Cup Spy - June 12: From Zero to 50kts - three very different days for three teams
by Richard Gladwell Sail-World NZ 13 Jun 2023 17:58 AEST
13 June 2023
Emirates Team New Zealand - LEQ12 - Day 34, June 12, 2023 © Adam Mustill / America's Cup
What happened in the Cup - June 12, 2023:
- Alinghi Red Bull Racing wanted to go sailing, but the wind did not - they checked a jib on the AC75 and then returned after an hour on the water.
- Luna Rossa sailed from Cagliari, in the fresh breeze of the Maestrale.
- Emirates Team New Zealand sailed in fresh winds in their LEQ12 hitting speeds of around 50kts. "She left us for dead with the recon boat foot to the floor we were doing 46 knots in a sea state that kept growing in size," reported the AC37 Recon Team. Emirates Team NZ's AC75 has left for Barcelona along with many containerloads of chase boats and gear. The sailing program will take a short break - Blair Tuke mentions in the interview that they are at the end of a "block" - which mean that they have near completed the current set of tests for the design team. The team members involved in SailGP will head off for the first event of Season 4 in Chicago. Despite the media announcement being made only yesterday, the ship with the ETNZ gear aboard is approaching the Panama Canal, as of noon Wednesday. The AC40-OD is yet to be packed, but that only has to be available in Vilamora in mid-September. It seems the LEQ12 will remain in NZ for testing, if required, for what's left of June and from December - under the Protocol rules it cannot be sailed outside Barcelona between July 1 and October 31, 2023.
- American Magic is en route to Barcelona and expected to start sailing on June 22 with their AC75
- INEOS Britannia did not sail.
- No further news from the Orient Express Team (formerly K-Challenge).
Emirates Team NZ - LEQ12 - Day 33 - June 12, 2023 - Auckland
From the AC37 Joint Recon Team [Alastair Moore AC-Recon]:
It felt a lot less busy today with only the LEQ12 being rigged and launched, in the pen at 10.52.
Bow towed from her berth she was taken down to Bean rock to bend on sails, What looked like the M2 was hoisted along with the now familiar J3. Both sails on their respective locks about11.56.
The tech team and boat captain transferred to the chase boat at 12.03 and she was sailing at 12.04. Off on a reach East down the Motukorea channel and out into the Tamaki Strait. She left us for dead with the recon boat foot to the floor we were doing 46 knots in a sea state that kept growing in size.
The LEQ12 just kept on charging. Giving us some respite when she occasionally came up on the breeze allowing us to cut the corner to stay in touch. Not gybing or tacking often but going between up wind and down while being chased by a big rain cell down the Tamaki Strait (Course E in the 2021 AC in Auckland), turning up wind again after the worst had passed over just before the marine reserve at the bottom end of Waiheke.
Up wind she went with us trying to keep close into 20-25 knots with a good bumpy wind chopped sea state of up to .7m. She tacked up into Eastern Beach and then ran down towards the Southern end of Motuihe where she came to a stop at 13.11. hatches were seen being removed and boxes removed and replaced (batteries?) In boxes though.
The LEQ12 was up and sailing again at 13.18 beating back up into Eastern beach, short tacking towards the end of the beat and then bearing away and sending it back towards the Motukorea channel and then up the harbour to come to a stop off Orakei at 13.46, dropping sails at 13.50.
A short sharp session with some incredible speeds observed with the yacht looking in control for over 95% of its sailing time. Although at times she was up to 4 miles distant from us
Session Statistics - Emirates Team NZ - LEQ12 - Day 33 - June 12, 2023 - Auckland
- Weather: 16°C Rain Squalls
- Wind Strength: 14-25kts
- Wind Direction: SW-SSW
- Sea State: Moderate
- Roll out: 1052hrs Dock Out: 1134hrs
- Dock In: 1410hrs Crane out: 1438hrs
- Total Tacks: 27 - Fully foiling: 26; Touch & Go: 1; Touch Down: 0
- Total Gybes: 10 - Fully foiling: 10; Touch & Go: 0; Touch Down: 0
Crew: (LEQ12) Nathan Outteridge, Peter Burling, Andy Maloney, Blair Tuke
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli - LEQ12 - Day 68 - June 12, 2023 - Cagliari
From the AC37 Joint Recon Team - Michele Melis:
The Italian LRPP opted for an early rollout for the LEQ12 which exited the shed at 07:00, touched water and quickly was docked out an hour later to catch some offshore Maestrale breeze.
