America's Cup: A drone's view of one of Te Aihe's splashdowns - Video
by Sail-World/Emirates Team NZ 14 Dec 2019 17:10 NZDT
14 December 2019
Te Aihe training in 'The Paddock` off Eastern Beach, Auckland - December 9, 2019 © Richard Gladwell / Sail-World.com
Emirates Team New Zealand has posted a video seemingly shot on Monday, of their training session in "The Paddock" off Eastern Beach, Auckland.
In a first for any America's Cup team in this cycle the team have shown....
Wait for it .....
A SPLASHDOWN!
The video is significant for being the first released by a team with their AC75 sailing in anything but light weather and flat water, and also the first team to post a splashdown.
The video is shot from a team drone, and is overlaid with audio track of Peter Burling taking to the crew.
It is best viewed (on second play) in slow motion (just click on the wagon wheel and select .25 speed) - that way you can get a better look at the size and extent of the splash which is spectacular. Significantly the video is the first instance we have seen where the boat slows noticeably during the incident. Normally Te Aihe does a very forgiving skip over the water, throws some spray and continues with minimal speed loss.