Cup Spy Dec 12-13: American Magic and Swiss continue AC75 training
by Richard Gladwell/Sail-World NZ 24 Dec 2023 19:09 HKT
17 December 2023
American Magic - AC75 - Day 59 - Barcelona - December 13, 2023 © Ugo Fonolla / America's Cup
American Magic and Alinghi Red Bull Racing continue training in their respective AC75s, squeezing in more testing between the second Preliminary Event in Jeddah and Xmas break. The Swiss only sailed one more day (Dec 14) before stopping for Xmas. American Magic had a dicey moment captured in the image at the top of this report.
Due to Cup Spy being incapacitated, this report is a late posting of content from the AC37 Recon File System from mid-December.
What happened in the Cup - December 12-13, 2023:
- Alinghi Red Bull Racing - Returned to Barcelona from Jeddah, where they last sailed on Monday December 4. On Thursday they resumed training in their AC75
- Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli - Suffered a compression crack in the port topside of their LEQ12 on Tuesday. There is no update on the repair.
- American Magic - Sailed out of Barcelona on Thursday in their AC75. They have some new systems onboard which are being "debugged" during sailing trials.
- Emirates Team New Zealand - Did not sail and have returned to Auckland. Their "A" Sailing Team is in Dubai for the next SailGP event over the weekend.
- INEOS Britannia - Did not sail - No update on their situation - they had rudder/rudder box issues for the second time in mid-November.
- Orient Express Racing Team - No report, however they will be sailing in the SailGP Dubai, this weekend.
Cup Spy apologizes for the delay in publishing these delayed America's Cup team updates due to undergoing a two hour surgery in the coverage period.
AC37 Joint Recon Team Reports:
American Magic - AC75 - Day 58 - December 12, 2023 - Barcelona
American Magic's first sailing session this week in Barcelona aboard their legacy AC75 was conducted in shifty and patchy westerly offshore winds ranging from 7kts to 18 kts.
The offshore breeze meant a relatively flat sea state close to the coast but further (5 miles) offshore the there was a light chop with the occasional larger set of waves thrown up. After rolling out at 0850hrs, launching at 1020hrs and docking out at 1057hrs the American AC75 exited the harbour on foils at 1105hrs for a five mile easterly tow to a rigging point where the MN9 mainsail and J3-6 headsail were hoisted by 1155hrs.
As the sails were being hoisted the breeze was in the 7-10kts range but this quickly ramped up to a 15-18kts westerly by the time the boat was released from its side tow and began sailing at 1201hrs. An initial 25 minute windward / leeward flight – that included a touch and go tack and foiling tack and three foiling gybes – ended with a splashdown on port shortly after turning upwind. After a five minute stop the boat was soon airborne again for a 15 minute flight that included three foiling tacks and one foiling gybe.
A 30 minute stop that ended at 1315hrs saw a patch applied to the starboard mainsail skin close to the lower red logo near the mast. Another 30 minute flight included one touch down tack, five foiling tacks and four foiling gybes, before a stop at 1345hrs for a battery change, cyclor rotation, and – with the breeze dropping away to 8-10 knots – a change to the J1.5 headsail.
The final hour-long sailing session sailing session saw the breeze taper off slowly to 7kts by 1500hrs when time was called ahead of a dock in at 1520hrs.
Report from Sebastian Peri Brusa - AC37 Joint Recon Team
Crew: Paul Goodison, Tom Slingsby, Michael Menninger, Riley Gibbs, Andrew Campbell, John Croom, Madison Molitar, Colten Hall, Tim Hornsby, James Wright
Session Statistics: American Magic - AC75 - Day 58 - December 12, 2023 - Barcelona
- Weather: Clear 16° C
- Wind Strength: 10-18kts
- Wind Direction: 270°- 300°
- Sea State: Light chop
- Crane In: 1020hrs Dock Out: 1057hrs
- Dock In: 1520hrs Crane out: 1550hrs
- Total Tacks: 19 - Fully foiling: 14; Touch & Go: 3; Touch Down: 2
- Total Gybes: 15 - Fully foiling: 10; Touch & Go: 3; Touch Down: 2
Alinghi Red Bull Racing - AC75 - Day 106 - December 12, 2023 - Barcelona
Alinghi Red Bull Racing rolled out their AC75 at 09:30hrs. The yacht underwent standard systems checks, with hydraulic technicians focusing on the cabling of the mainsheet system. The crew gathered on the boat for routine checks. Among individual checks, the mast was observed rotating with its leading edge turning to port, while at the same time, the starboard mainsail skin clew actuator moved forward to the mid point. As the mast continued to rotate to port, the actuator then moved back aft. As previous days, once most of the crew left the boat, the port forward cyclor pod was used to calibrate the mast.
The team docked out at 11:30hrs, towing the yacht 2nm off Port Olimpic. The M2-2R mainsail and J2-2L jib were prepared on deck, with the J2-2L exchanged for the J4-1R jib due to 14kts gusts before hoisting.
Stint 1 (12:15hrs - 12:25hrs, 11-14kts 280° @ 11:50hrs):
The team took off and immediately turned downwind, executing 4 fully foiling gybes before rounding up and stopping. Electronics and hydraulics techs jumped on board, looking at the main traveller and the port trimmer/port forward cyclor pod.