The daily forecast looked promising with middle range 9-12kn NW Maestrale pressure and flat seastate.
Once the mainsail M1 was fully hoisted, it was paired to the J2 and the yacht was all set by 08:30 hosting a four man crew which rotated throughout the day. By help of a light pull by Chase-2, the LEQ12 was up and foiling just outside the harbour and bearing away heading downwind shortly after.
The first of three foiling stints for the day lasted 45 minutes in which the LEQ12 seemed to first sail mostly straight line, perhaps testing some modes before focusing on several intensive series of maneuvers before Chase-2 laid out the usual 1nm race course with four marks.
After one start and two legs, the offshore breeze seemed to die slowly and the J2 was lowered while the J1 with an added foot window was hoisted instead. The LEQ12 was then towed back up and headed towards the race course completing some legs by itself over the following 20 minutes.
As the LEQ12 came off the foils some brief on board checks by shore crew and sailors followed before the yacht was again towed up.
The last foiling stint around the marks lasted approximately another 40 minutes and saw the LEQ12 having to occasionally deal with interference by Chase-1 within laps while not engaging in the starting box for all the five observed time on distance practices.
Chase-2 collected the marks, the LEQ12 sailed freely for while until trimming up in front of the harbour and almost broaching the water surface and falling back hull-borne.
The team called it a day with an approximate total foiling time of 110 out of 196 minutes with 27 tacks, 21 gybes [Michele Melis AC Recon].
Session Statistics: Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli - LEQ12 - Day 68 - June 12, 2023 - Cagliari
- Weather: Sunny 28°C
- Wind Strength 9-12kts
- Wind Direction: NW
- Sea State: Flat
- Roll out: 0720hrs Dock Out: 0800hrs
- Dock In: 1115hrs Crane out: 1300hrs
- Total Tacks: 27 - Fully foiling: 21; Touch & Go: 5; Touch Down: 1
- Total Gybes: 21 - Fully foiling: 17; Touch & Go: 4; Touch Down: 0
Crew: Francesco Bruni, Marco Gradoni, Andrea Tesei Umberto Molineris, Vittorio Bissaro
Alinghi Red Bull Racing - AC75 - Day 67 - June 12, 2023 - Barcelona
From the AC37 Joint Recon team:
Alinghi Red Bull Racing rolled out their AC75 at 08:45, ahead of a light wind day, with takeoffs and maneuvers in light wind planned for the day as explained by Maxime Bachelin on a social media post. It was a quiet day on the water, with wind speeds peaking at 4 knots from the East, and flat sea. The maximum recorded temperature was 25°C.
The yacht was set alongside the chase boat at the dock, with the M1-1R mainsail and J1-2R jib prepared on deck.
No significant changes were noticed on the boat, other than works carried out on the jib sheet ahead of the day on the water. A red cross has also been added to the leading edge of the mast, at the level of the spreaders.
The team docked out at 12:00 and towed the yacht North along the coast in attempt to find wind. The J1 jib was hoisted and the yacht was sailed in displacement mode.
On board the AC75 sail designer Julien Pilate, was taking a look at the fit of the sails and general operation of the boat. He was observed on the foredeck adjusting the jib sheet, which he had previously worked on at the dock.
Sails were dropped and after a turn around the bay, the team returned to dock and packed away, with no sailing planned for the following day.
Session Statistics: Alinghi Red Bull Racing - AC75 - Day 67 - June 12, 2023 - Barcelona
- Wind Strength: <4kts
- Wind Direction: E
- Weather: Sunny 25°C
- Sea State: Beaufort 1
- AC75 Crane In: 0920hrs Dock Out: 1135hrs
- AC75 Dock In: 0910hrs Dock Out: 1615hrs
- Total Tacks: 0
- Total Gybes: 0
Crew: Arnaud Psarofaghis , Maxime Bachelin, Nicolas Charbonnier, Ernesto Bertarelli, Dean Barker, Jason Waterhouse, Yves Detrey, Bryan Mettraux, Florian Trüb, Augustin Maillefer, Nils Theuninck, Nico Stahlberg, Dean Barker and Julien Pilate (Sail Designer) also on board.
This commentary was written and compiled from video, still images and statistical content extracted from the AC37 Joint Recon program and other material available to Sail-World NZ including photo files, and other on the water coverage from the 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2021 America's Cups. Its format is intended to give Sail-World readers a snapshot of all teams' progress on a given day or period.