Cup Spy Feb 27: Emirates Team NZ match race amongst the thunderstorms
by Compiled by Richard Gladwell/Sail-world.com/nz 27 Feb 2023 04:45 PST
28 February 2023
Emirates Team New Zealand - LEQ12 and AC40 - Day 21 - February 27, 2023 - Waitemata Harbour, Auckland NZ © Adam Mustill / America's Cup
Emirates Team New Zealand eventually chased the breeze for several hours, eventually finding it on the inner harbour and put on a match racing show for the office workers, and waterfront spectators.
As of last evening their AC75 was still in the shed, the AC37 Joint Recon team are notified as soon as it exits the shed and sees direct sunlight, and the rest of the America's Cup world, will get an inkling of their 2024 design direction.
The Brits were pulled out of a warm bed, in chilly Mallorca, for an early morning sail with the outside temperature at just 4°C, which doubled to 8°C by the end of the session.
Both sessions gave an insight into how one-design match racing will play out in the AC40-One Designs. After the British session, coach Rob Wilson, who was seeing the AC40-OD sail for the first time, gave a very favourable impression, of the boat and his expectations.
What happened in the Cup - Feb 27, 2023:
- Emirates Team New Zealand continued with their two boat AC40 program, chasing the breeze, and eventually finding it on the inner harbour, where they match raced/did hookups for about an hour before heading east, where they continued until thunderstorms curtailed the session. Live Ocean racing, the SailGP and ETF26 team co-founded by Peter Burling and Blair Tuke announced the induction of three new sailors Serena Woodall, Seb Menzies and reserve sailor George Lee Rush, who will work alongside Liv Mackay and Alex Maloney on the ETF26 program, which will compete in five events in Europe this year.
- INEOS Britannia sailed in the AC-40 in One Design configuration. The early morning session was called to give the crew experience in sailing the AC40-OD in 20kt winds. Their LEQ12 test boat went into the shed on February 8, for repairs after a capsize and battery fire, but what was also planned as a three-week upgrade block - due to be complete around the beginning of March.
- Alinghi Red Bull Racing did not sail their AC40-OD, and last sailed their remodelled AC75 on February 12.
- American Magic have decommissioned their AC75 and will not start training again until the beginning of March - later this week.
- Orient Express Team (formerly French K-Challenge) - no update.
Emirates Team NZ - LEQ12 - Auckland - February 27, 2022 - Day 21
From the AC37 Joint Recon Team [Alastair Moore AC-Recon]:
Emirates Team NZ's AC40-OD was first out onto the forecourt, she had her mast stepped and was in the water by 9.15. The LEQ12 was on the dock edge at 9.18, with the rig stepped by 9.26.
No sign of the winglet/camera mounts on the bottom of the anhedral foil today.
The LEQ12 was in the pen at 9.30 and docked out in company at 10.30 for a long tow up to Murrays Bay, where the yachts dropped their tows and took chase boats alongside to bend on sails.
The LEQ12 had her headboard loaded by 11.05 and was ready to sail at 11.23.
After a short attempt at self-starting, the chase boat was called in for a tow-up. Once up, she sailed for less than 10 minutes, she completed one full foiling tack and one displacement as the wind faded. Sailing stopped at 11.37. Full glass out conditions with what looked to be a SE breeze further offshore, Ray Davies asked to be taken by the recon boat out to the wind line to see if it was worth the long tow out. We headed out to Tiri Tiri Matangi Island, but the breeze there shut down on arrival.
We got Ray back to Chase 1, and the call was made to tow back to the base and wait for the breeze there. Sails were stowed on chase boats and taken in tow for home.
On rounding North Head, the team was met with a patchy 8kts coming out of Mechanics bay. Here a quick course was set up with two top marks and the chase boats acting as start line/bottom marks. Two pre-starts leading into one-lap races were watched, with the starts being won by the AC40.
The LEQ12 stopped at 14.28 and dropped her main, keeping the #2 jib up. The top battens were removed and taken on board the chase boat. A grinder was heard, and Peter Burling was seen wrapping tape on the batten before it was re-installed and the main was re-hoisted. She was sailing again at 15.00 with the breeze building and steadying.
The yachts and their chase boats now moved out towards Northern Leading, where another windward leeward course of about 1.2 NM was set. Here we had another eight pre-starts, with the last two going into one-lap races.
The LEQ12 looked a lot more flighty and hard to control than the AC40.
By my count, the AC40 won five starts of the eight today. One was even, and the LEQ won 2. The LEQ12 won all the races. We saw a good range of wind strengths on flat water over the course of the afternoon.
Just before 1600hrs, the yachts headed back up the harbour to drop sails in the Mechanics Bay (Eastern end of the Port area)for the short tow home.
Session Statistics - Emirates Team NZ - LEQ12 - Auckland - February 27, 2022 - Day 21
- Weather: 16°C 100% cloud cover, Rain
- Wind Strength: 7-18kts
- Wind Direction: SSE
- Sea State: Slight
- Roll out: 0930hrs Dock Out: 1030hrs
- Dock In: 1630hrs Crane out: 1705hrs
- Total Tacks: 32 - Fully foiling: 28; Touch & Go: 3; Touch Down: 1
- Total Gybes: 33 - Fully foiling: 32; Touch & Go: 1; Touch Down: 0
Crew: (LEQ12) Nathan Outteridge, Peter Burling, Andy Maloney, Blair Tuke (AC40) Josh Junior, Liv Mackay, Sam Meech, Marcus Hansen
INEOS Britannia - AC40-OD - Mallorca - February 27, 2023 - Day 5
Top sailing journalist, Justin Chisholm was on the water and made various observations on the British boat:
The INEOS Britannia shore crew got a painfully early call for a Monday morning with a 0730 rollout and 0900 dockout called for by the sailing team to try to cram in a short sailing session during a narrow eather window of moderate to strong northerly winds and a flat sea state.
The early start was not made any more acceptable by the uncharacteristically chilly temperature (4 C at rollout) or the low cloud and continuous drizzly rain which persisted throughout the morning.
With a solid forecast of stormy conditions for Palma Bay shortly after midday, the team sensibly set a target of 1200hrs to be back safely ashore.
Out on the water, the mainsail was full hoisted by 0920hrs, with the J2 initially almost fully hoisted before a change to the J3 was sensibly called for.
The team's first foiling run got underway just before 1000 AM and lasted 30 minutes during which the crew executed six foiling gybes and six foiling tacks as well as reaching speeds in the high thirties at least on the downwind sections.
Three more similar sessions followed with the crew sailing a windward/leeward course that took them from the flat water in the north of the bay to some choppier conditions further offshore.
Despite the winds appearing to be gusty and shifty, the sailors nevertheless looked to be revelling in the fresher conditions and seemed happy to push the boat hard on the bear away and round up transitions between upwind and downwind sailing.
With visibility worsening further ahead of the oncoming front time was called on the session shortly before 1130 with dock-in completed on schedule at 1230.
Session Statistics - Mallorca - February 27, 2023 - INEOS Britannia - AC40-OD - Day 5
- Weather: 4-8° C
- Wind Strength 7-15kts
- Sea State: Flat sea then slight chop
- Wind Direction: 360 degrees
- Roll out: 0812hrs Dock Out: 0905hrs
- Dock In: 1200hrs Crane out: 1230hrs
- Total Tacks: 17 - Fully foiling: 17 Touch & Go: 0; Touch Down: 3
- Total Gybes: 12 - Fully foiling: 8; Touch & Go: 2; Touch Down: 2
Crew: Ben Cornish and Giles Scott, Luke Parkinson and Leigh McMillan
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