Stint 2 (12:35hrs - 12:50hrs, 12-16kts 275° @ 12:25hrs):
The team sailed upwind, performing 7 tacks, one of which was marginally touch and go. They sailed up to the course start line and stopped for a minute ahead of laps around the course.
Stint 3 (12:50hrs - 13:05hrs):
This stint focused on a 0.7NM course set to 270°, with a leeward gate and single upwind mark. Three laps were sailed with a definitive focus on mark rounding. All roundings were mostly clean except for the last leeward rounding where the yacht entered at high speed with two boards down, lifting out high, then slamming down.
Stint 4 (13:10hrs - 13:25hrs, 10-15kts 275° @ 13:00):
The team continued mark rounding practice with three laps around the course. The first leeward and last windward roundings were touch and go, while the rest were clean. One tack/gybe was performed on each leg.
Stint 5 (13:35hrs - 13:55hrs, 4-7kts 275° @ 13:45hrs , 9-13kts 275° @ 14:10hrs)
Further mark rounding practice was conducted, including tacks and gybes before and after roundings. Manoeuvres became marginal with a touch down “tack and bear away” and a touch down “bear away and gybe” around the windward mark, and a touch-and-go JK manoeuvre at leeward. This was due to a lull in the wind at the windward mark. This prompted the team to use the chase boat as a windward mark further to the right of the course, where the wind under the Forum, coming from the valley, was stronger. The team concluded sailing at 14:00hrs and dropped the sails.
The team docked in at 14:30hrs, spending a total of three hours on the water, of which 75 minutes were spent sailing (42%) . A total of 39 manoeuvres were observed, with an 87% fully foiling rate.
Session Statistics: Alinghi Red Bull Racing - AC75 - Day 106 - December 12, 2023 - Barcelona
- Weather: 20°. Clouds
- Wind Strength 11-16kts
- Wind Direction: 275° - 280°
- Sea State: Flat 0.5- 0.6mtr
- Crane In: 1000hrs Dock Out: 1130hrs
- Dock In: 1430hrs Crane out: 1500hrs
- Total Tacks: 19 - Fully foiling: 17; Touch & Go: 2; Touch Down: 0
- Total Gybes: 20 - Fully foiling: 17; Touch & Go: 1; Touch Down: 2
Crew:Sailing: Arnaud Psarofaghis, Maxime Bachelin, Nico Charbonnier, Yves Detrey, Bryan Mettraux, Nico Rolaz. Power: Théry Schir, Nils Theuninck, Nico Stahlberg, Barnabé Delarze
American Magic - AC75 - Day 59 - December 13, 2023 - Barcelona
Another day of offshore winds in Barcelona meant a tough day for the American Magic sailors aboard their AC75 Patriot as their reaction times were tested by shifty and gusty winds that ranged from 7kts - 20 kts (as measured by hand from the recon rib).
The team rolled their black-hulled yacht out of the hangar at 0850hrs this morning and had the mast stepped and the boat launched by 0935hrs ahead of a 1056hrs dockout. The boat was towed out of the harbour on foils at 1105hrs before heading east on a flat sea for around five miles to a rigging point where the MN7 mainsail and J1.5-2 headsail were hoisted by 1135hrs.
The breeze for the sail hoist was in the five to seven knot range but as the boat left the side tow at around 1140hrs a line of new breeze had moved in from the shore with winds around 10-11 kts. The team's first foiling session lasted 15 minutes and included two foiling tacks upwind before a bear away and a short fast and hectic-looking downwind run where the crew looked to be fighting for control in the gusty and shifty conditions.
A 10-minute stop at 1155hrs saw a change to the J3-6 headsail before the second run of the day which featured three foiling tacks and a bear away but no gybe. After a brief (sub-five minute) stop for a technician to board the boat Patriot was up and foiling again for 25 minutes of freestyle windward leeward laps featuring five foiling tacks, two touch down gybes, and one foiling gybes – as well as one precarious moment shortly after a bear away to downwind mode where the boat was flying very high and also heeling to leeward.
After a 15 minute stop the boat was back on foils for 30 minutes more freestyle windward leeward laps (10 foiling tacks and six foiling gybes). A stop was made at 1320hrs for a cyclor rotation and a new battery before the boat was back up and foiling again at 1400hrs for a 10 minute no-tack upwind run back to the mouth of the harbour where – with an imminent forecast of very strong winds – time was called for the day.
Dock in took place at 1429. No sailing is scheduled for tomorrow (Thursday December 14).
Report from Sebastian Peri Brusa - AC37 Joint Recon Team
Crew: Paul Goodison, Lucas Calabrese, Michael Menninger, Riley Gibbs, Andrew Campbell, John Croom, Madison Molitar, Colten Hall, Tim Hornsby, James Wright, Ashton Lambie
Session Statistics: American Magic - AC75 - Day 59 - December 13, 2023 - Barcelona
- Weather: Overcast 17° C
- Wind Strength: 10-20kts
- Wind Direction: 270°-290°
- Sea State: Flat near coast, light chop offshore
- Crane In: 0935hrs Dock Out: 1056hrs
- Dock In: 1429hrs Crane out: 1500hrs
- Total Tacks: 20 - Fully foiling: 20; Touch & Go: 0; Touch Down: 0
- Total Gybes: 10 - Fully foiling: 8; Touch & Go: 0; Touch Down: 2
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.