Cup Spy July 17: Incidents hit two teams despite light airs in Barcelona
by Richard Gladwell/Sail-World NZ 18 Jul 2023 00:39 PDT
18 July 2023
American Magic - LEQ12 - Day 40 - July 17, 2023 - Barcelona © Paul Todd/America's Cup
Three teams sailed on Monday out of Barcelona.
Emirates Team New Zealand were the only team to sail an AC75, while the other two teams Alinghi Red Bull Racing and American Magic preferred to run a pair of AC40 hulls - one as a Development boat and the other as a One Design.
What happened in the Cup - July 17, 2023:
- Alinghi Red Bull Racing sailed their AC40 One Design and their LEQ12. The test boat had a new foil fitted, however it only sailed for a short distance after doing a tow test, before aborting the session, and the LEQ12 was towed back to the base. Sailing Adviser Pietro Sibello would not not confirm or deny speculation as to the cause put to him by the AC37 Joint Recon team following the session.
- American Magic - sailed their AC40 One Design and their AC40/LEQ12 test boat. They had a good day marred by a spectacular nosedive in the AC One Design. The boat was righted checked and continued sailing until the wind dropped.
- Luna Rossa - we have no report from AC37 Joint Recon Team, or images of them sailing from one of the other Recon teams (none are assigned to teams sailing only One Design AC40's, but assume they were sailing, somewhere).
- Emirates Team New Zealand launched their AC75, with a media day planned, and then continued the way they had on the first two days, with a confident foiling display, including self-starts in winds that were generally in the 3-5kt range and peaked at 6.5kts. To underline this performance, they did seven tacks with five being dry foiling. Gybes were more difficult executing six with only two being dry.
- INEOS Britannia will not be sailing until August 1, and are transiting to Barcelona from their pre-Cup base in Mallorca.
- No further news from the Orient Express Team (formerly K-Challenge).
Commentary:
Emirates Team New Zealand continued with their program, which is to validate their performance data from Auckland against their data collection from Barcelona - and see if there are any significant differences. They are also going to lose most of their sailing team from Thursday to SailGP Los Angeles (the other teams in Barcelona are not as badly affected by ETNZ). There would seem to be little point, with the time immediately available, in doing much more than sea-trialling the AC75. Although they are recorded differently on the AC37 Joint Recon team report - Barcelona version, than the Auckland version, it would seem that they are running with their 2021 foils. (Any new foils they try on an AC75 come off their 2024 raceboat allocation.)
The significance of this point is that their light air performance today, if reported correctly, is quite remarkable. On the media sailing day we had before leaving Auckland - when the breeze was very light (4-5kts) the AC75 struggled to get foiling and had to be towed onto its foils on several occasions. Remember that in these conditions there is insufficient wind to make a boat like an ILCA 7 plane, so getting a 70ft boat to start foiling under her own self-generated power is quite remarkable.
The other teams are taking a different approach, trialing a development 40fter, against another in AC40-One Design mode. Alinghi Red Bull Racing are running an AC75 program but are not at the level we are seeing from Emirates Team NZ. They do seem to be testing more wingfoils than any other team at this stage.
There were some interesting comments in all three post session interviews today.
Weather conditions at Barcelona July 14, 2023:
On the water the AC37 Recon teams reported a ESE breeze of 2.5-12kts. At the real-time observation station at Port Olimpic the wind peaked at 9kts average at 0900hrs, at 1100hrs it was averaging 8.5kts and then dropped away to be 2kts at noon rebuilding back to a peak average of 6kts during the afternoon.. Gusts were about 1kt above the average.
The direction was steady around 090 degrees at 1000hrs to 135 degrees at 1400hrs
- Sea state: Slight
- Conditions: 31 degrees C Sunny, Clear skies.
