Cup Spy Nov 22: Swiss start Jeddah buildup with Barker and Robertson
by Richard Gladwell/Sail-World NZ 23 Nov 2023 15:58 AEDT
23 November 2023
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli - LEQ12 - Day101 - Cagliari - November 22, 2023 © Ivo Rovira / America's Cup
Alinghi Red Bull Racing began their buildup for the second Preliminary Regatta, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, combined with two-boat testing in their AC40, and were the first team to set up in Jeddah for the Preliminary Event, however this is their second visit - having sailed at the Red Sea venue earlier in the month.
What happened in the Cup - November 22, 2023:
- Alinghi Red Bull Racing - began their buildup for the second Preliminary Regatta, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, combined with two-boat testing in their AC40.
- Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli - Sailed their LEQ12 test boat from Cagliari, in a breeze which built close to the top end for racing. The Italians were continuing to evaluate wing foils, and had some unspecified issues with foil arms.
- American Magic - The US team were hit by the sudden arrival of the Mistral, which quickly increased to over 21kts, with a torrid sea state. The team had hoisted the mainsail and were about to hoist the jib, when the decision was taken to abandon sailing for the day, due to the conditions.
- INEOS Britannia - Did not sail - they had rudder/rudder box issues from the previous day - there is no further comment from the team as to the nature of the damage, or the impact it will have on their testing program.
- Emirates Team New Zealand - Did not sail.
- Orient Express Racing Team - Their AC40 is en route to Jeddah.
- All teams are/have shipped AC40s to Jeddah for the second Preliminary Event at the end of November. No further official update on security concerns.
AC37 Joint Recon Team Reports:
Alinghi Red Bull Racing - AC40x2 - Day 61 - November 22, 2023 - Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Alinghi Red Bull Racing rolled out their AC40-4 (RED) and AC40-7 (BLACK) at 09:15hrs and 09:55hrs respectively, marking the start of their second trip to Jeddah.
Both boats were in the water by 10:30hrs and standard pre-sailing checks were carried out, with One Design mainsails and LE jibs prepared for both boats. The team docked out at 12:00hrs, hoisting the mainsails just off the dock before towing out towards the racing area in front of the Jeddah Waterfront on the Red Sea.
The Black boat hoisted the J1-3 LE jib, while the Red boat later hoisted the new J1-4 LE jib, with a comparatively lower aspect ratio. Both jibs featured newly added battens in the tack of the jibs.
Stint 1: The Black boat commenced sailing at 12:30hrs, warming up with a few laps around the course as the Red finished setting up and joined 20 minutes later. Both boats then set off in parallel upwind sailing for two-boat testing, comparing the two J1 jibs. After turning downwind and returning to the course start, both boats paused to adjust the batten tension on their jibs.
Stint 2: This involved long stretches upwind and downwind side-by-side sailing, to compare the two sails. It looked like the J1-3 performed better upwind but the J1-4 was able to sail deeper downwind.
Stint 3: The first race, comprising three laps of the 1nm course set at 210 degrees, featured a standard fleet race start. Both boats started on opposite tacks and sailed to different sides of the course, with the left side appearing more advantageous on average over the laps. The race culminated in a tight fight before the leeward gate, with the Red boat rounding first with the Black boat immediately behind and tacking off (JK manoeuvre).
Stint 4: The second race, limited to one upwind leg, saw a 10 degrees wind shift to the right and an extended course length to 1.5nm. Post-start, the boats split and reconvened at the top in a tacking duel. The Black boat forced the Red off the foils with a close tack and then completed a tack and gybe (360 degrees turn penalty), continuing to round the windward mark while the Red regained flight. Both boats then sailed back to Obhur creek, lowered sails and were back at the dock just.
Post-sailing, both yachts were craned out by 16:30hrs, wrapping up a day focused on sail testing and warm up races ahead of the preliminary regatta. The team spent just over three and a half hours on the water, of which 120 minutes were spent sailing. Eighty manoeuvres were observed, 98% fully foiling.
Session Statistics: Alinghi Red Bull Racing - AC40x2 - Day 61 - November 22, 2023 - Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- Weather: Sunny, 31 degrees.
- Wind Strength 9 - 15kts
- Wind Direction: 210 degrees - 220 degrees
- Sea State: Light wind chop - 0.4mtr
- Crane In: 0950 & 1025hrs Dock Out (Both boats): 1200hrs
- Dock In (both boats): 1540hrs Crane out: 1615hrs & 1550hrs
- Total Tacks: 46 - Fully foiling: 44; Touch & Go: 1; Touch Down: 1
- Total Gybes: 34 - Fully foiling: 34; Touch & Go: 0; Touch Down: 0
Crew: Arnaud Psarofaghis, Maxime Bachelin, Nico Charbonnier, Phil Robertson, Dean Barker, Nico Rolaz, Bryan Mettraux, Yves Detrey, Jason Waterhouse
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (LRPP) - LEQ12 - November 22, 2023 - Cagliari - Michele Melis AC Recon
The Italian team LRPP rolled out their LEQ12 prototype at 9:00hrs, stepped mast and craned the yacht in by 9:10hrs.
