Cup Spy Jan 6-8: American Magic quick out of the blocks in the Year of the Cup
by Richard Gladwell/Sail-World NZ 8 Jan 19:31 PST
9 January 2024
American Magic - AC75 - Day 63 - Barcelona - January 6, 2023 © Ugo Fonolla / America's Cup
American Magic was the first America's Cup team to begin training/testing for 2024, the year of the 37th America's Cup in Barcelona.
The team sailed on Saturday January 6 and again on Monday January 8, 2024 in their AC75 Patriot which has been upgraded to some extent to accommodate upgrades permitted under Version 2 of the AC75 Class Rule.
What happened in the Cup - December 21, 2023 to January 6-8, 2024:
- American Magic - Sailed out of Barcelona on Saturday and Monday in their AC75. From the Recon Team report the US team are working the bugs out of new systems ahead of their transfer into their raceboat.
- Alinghi Red Bull Racing - Last sailed their AC75 on December 14, 2023 out of Barcelona.
- Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli - Sailed their LEQ12, on December 20 and 21 after having a compression crack in its hull following an incident on December 4, 2023 in Cagliari.
- Emirates Team New Zealand - last sailed their LEQ12 out of Auckland on December 21, completing a pre-Xmas test block. They are sailing in the SailGP Abu Dhabi this weekend.
- INEOS Britannia - Skipper/CEO Ben Ainslie announced he was stepping away from sailing duties on the Emirates SailGP team to focus on the America's Cup effort. The team will switch to a program involving their two AC40's of which they have just taken delivery of AC40-10.
- Orient Express Racing Team - No report, however they will be sailing in the SailGP Abu Dhabi, this weekend.
AC37 Joint Recon Team Reports:
American Magic - AC75 - Day 64 - January 8, 2024 - Barcelona
The American team squeezed in a two and a half hour sailing session aboard their second generation AC75 Patriot today, making the most of a narrow weather window that saw westerly breeze blowing from off the Barcelona airport at between 7-12 kts. Despite the offshore breeze only kicking up a light chop, a persistent offset swell was running ranging from 0.4 up to 0.6 metres over the day.
This, combined with a shifty and up and down breeze made life tricky for the American Magic afterguard trying to keep Patriot on the foil and in stable flight.
After a chilly 0810hrs roll out the shore crew had the boat rigged and launched by 0840hrs ahead of an 0956hrs dockout. The boat foiled out of the harbour on a bow tow headed south to a rigging point around 7 miles from the harbour entrance. The MN9 mainsail and J2-5 headsail were hoisted by 1040hrs and five minutes later the boat was up on its foils courtesy of the 10-12kt westerly offshore wind blowing from the airport.
The focus for the day appeared to be windward leeward laps around a virtual course and the crew completed a total of six flights of between 15 and 20 minutes each. As during the previous session on Saturday January 6 the sailors looked to be having difficulty at times keeping their boat in stable flight and there were a number of failed tacks and gybes, as well as some other splashdowns – the most notable of which was a sky rocket jump and major splashdown during a round up manoeuvre from downwind to upwind.
Perhaps conscious of time restrictions the crew stuck with the J2-5 even though the breeze was up around 12kts at times. As the wind started to fade a little around 1215hrs a switch was made to the J1.5-2.
However, after a tow up start at 1230hrs the team managed just 30 more minutes of sailing before the wind dropped below 7kts as forecast. Time was called at 1300hrs with the boat arriving back on the dock at 1335hrs. Another sailing session is expected for tomorrow Tuesday January 9.
Report from Justin Chisholm - AC37 Joint Recon Team
Crew: Paul Goodison, Tom Slingsby, Harry Melges, Riley Gibbs, Andrew Campbell, John Croom, Colten Hall, Tim Hornsby, James Wright, Ashton Lambie, Trevor Bird
Session Statistics: American Magic - AC75 - Day 64 - January 8, 2023 - Barcelona
- Weather: Clear 8-12° C
- Wind Strength: 8-12kts
- Wind Direction: 270°
- Sea State: Light chop 0.4-0.6mtr
- Crane In: 0838hrs Dock Out: 0956hrs
- Dock In: 1335hrs Crane out: 1405hrs
- Total Tacks: 14 - Fully foiling: 12; Touch & Go: 0; Touch Down: 2
- Total Gybes: 11 - Fully foiling: 8; Touch & Go: 0; Touch Down: 3
American Magic - AC75 - Day 63 - January 6, 2024 - Barcelona
The NYYC American Magic syndicate began the New Year with a four hour sailing session aboard Patriot – the team's second generation AC75 used in AC36 – that saw the US crew dealing with a shifty and inconsistent west to north west breeze that ranged from 7kts up to a peak of 15kts during the day.
Patriot was rolled out this morning at 0825hrs and was rigged and launched by 0900hrs ahead of a 1026hrs dockout.
The team had introduced a different wider-chord rudder than used prior to the Christmas break, as well as a new AIDA brand camera fitted flush with the hull on the starboard side just below and slightly forward of the 'tsi' branding (see photos below).
The camera appeared to be set up to film the starboard foil, however in the recon interview, when asked about a new camera, Terry Hutchinson referred to it as being focused on the rudder – which suggests there may be another new camera in the aft underwater section of the hull.
After leaving the harbour on a side tow at 1037hrs Patriot was bow towed offshore for 10 minutes to a rigging point where the crew hoisted the MN7 mainsail and J1.5-2 headsail. The breeze at this point was 6-7kts from 340°.
Patriot set off on the first sailing session of the day at 1120hrs but took five or more minutes to get foiling.
After a foiling tack, three foiling gybes, and a touchdown gybe the boat stopped at 1145hrs for a headsail change.
The rarely used J3-4 was hoisted but appeared to fail to engage with the halyard lock so was replaced by the regularly used J3-6.
The breeze at this stage had shifted to between 270° to 290° and was coming through in pulses of between 10-11kts up to 14-15kts.
We noted all day that the boat seemed to be pitched more bow up and flown higher than we have previously seen. It was also noticeable that the crew appeared to be struggling to keep control and maintain smooth flight – possibly down to the shifty gusty conditions or perhaps the new rudder was proving hard to get to grips with. Whatever the reason there were a number of precarious looking moments during the day.
After a tow up and a 15-minute flight that included just one manoeuvre – a splashdown gybe – the crew stopped for a battery change and to rotate in cyclor John Croomb, as well as changing up to the J2-5.
During this stop a great deal of attention appeared to be paid to the aft corner of the mainsail, although it was not possible to identify any specific issue. In the recon interview Terry Hutchinson mentions an issue with one of the battens.
Four more short towed-up flights followed before time was called at 1450hrs. Dock-in took place at 1515hrs. The American team's next possible sailing day is Monday January 8.
Report from Justin Chisholm - AC37 Joint Recon Team
Crew: Paul Goodison, Tom Slingsby, Michael Menninger, Riley Gibbs, Andrew Campbell, John Croom, Colten Hall, Tim Hornsby, James Wright, Ashton Lambie, Trevor Bird
Session Statistics: American Magic - AC75 - Day 63 - January 6, 2024 - Barcelona
- Weather: Clear 10-14° C
- Wind Strength: 6-14kts
- Wind Direction: 260°- 340°
- Sea State: Light chop 0.4m
- Crane In: 0900hrs Dock Out: 1026hrs
- Dock In: 1515hrs Crane out: 1545hrs
- Total Tacks: 2 - Fully foiling: 12; Touch & Go: 0; Touch Down: 0
- Total Gybes: 4 - Fully foiling: 3; Touch & Go: 0; Touch Down: 1
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.