- Alinghi Red Bull Racing (AC75): Dock-out: 1000hrs Dock-in: 1700hrs
- American Magic (both AC40-OD and LEQ12): Dock-out: 0951hrs Dock-in: 1225hrs
- Emirates Team New Zealand (AC75): 1400hrs Dock-in:1700hrs
AC37 Joint Recon Team Reports:
Emirates Team NZ - AC75 - Day 22 - July 17, 2023 - Barcelona
ETNZ rolled out their B2 AC75 from the shed at 1230hrs.
Local journalists and photographers attended the base today from the time of the roll-out up to half day on the water on one of the chase boats.
It was not a day to bring out any different components.
The boat was craned to the water at 1310hrs with while lots of interviews and photos were taken. Nothing unusual.
The team docked out at 1400hrs, as scheduled, with the M1 and J2 sails on board. Sails hoisted at 1315hrs.
They sailed for a bit more than one hour with the J2, in conditions of not more than 4 knots of breeze.
When the press left, they changed to the J1. It surprised me to see how they could take off with no assistance and even make tacks without falling from their foils, with the J2.
It called my attention to see them sailing in such light conditions with the J2, which leads me to the following alternatives, being more convinced for the former one:
- The J1 is designed for an extremely low wind strength range and the cross-over to the J2 is at a very low TWS.
- They did not want to show the J1 to the press, for any unknown specific reason.
In addition, the fact that their performance was so good with the J2 in 4 knots of TWS convinces me of the former hypothesis.
Maneuvers: Most tacks were foiling in these conditions, and even with the J2. Tacking seemed easier than gybing which demanded huge changes on the course to be able not to fall from the foils.
As regards boat balance, during all day they sailed slightly heel to windward, check photos and videos.
Conditions: The wind was always under 5 knots of breeze, averaging 4 knots, with moments of 3.5kts or even 3kts. Direction 105 degrees turning slightly right during the day up to 120 degrees. Flat water, just a slight swell from 110 degrees approximately. Signs of stability in the upper atmosphere with medium St clouds in the sky.
At 1700hrs ETNZ was back at the dock, the boat was craned out at 1730hrs and put back in the shed at 1805hrs.
Session Statistics - Emirates Team NZ - AC75 - Day 22 - July 17, 2023 - Barcelona
- Wind: 2.5-5kts from SE (110 degrees)
- Weather: 31 degrees
- Total Tacks: 11 - Fully foiling: 9; Touch & Go: 2; Touch Down: 0
- Total Gybes: 9 - Fully foiling: 7; Touch & Go: 2; Touch Down: 0
Crew: Nathan Outteridge, Peter Burling, Andy Maloney, Blair Tuke
Alinghi Red Bull Racing LEQ12 - Day 42 - July 17, 2023 - Barcelona
Alinghi Red Bull Racing rolled out their AC40-4 (Yellow boat) [LEQ12] at 0745hrs, with a new foil on starboard. This foil has a more defined foil arm section, designed for tackling leeway. The top surface continues over the foil flap, with an apparent different material at the centre of the surface, perhaps a pressure pad. The shore crew member responsible for setting up GoPros was seen entering and exiting the deck hatch, potentially setting up cameras below deck.
Meanwhile the AC40-7 (Red boat) [AC40-OD] was rolled at 0815hrs and prepared at the dock, before both boats docked out at 1000hrs. The Red boat hoisted the M1-2 and J1-2 OD sails, while the Yellow boat was taken straight out for a tow test aimed at commissioning the new foil. After a 10 minute tow, the M1-1 LE mainsail and a J1-1 LE jib were hoisted - notable for a new window in the foot of the sail.
The 'Llevant' eastern wind, blowing between 6-8 kts, along with a wave height of 0.4m-0.6m with a 4s period, were ideal for initial testing.
The LEQ12 boat sailed a long downwind on starboard but came to a stop without sailing on the new foil. The sails were dropped, and the yacht was slowly towed back to the base with the foil lifted out of the water. Pietro Sibello [Sailing Adviser] confirmed issues with the foil in the post-sailing interview, without providing specifics. Water ingress in the foil arm or issues with the cant hydraulics were suggested possibilities.