The appendage configuration looked the same with Wing-03 on starboard and Wing-04 on port. The latter was equipped with the usual go-pro cases on inboard and outboard wings while additional markings were painted along span with tell tales strips on the wing portion trailing the bulb. Once again, the team seemed to spend longer time on board rises/drops of both arms at the dock. Six crew members boarded the LEQ12 and the yacht was towed out of the harbour at 10:00hrs. The pressure from 305 degrees was measured at 12-14kn while main M2-1 and jib J4-1 were being hoisted.
The LEQ12 began sailing with a self take off on port tack towards the shore, tacked and bore away heading downwind for a straight line run. Without completing any gybe, the LEQ12 trimmed up on on board only and started sailing upwind on starboard tack. When exiting the upwind tack manoeuvre, the LEQ12 came down hullborne with the starboard wing canted significantly out.
After a reset, the yacht self took off and kept on sailing upwind practicing some tacks and spending longer two-boards time before turning the bow.
The LEQ12 repeated this training course for a second time. On the next tack manoeuvre, it seemed that the starboard board did not drop completely and the yacht came to a stop.
Several checks followed but there seemed to be no major issue as the yacht was then quickly foilborne after another self take off in 14-16kts from 315 degrees on approx. 16-17kts boat speed 85-90 degrees to the wind direction. By then, the Chase-boats settled and the yacht sailed around them for a while. A leeward and windward gate were laid out and the LEQ12 occasionally engaged the race track practicing all kinds of mark manoeuvres with the majority dry and successfully executed. As the wind was ramping up above upper range, the LEQ12 dropped the windward board after a last round up, sails were lowered and the day was called with 52 minutes foiling time, 13 tacks and nine gybes
[Michele Melis AC Recon].
Session Statistics: Luna Rossa - LEQ12 - November 22, 2023 - Cagliari
- Weather: Sunny 19 degreesC
- Wind Strength 10-17kts
- Wind Direction: 305 degrees-320 degrees
- Sea State: Flat
- Crane In: 0910hrs Dock Out: 1000hrs
- Dock In: 1150hrs Crane out: 1230hrs
- Total Tacks: 13 - Fully foiling: 10; Touch & Go: 1; Touch Down: 2
- Total Gybes: 9 - Fully foiling: 8; Touch & Go: 1; Touch Down: 0
Crew: Jimmy Spithill, Francesco Bruni, Andrea Tesei, Umberto Molineris.
American Magic - AC75 - Day 54 - November 22, 2023 - Barcelona
The sudden and unexpected arrival of Mistral conditions on the waters off Barcelona put paid to American Magic's plans for this week's second day of sailing aboard their previous-generation AC75 Patriot - despite the boat being ready to go at the harbour entrance with its mainsail up at 1320hrs this afternoon.
With the forecast previously calling for light directionally unstable winds in the 7-10kt range, after rolling out at 0850hrs and launching by 1125hrs, the team included the J1-6 headsail in the sails loaded aboard the chase boat for the day.
However by the time the boat left the dock on the stroke of 1300 a northerly breeze had kicked in at around 15 knots and was kicking up white cap waves in the harbour. With the breeze blowing straight out of the harbour the team used a side tow to slowly back the boat towards the harbour entrance while hoisting the mainsail.
Meanwhile the Americans' larger chase boat headed out of the harbour to assess the conditions - which were deteriorating quickly, with the wind strength measured on the recon boat ramping up sharply from 15 kts to 21 kts in just a few minutes.
With the wind still increasing the team made the decision at 1330hrs to cancel the hoist of the headsail midway through and to drop drop the mainsail before heading back to the dock for the day.
With lighter winds forecast for tomorrow morning the team is hoping to be able to squeeze in an early session ahead of a forecast of super light winds in the afternoon.
Report from Sebastian Peri Brusa - AC37 Joint Recon Team
Crew: Paul Goodison, Tom Slingsby, Riley Gibbs, Michael Menninger, Andrew Campbell; John Croom, Madison Molitar, Colten Hall, Tim Hornsby, James Wright
Session Statistics: American Magic - AC75 - Day 54 - November 22, 2023 - Barcelona
- Weather: 15 degrees C
- Wind Strength: 14-21kts
- Wind Direction: 015 degrees
- Sea State: 0.5mtr
- Crane In: 1125hrs Dock Out: 1300hrs
- Dock In: 1355hrs Crane out: 1430hrs
- AC75 did not sail due to wind and sea conditions
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.