Please select your home edition
Edition
Rooster 2025

From the Blogs- SailJuice - Andy Rice

by Andy Rice: on 24 Apr 2007
Andy Rice is a sailing journalist, who has previously reported on Olympic events, America's Cup Acts and offshore classics like the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race and the Volvo Ocean Race. He is currently in Valencia and is posting on www.SailJuice.com

You can tell a lot about a team from its attitude to light and fluky conditions.

There's no doubt that the wind conditions in Valencia - when they are good enough to actually race in - are a great leveller between the strong and the weak teams. So no wonder the big teams would rather wait while some of the minnows want to get on with it.

Ross Halcrow, trimmer on BMW Oracle Racing, hinted at just how touch and go winning and losing can become in the soft stuff: 'In the light stuff a knot more pressure has a huge effect. Pressure is king out there and can easily make you look good or bad. The differences in boats start to come in at around 9-10 knots of wind.' Which presumably is why BMW Oracle are quite happy with the race committee's decision to keep postponing until the breeze really settles.

And perhaps it's also why Jesper Bank, United Internet Team Germany's skipper, would rather have been racing today even if it was on the margins of being sailable. 'I think we have to do something about the lower wind limits…[We could be racing in] six knots if you can get the boats moving. You have wind shear when sometimes the wind mixes down very well and sometimes it doesn’t.

'Today you had a pretty good mix nearly all the way down and even with 6.4 knots the boats were loading up nicely. I think you’ll have to play it by ear and I know it will be a huge topic for discussion with some saying ‘no we don’t’ and some saying ‘yes we do’ (agree).'

Another answer for future Cups might be to introduce Super Maxis in the style of Wild Oats or Alfa Romeo, which can get moving in just 3 or 4 knots of breeze, and in 6 knots are capable of sailing faster than windspeed all the way round the course. In fact they can do almost double windspeed downwind.

Read the rest of this story on www.SailJuice.com - for news and opinion from the 32nd America's Cup in Valencia

Andy Rice's other website is www.SailingTalk.com - which presents technique tips from the world's greatest sailors
MarkSetBotHyde Sails 2024 - One DesignSelden 2020 - FOOTER

Related Articles

Last Chance to Complete 2x25 Survey
As Early Results Highlight Inequities Early responses to The Magenta Project's 2x25 survey reveal encouraging signs of progress on representation alongside systemic barriers that continue to hold sailing and the wider marine industry back.
Posted today at 12:26 pm
RS21 Worlds 2025 at Porto Rotondo, Sardinia Day 1
49 boats and over 200 sailors from 13 nations are taking part The RS21 World Championship is back at Yacht Club Porto Rotondo, with 49 boats and over 200 sailors from 13 nations ready to battle it out for one of the most competitive titles in one-design keelboat racing.
Posted today at 10:42 am
2025 Six Metre World Championship Day 3
Bribon and Momo II rise to the top at Long Island A lack of sunshine didn't detract from the sparkle of the International Six Metre fleet on day three of their 2025 World Championships at the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club on Long Island.
Posted today at 4:52 am
America's Cup: Ray Davies scouts Naples
Ray Davies of Emirates Team New Zealand recently made a vibrant stop in Naples, Italy Ray Davies of Emirates Team New Zealand recently made a "vibrant" stop in Naples, Italy, ahead of the upcoming Louis Vuitton 38th America's Cup, and was left in awe of both the city and its sailing conditions.
Posted today at 4:09 am
46th Cannes Royal Regatta day 3
When the planets are aligned... It was a phenomenal day in the bay of Cannes on Wednesday 24 September in a beautiful breeze from the south-west to the west.
Posted on 24 Sep
Melges 24 Worlds 2025 at Trieste, Italy Day 2
Epic conditions give Nika the first lead The 2025 Melges 24 World Championship delivered its first results on Day 2.
Posted on 24 Sep
2025 J/70 Corinthian Worlds at Massachusetts day 1
The regatta has moved to the United States for the first time Eastern Yacht Club in Marblehead, Massachusetts USA welcomed 29 all-amateur teams to the third annual J/70 Corinthian World Championship.
Posted on 24 Sep
2025 Formula Wing Worlds Sardinia day 1
Tactical minefield confuses even the best Four long-distance races on day one set the tone for a competitive Formula Wing World Championships. 93 competitors from 22 countries are racing each other for the first ever Formula Wing world title.
Posted on 24 Sep
Cure Marine and McConaghy join forces
Leveraging McConaghy's world-class manufacturing and advanced composite technology Cure Marine has always been synonymous with high-quality, high-performance cruising catamarans, and we are excited to share news that will elevate our brand even further.
Posted on 24 Sep
52 Super Series 2025 Porto Cervo day 2
Immaculate Sled on song in breezy Sardinia With a race win which they delivered with a near perfect execution in brisk Mistral conditions, Takashi Okura's Sled today moved further ahead at the top of the leaderboard at the 52 SUPER SERIES Porto Cervo Range Rover regatta on Costa Smeralda.
Posted on 24 Sep