashby was reluctant to talk specifics but suggested the strongest wind they had sailed in was 'a bit over 25 knots, and that's plenty'. In terms of boat speed they had reached 'mid-to high 40s (knots) and that's ticking along'.

He said they were similar in that respect to the 72-footers used at the last campaign in 2013. But the differences with these smaller, more powerful versions came to force in lighter winds.

'These boats are incredible. The performance you can do in light airs is the amazing thing. In 7-9 knots of breeze, you are doing over 30 knots at times,' Ashby said, adding that was twice the performance of the old 72s in similar winds.

Ashby is delighted with the way the radical shift to pedal power is working out. They were getting smoother with their crew transitions through turns, a key element that has been questioned by rivals and critics of this left-field move that sees legs rather than arms doing the grinding to power the hydraulics.

'Maneuvering from one hull to the other is going well. We are still working on the mechanics of things but I think our manoeuvres are getting better and better.

'I don't think it will be a disadvantage to us in a racing mechanics side and certainly in a straight line power sense, there have been some huge developments there and we have been able to sail the boat quite accurately with the power that we do have on tap.'

The Team New Zealand boat has been noticeably more stable on her foils than some of the videos emerging of the five rival syndicates from training and practice racing in Bermuda.

Ashby concedes it's time to pack up and face those rivals. The polishing of the development will be done in Bermuda.

'It's a never-ending quest for performance and chasing that ultimate speed,' Ashby says, hoping that trail will go all the way through to the final race of the America's Cup match against holders Oracle.

'We've been chipping away as quickly and efficiently as we can. It's hard to believe the time has almost come to an end of us sailing and training here in Auckland. A couple of years ago, it was hard to imagine even having a potential race boat and the fact we are in a position now that we seem to have a fairly reliable one and we are only a few days away from packing it up, it's been incredible really.

'It's been a tough journey but an interesting one and we have the next part of the journey to experience.

'We're just looking forward to getting over there and getting into it. It's been great here but there comes a point in time when you have to draw a line in the sand ... we could say we could keep training for another couple of years and keep developing but you have to go racing at some stage and now is that time.'

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