Cup Spy Nov 24: Design co-ordinator says Luna Rossa on the cusp of making key design decisions
by Richard Gladwell/Sail-World NZ 26 Nov 2023 12:32 AEDT
23 November 2023
Luna Rossa - LEQ12 - Day 102 - Cagliari - November 24, 2023 © Ivo Rovira / America's Cup
Alinghi Red Bull Racing sailed in light winds of up to 9kts at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and tested using two boats in development mode. Two other teams INEOS Britannia and Orient Express Racing Team also sailed in their One-Design configurations. Luna Rossa also encountered light winds in Cagliari, Sardinia - but not in sufficient strength to be useful for testing.
What happened in the Cup - November 22, 2023:
- Alinghi Red Bull Racing - continued two-boat testing in their AC40 in light winds on the Red Sea.
- Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli - were set to continue testing on the Gulf of Cagliari, but were thwarted by a lack of wind. Design Co-Ordinator Horatio Carabellia says it is decision time for a lot of design features. "We are not far away from taking a lot of key decisions. So far we are happy with what we have achieved here," says Design Co-Ordinator Horatio Carabelli.
- American Magic - No Report
- INEOS Britannia - Sailed on the Red Sea off Jeddah in One Design mode. There has been no further comment from the team on the status of the damaged rudder/rudder box, which occurred two weeks ago on November 13, and has taken their test boat T6 out of action.
- Emirates Team New Zealand - Did not sail.
- Orient Express Racing Team - Sailed in Jeddah in their AC40 in One Design mode.
- 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 AC40-7 (BLACK) and AC40-4 (RED) at 09:15hrs and 09:45hrs respectively, ahead of their last day of testing before the Jeddah preliminary regatta. Both boats were in the water just after 10:00hrs, undergoing standard pre-sailing checks, with a few technicians spending some time below deck before 12:30hrs dockout. The new M1-3 LE mainsail and J1-3 LE jib were hoisted on the Black boat, while the Red boat hoisted the M1-2 LE mainsail and new J1-4 LE jib. The crew combinations remained the same from previous days, but switched boats for the first half of the session.
Stint 1 (13:05hrs - 14:00hrs): 4-5kts 275 degrees @ 13:05hrs
Sailing began at 13:10 as both boats set off on a reach, averaging 8kn boat speed. Various methods to increase speed were observed, including heavy pumping of the mainsail traveller, three persons hiking from the windward shrouds with the windward trimmer steering, and goosewinging downwind with both boards up.
Stint 2 (14:05 - 14:45): 4-6kts 270 degrees @ 14:00, 7-8.5kn 265 degrees @ 14:35hrs
Both boats were towed north to better wind and successfully tow started on the second attempt. It has often felt that the wind further north of the racing area has been slightly stronger. They sailed mostly low and fast upwind but touched down when attempting to tack. Up on foil again, the Red boat notably lost flight before the Black boat when entering a lighter patch. Both boats were then towed to the sailing area and a subsequent tow start saw the Black boat fall off the foils immediately, perhaps an error from the team, while the Red boat maintained flight before touching down during a tack.
During this time, the Orient Express Racing team and INEOS Britannia started their training in the area. The race course bearing was measured at 270 degrees. Between Stint 2 and 3, the crews swapped boats.
Stint 3 (15:10hrs - 16:05hrs): 6-9kn 270 degrees @ 15:10hrs, 6-8kts 270 degrees @ 16:15hrs
With the wind filling in, both boats were able to take off without assistance, but initially struggled to complete manoeuvres. After not long, the Black boat managed to string a few tacks together without losing flight, despite a brief issue with seaweed caught on the rudder. After some time the Red boat foiled consistently and the two boats joined together for side by side sail testing, sailing comparatively evenly. On entering a marginal patch, the Red boat fell while the Black boat maintained flight with the help of a few mainsheet traveller pumps. The Red boat was towed downwind and tow started, while the Black boat continued sailing downwind. The Black boat finished sailing at 16:05, and the Red boat continued until 16:20, taking a short break before sailing back to their base in Obhur Creek. The Black
boat was towed to the Jeddah Yacht Club.
The team spent just over four hours on the water, of which 150 minutes were spent sailing (including displacement and towing/tow starts). A total of 24 maneuvers were observed of team Arnaud and Max, with 58% being fully foiling. The M1-3 and J1-3 sailplan on the Black boat again proved noticeably superior during the day's marginal conditions.
Session Statistics: Alinghi Red Bull Racing - AC40x2 - Day 63 - November 24, 2023 - Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- Weather: Sunny, 34 degrees.
- Wind Strength 4 - 9kts
- Wind Direction: 265 degrees - 275 degrees
- Sea State: 0.2mtr
- Crane In: 0940 & 1020hrs Dock Out (Both boats): 1230hrs
- Dock In (both boats): 1650hrs Crane out: 1710hrs
- Total Tacks: 22 - Fully foiling: 13; Touch & Go: 4; Touch Down: 5
- Total Gybes: 2 - Fully foiling: 1; Touch & Go: 0; Touch Down: 1
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 24, 2023 - Cagliari - Michele Melis AC Recon
The Italian team Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (LRPP) rolled out their LEQ12 prototype at 9:30hrs, stepped mast and craned the yacht in by 9:40hrs. The appendage configuration looked the same with Wing-03 on starboard and Wing-04 on port. On the latter, several markings along span could be spotted on inboard and outboard wings. four crew members boarded the LEQ12 and the yacht was towed out of the harbour at 10:30hrs. The forecast looked promising with some offset between breeze and swell but unfortunately the highest pressure was measured 5-7 kts from 315 degrees while main M1-2 and jib J1-1 were being hoisted.
As both sails were up, the pressure dropped completely and Chase-1 scanned the Gulf for any more pressure. Without having found any acceptable patch over the Gulf, the sails were lowered and the team docked back in, awaited approximately 2hrs before calling the day
[Michele Melis AC Recon].
https://studio.youtube.com/video/bjtzEKrpS_Y/edit
Session Statistics: Luna Rossa - LEQ12 - November 24, 2023 - Cagliari
- Weather: Sunny 19 degreesC
- Wind Strength 5-7kts
- Wind Direction: 315 degrees
- Sea State: 0.6mtr swell
- Crane In: 0940hrs Dock Out: 1030hrs
- Dock In: 1230hrs Crane out: 1430hrs
Crew: Jimmy Spithill, Francesco Bruni, Andrea Tesei, Umberto Molineris.
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.