Its written on the wind

by Julie Ash, New Zealand Herald on 16 Mar 2007 The temperature is sweltering, there isn't a single cloud in the sky.

Emirates Team New Zealand's black boats are thundering across the Mediterranean in a sea breeze when all of a sudden one latches on to an unexpected wind shift and edges ahead.

Team New Zealand's wind spotter, Adam Beashel, said at first he was mystified by such shifts.

To a certain degree he still is, but he has accepted they are part and parcel of racing in Valencia.

'When you get a sea breeze it looks similar all over yet, it is very shifty,' he said.

'You think you are sailing along hazy, dazy and next minute the other guy is in two knots more pressure and a shift. There is not a cloud in the sky and the breeze on the water hasn't changed. You are looking, scratching your head wondering 'what the hell made that happen'?'

As for the effect such shifts will have on the racing, Beashel said there would be plenty of tacking duels.

'Even if you are thinking 'it looks good here, we are happy to minimise the amount of tacks we do', you know there could be something random coming along, so it makes you cover the other team more tightly.'

Valencia, on Spain's eastern Mediterranean coast, is expected to offer conditions that will challenge the most seasoned of yachties when the America's Cup regatta starts next month.

'In Valencia the wind speed usually fits in a small bracket, for example seven-10 knots, but is more shifty,' Beashel said.

'In Auckland a lot of the time if you tried to minimise the wind range between seven-12 knots - it was more like you were going to see five-15 knots.'

The breeze in Valencia is predominantly a sea breeze or onshore breeze which means it blows from the water to the land.

In Auckland the breeze was more offshore which meant it blew from the land to the sea.

The surroundings are also different.

In Auckland small islands encompassed the course while in Valencia giant mountains stand tall in the background.

Beashel said there were mountains to the north west and to the south but neither had a major impact on the two race courses. He said what could have an effect was a decent south-east sea breeze which sometimes resulted in the south course recording up to six knots more breeze than the north course.

Up the mast Beashel can analyse the conditions further up the race course. He is looking at the way the wind hits the water and the different ripples that form.

'With experience you can tell where there is more pressure and where there is less. The glassier it gets usually the softer the wind is. The darker the water looks, it usually means that the waves are standing up more, so there is more wind there.

'It gets tricky around midday when the sun is above you because it dulls all that and doesn't make it as obvious. It is more obvious early in the morning and late in the afternoon.'

Beashel also looks at other boats on the water and how the wind is affecting them.

Adam Beashel
Born: Sydney November 5, 1968

Position: Strategist/traveller - helps call the wind pressure, assists with tactics, adjusts the main traveller.

Cup history

2007: Team New Zealand
2003: Team New Zealand
1995: One Australia
Other: Beashel is an accomplished dinghy sailor, winning major international regattas in the 49er, Laser, and 420. He has competed in numerous keelboat regattas winning the Kenwood Cup, the Transpac and Farr 40 world championships. His father Ken is a two-time world 18ft skiff champion and brother Colin an Olympic Star Class bronze medallist.

Full story at:www.nzherald.co.nz