Cup Spy - June 22: Focus shifts to Barcelona with arrival of second challenger
by Richard Gladwell Sail-World NZ 23 Jun 2023 10:51 UTC
15 June 2023
American Magic - AC40 - Day 1 - June 22, 2023 - Barcelona © Alex Carabi / America's Cup
Alinghi Red Bull Racing sailed their two AC-40s in Barcelona, with SailGP skipper Phil Robertson (NZL) as a co-helm. American Magic christened and sailed their second AC-40 for the first time at the 2024 America's Cup venue.
Two Challengers are now sailing at Barcelona, and today, three AC-40s were on the water, sailing in bright sunshine, a warm breeze and moderate sea state - the proverbial champagne sailing conditions.
In an addition to our regular coverage we will be reporting the actual wind readings from Port Olimpic, in Barcelona, as reported by Predictwind's weather station.
What happened in the Cup - June 22, 2023:
- Alinghi Red Bull Racing sailed both their AC40s with Jason Waterhouse (AUS) on board as a flight controller and Phil Robertson (NZL) as a co-helmsman - both sailed on the AC40 One Design, while an all-Swiss crew sailed in the LEQ12, still running the tubercle wing foil.
- Luna Rossa did sailed in lighter winds from Cagliari. We have images but no report from the AC37 Joint Recon Team.
- Emirates Team New Zealand's AC75, chase boats and several containers of gear have passed through the Panama Canal, exited the Caribbean and are headed for Barcelona with an ETA of July 2, 2023. The Kiwis continued to sail their LEQ12 in Auckland in a grey rainy day with light winds.
- American Magic christened their second AC40 One Design, and sailed from Barcelona for the first time. There was no report of any accidental hookup with Alinghi Red Bull Racings two AC40s which were in the same patch of water
- INEOS Britannia are in transit to Barcelona and won't sail until August 1.
- No further news from the Orient Express Team (formerly K-Challenge).
- Youth and Womens America's Cup teams - nothing to report, today.
From the AC37 Joint Recon team:
Alinghi Red Bull Racing rolled out their AC40-4 (YELLOW) and AC40-7 (RED) at 08:30 and 09:10 respectively, stepping the rigs and craning in the yachts separately on the forecourt.
The ‘Garbi’ wind came through at midday, as the team had prepared the yachts and docked out an hour prior. Both boats sailed with One Design mainsails, though the Yellow boat started with the J1-1 LE jib, and the Red boat with the J2-2 OD. Arnaud Psarofaghis and Max Bachelin sailed the Yellow boat, while Nico Charbonnier and Phil Robertson sailed the Red boat.
This was Phil’s first time sailing the AC40.
A better view of the foil today confirms the cameras embedded into the foil arm on both inner and outer surfaces, just above where the foil arm meets the wing. Again, the foil came out of the water damaged after sailing, in the same area as previous occasions. At the time of writing, a component list update was received, confirming an updated version of the ‘Foil Wing’, but not the ‘Foil Flap’.
New Marshall CV Waterproof series cameras have been added alongside the GoPro cameras. These cameras are typically used for high quality broadcast, so we can assume that the designers and engineers will be watching the performance of the yacht live from the office.
The team started the day with two boat testing side by side, sailing long stretches as well as tacking and gybing duels, comparing different jibs as well as the Delta Foil. The wind and chop continued to increase, and the Yellow boat exchanged the J1-1 LE jib with the J3-1 OD jib at 13:20, as the Red boat remained on J2-2 for another hour before changing to the J3-2 jib. The Red boat was held back with issues after hoisting the J3-2, with the Yellow boat also encountering problems 20 minutes later. The remainder of the day was spent drilling pre-starts and sailing around the 1NM windward leeward course.
Two ‘races’ were held, with both teams taking a win each. Wind speeds of up to 18 knots were recorded, with some gusts estimated at 20 knots. By the end of the day, the chop grew fairly aggressive, with a residual East swell adding to the mix.
American Magic also sailed in relatively close vicinity, as they commissioned their second AC40 on their first sailing day in Barcelona. Meanwhile, members of the ARBR power group and Nico Rolaz were out sailing J80s.
The team spent five and a half hours on the water, covering over 66NM. 68 Maneuvers were performed, of which 93% were fully foiling.
Crew: Arnaud Psarofaghis, Maxime Bachelin, Nicolas Charbonnier , Phil Robertson, Bryan Mettraux, Yves Detrey, Lucien Cujean, Jason Waterhouse
Additional Images: