Cup Spy August 2: Spinouts and capsize as Swiss sail in strongest breeze yet
by Richard Gladwell/Sail-World NZ 3 Aug 2023 04:23 PDT
3 August 2023
Alinghi Red Bull Racing - LEQ12 - Day 47 - August 2, 2023 - Barcelona © Alex Carabi / America's Cup
Only Alinghi Red Bull Racing sailed off Barcelona on Wednesday in the strongest winds since the teams relocated to Barcelona on July 1, and the AC40s and AC75s were permitted to sail only at the 2024 America's Cup Match venue.
What happened in the Cup - August 2, 2023:
- Alinghi Red Bull Racing sailed two AC40s, both in the development mode and carrying one design wing foil on the starboard foil arm and development foil on the port arm. They capsized their first AC40 - with a development foil on the port arm. The AC40s are generally sailed on automated flight control. The reason for the capsize is unclear and was not elaborated on by the AC37 Recon team. It was only mentioned in passing in the required post-session interview.
- INEOS Britannia was expected to start two boat tests with an AC40 against their test boat T6, but this did not happen due to ongoing commissioning issues and in the face of a forecast for an increasing breeze. The Brits decided to conserve their boat, resolve their issues, and should sail on Thursday and Friday when the forecast is for lighter winds.
- Emirates Team New Zealand did not sail but will be out on Thursday. They indicated on Tuesday they would not sail on Wednesday.
- Luna Rossa - no report from Cagliari on their custom design LEQ12, and under the surveillance rules, we have to assume they did not sail. There are no images or reports of the Italians sailing their second boat - the AC40-OD in Barcelona today.
- American Magic - were not reported as sailing and have not sailed for six days.
- No further news from the Orient Express Team (formerly K-Challenge).
Weather conditions at Barcelona August 2, 2023:
On the water the AC37 Recon teams reported a breeze of 10-22kts from 190° - 200°.
At the real-time observation station at Port Olimpic, the real-time recordings (see image above) over a six hour period showed the breeze from 0930hrs to 1600hrs showed a breeze variable in strength and direction until 1100hrs, when it settled in at 5kts gusting 7.5kts from 150°. It then increased to 10kts average in the next hour (1200hrs), when Alinghi Red Bull Racing's two AC40's docked out.
The breeze stayed at that strength for another hour (1300hrs) before building to 20kts average in the next hour (1400hrs) and then built to a 25kt average between 1500hrs and 1600hrs - although it was fluctuating in strength.
The weather station at Port Olimpic shows the peak gust of almost 30kts being recorded on several occasions between 1500hrs and 1600hrs. The gust strength fluctuated quite markedly according to the Port Olimpic recorder.
Alinghi Red Bull Racing docked in at 1630hrs - and sailed in some quite extreme conditions - the most extreme we have seen a team sail in at Barcelona, since July 2, 2023. Ironically on that day, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli also capsized their AC40 One Design. One other fresh breeze day occurred on July 25, when winds gusted just over 25kts, after 1500hrs. Emirates Team NZ was the only team to sail in Barcelona in their AC75, and handled the conditions comfortably.
Readings at Port Olimpic weather station are taken at a height of 12 metres, while the data from the Recon Team is taken close to sea level at a height of 2.5metres.
With the start of the Challenger Selection Series getting underway in just over a year, it is pertinent to note that the race start time is expected to be 1400hrs with a rolling wind limit of 23.5kts over a rolling 30sec average until 3mins before the start.
AC37 Joint Recon Team Reports:
Alinghi Red Bull Racing LEQ12 - Day 47 - August 2, 2023 - Barcelona
Alinghi Red Bull Racing rolled out their AC40-4 (Yellow) and AC40-7 (Red) at 08:30hrs and 09:00hrs respectively.
The port foil arm on the AC40-4, which had encountered an issue yesterday, was repaired overnight.
A new M1-2 LE mainsail, distinguished by a slightly different head and a window added to the foot, along with a noticeable structural band along the luff of the sail similar to the previous M1-1 LE, was prepared onto the AC40-4, while the Red boat continued with One Design components.
Both boats docked out at 12:00 with the 'Garbi' afternoon thermal wind blowing at a moderate 10-12 kts from the south. Sea conditions from the South/Southwest were moderate with wave heights of 0.6-1m and a 3-second period. Dean Barker was back on board the Red boat today.
Stint 1 started with a quick test of the system, before a quick tow start to get the yacht up on the foil, then joining the Red boat. The two boats sailed a long downwind to Masnou, performing split gybes all the way. There was a short pause as the jib was momentarily dropped and adjusted on the Yellow boat.
Stint 2 commenced with the wind rapidly increasing. A long upwind tacking duel and split tacks followed, then rounding the chase boat as a windward mark followed by a downwind back to Masnou, round the chase boat and back upwind. A touch down tack slowed the Yellow boat, and as the Red boat attempted to rejoin, it lost control and spun out. As the Red boat recovered and was back on tow, the Yellow boat meanwhile sailed a long downwind stretch on starboard, further testing the new foil.
Following a quick lunch break, the Red boat capsized while sailing downwind as the Yellow boat prepared to start sailing again. The Red boat's sails were dropped, and it was slowly towed back to base in displacement mode while the Yellow boat started sailing again after apparently dealing with unknown issues on board.
Stint 3 saw the Yellow boat sailing upwind and downwind legs in the strong breeze, struggling with bear aways due to insufficient grip and stability on the leeward foil, eventually resorting to bearing away with two boards down. Sails were dropped at 16:00hrs, and the yacht was towed back to base.
The team spent four and a half hours on the water covering 60NM, with the AC40-4 sailing for 125 minutes. A total of 71 maneuvers were recorded, 90% of which were fully foiling.
With 34 maneuvers per hour, this is one of the highest rates recorded for the team.
Crew:
AC40 LEQ12 Yellow: Arnaud Psarofaghis, Nico Charbonnier, Maxime Bachelin, Dean Barker
AC40 LEQ12 Red: Lucien Cujean, Nico Rolaz, Bryan Mettraux , Yves Detrey
Session Statistics: Alinghi Red Bull Racing LEQ12 - Day 47 - August 2, 2023 - Barcelona
- Weather: Sunny 30°C
- Wind Strength 10-22kts (from AC37 Recon boat)
- Wind Direction: 190° - 200°
- Sea State: 0.6 - 1.0m at 3sec period, from S/SSW
- Dockout - Yellow: 1200hrs Dock In: 1630hrs
- Dockout - Red: 1200hrs Dock In: 1600hrs
- Total Tacks: 48 - Fully foiling: 45; Touch & Go: 1; Touch Down: 2
- Total Gybes: 23 - Fully foiling: 19; Touch & Go: 2; Touch Down: 2
INEOS Britannia - LEQ12 - Day 54 - May 31, 2023 - Mallorca
Top sailing journalist Justin Chisholm was on hand and made various observations on the British boat:
The British team's first scheduled sailing day in Barcelona aboard their silver LEQ12 test boat code-named T6 had to be postponed today after a series of technical issues with the complex yacht proved unsurmountable in the weather window which saw 20+ knot winds forecast for mid afternoon.
T6 was rolled out bang on time this morning at 0930, but a longer than expected mast set up which took until 1135 meant the LEQ12 was not launched until 1135. A series of dock out postponements followed with the time being put back from 1130 to 1300 at first and then 1430. Meanwhile, a scrum of technicians pored over T6 as they tried to tick off their regular pre-sailing test list.
As time ticked by it became the chance of going sailing steadily diminished with updated weather forecast predicting strong winds outside the harbour around the time the British crew would be hoisting sails. Eventually the team had to bow to the inevitable with time being called on the day at 1435. Soon after the boat was hoisted out of the water and placed back on its cradle before being derigged and rolled inside the shed at 1630.
One notable observation from the day was a new LED display situated at the front of the trimmer / flight controller pod. The narrow display runs the width of the cockpit lip and showed a red LED dot moving from side to side – not unlike the display on the AI car Kit in the old TV show Knight Rider.
Photos and video of this were not possible due to restricted camera angles. Other more mundane sightings were that the mast enclosure spotted yesterday had been enclosed in what looked like a Mylar cover, and that the team spent some time checking the fit of the carbon mast collar around the base of the mast. This collar was previously used on at least one occasion during sailing sessions in Palma. A sailing session has been scheduled for tomorrow (Thursday Aug 3).
Session Statistics: INEOS Britannia - AC40 & LEQ12 - Day 54 - May 31, 2023 - Mallorca
- Weather: Sunny, clear 30°C
- Wind Strength: Not relevant
- Wind Direction: Not relevant
- Roll out: Not relevant
- Dock In: Not relevant
- Total Tacks: Not relevant
- Total Gybes: Not relevant
Additional Images:
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.