Meanwhile, the AC40-OD sailed North along the coast, coming together with stopped LEQ12 for a brief period, then sailing a long stretch offshore. With diminishing wind keeping speeds slow, sailing was aborted and the yacht was towed back to port. Both boats were out of the water before 1300hrs. A short day for both yachts.
In total, the team spent two hours on the water, the recon boat covering a distance of 19nm. While no maneuvers were performed by the LEQ12 (Yellow boat), it was noted that sailing was only observed over a span of 10 minutes. Maneuvers by the AC40-OD boat in the distance were not observed before sailing ended.
Session Statistics: Alinghi Red Bull Racing LEQ12 - Day 42 - July 17, 2023 - Barcelona
- Total Tacks: 0 - Fully foiling: 0; Touch & Go: 0; Touch Down: 0
- Total Gybes: 0 - Fully foiling: 0; Touch & Go: 0; Touch Down: 0
Crew: Helms: Arnaud Psarofaghis, Maxime Bachelin. Sail Trimmers: Nico Charbonnier, Pietro Sibello
American Magic - AC40 and LEQ12 - Day 39 - July 14, 2023 - Barcelona
From the AC37 Joint Recon Team:
Very productive two boat session today with America (LEQ12) showing great performance.
Roll out was 0745hrs for Magic (AC40-OD) and 0830hrs for America (LEQ12) with no modifications on the foils from last day that I could appreciate.
Docking out was 0951hrs, shortly ahead of schedule which shows how good the shore team is at getting the boats ready when free from system issues.
By 1008hrs we were out of the port with 5-7kt wind from 90 degrees wind in a sea-state of 0.4m, at 2.8sec periods from 100 degrees. There was a wind chop and 0.6m, 5.sec period, 120 degrees easing swell.
America rigged MN-3 main + jib #1 with Tom Slingsby, Michael Menninger, Riley Gibbs and Lucas Calabrese while Magic had MN-2 main + jib #1 with Paul Goodison, Andrew Campbell, Harry Melges and Severin Gramm.
The light wind and big lulls didn't allow taking off, they began sailing 1015hrs and for 20minutes they sailed on displacement mode with a short foiling stint under assisted towing. They both stopped 1035hrs for a quick debrief on their chase boats.
By 1048hrs the wind picked up to 10kts, same direction, and off they went foiling upwind on port tack (25kt BSP, 150 degrees COG) where America (LEQ12) was faster and higher.
Three clean tacks to sail on starboard tack (25kt BSP, 50 degrees COG) and America was faster and higher again.
So much so that every now and then America had to drop both foils on the water to slow down and wait for Magic to line up again, it didn't matter if to windward or leeward, America was always better.
They bore away into a downwind hitting 34kt boat speed and 250 degrees course (COG) on port tack. After one clean gybe and when everything looked sweet Magic lost the rudder, nosedived with a tail spin and capsized at 1130hrs.
They stopped to assess the damage, of there there seemed to be none, and changed both jibs at 1143hrs to #2 as the wind had picked up by then to 10-12kts from 100 degrees. Sailing resumed 1200hrs with a long downwind on starboard tack (sailing at 34kts boat speed, and course of 340 degrees (COG) in which America was consistently faster and lower than Magic.
Next was a round up into upwind sailing at 1220hrs that finished when both boats went into a full touchdown tack stop as the wind was then blowing just 5kt. They drifted until 1227hrs when a tow back to port was organised to reach the dock at 13:00hrs.
- Lea Sitjà (AC37 Joint Recon team)
Session Statistics: American Magic - AC40 and LEQ12 - Day 40 - July 17, 2023 - Barcelona
- Dock Out: 0951hrs Dock In: 1300hrs
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- Total Tacks: 4 - Fully foiling: 3; Touch & Go: 0; Touch Down: 1
- Total Gybes: 2 - Fully foiling: 1; Touch & Go: 0; Touch Down: 1
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.
Additional Images: