Cup Spy Jan 9: Four teams sail on Med. Brits start two-boat program
by Richard Gladwell/Sail-World NZ 9 Jan 15:21 PST
9 January 2024
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli - LEQ12 - Day 108 - January 9, 2024 - Cagliari © Ivo Rovira / America's Cup
Four America's Cup teams trained on the Mediterranean. The British team sailed their two AC40's against each other for the first time out of Barcelona.
It is not clear what direction their program will take from here. In the interview Ainslie was non-committal as to whether their test boat 'T6' would sail again. Emirates Team NZ has not sailed in 2024. As many of the sailing team are due to compete in the SailGP Abu Dhabi this weekend they may not sail until next week.
What happened in the Cup - January 9, 2024:
- American Magic - Sailed out of Barcelona on Tuesday in their AC75. This is the third day of sailing for the US team in 2024.
- Alinghi Red Bull Racing - Sailed their AC75 today for the first time in 2024, out of Barcelona. They last sailed their AC75 in mid-December, 2023.
- Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli - Sailed their LEQ12, for the first time in 2024 today out of Cagliari. They last sailed 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. It would seem that they will not sail until next week.
- INEOS Britannia - Last week INEOS Britannia Skipper, Co-helm and 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 may switch to a program involving their two AC40's (AC40-2) and AC40-10) and that is what they sailed today. In the interview Ainslie was non-committal as to whether their test boat 'T6' would sail again, or whether they would stay with their double AC40 program until their AC75 raceboat is launched.
- Orient Express Racing Team - No report, however they were on the water off Barcelona today. They will be sailing in the SailGP Abu Dhabi, this weekend.
AC37 Joint Recon Team Reports:
American Magic - AC75 - Day 65 - January 9, 2024 - Barcelona
New York Yacht Club American Magic called for a pre-dawn rollout this morning, their third day of sailing in 2024, to try to take advantage of a westerly morning breeze which was forecast to fade away sharply around midday.
The team's second generation AC75 Patriot emerged from the shed at 0655hrs – with the air temperature a chilly 3°C. The rugged up shore crew had the boat rigged and launched by 0720hrs in plenty of time for an 0855hrs dockout.
Following the same routine as yesterday (Tuesday January 8) the boat was towed out of the harbour on foils and headed offshore to a rigging point around five miles from the harbour entrance and adjacent to the Barcelona airport.
With the offshore wind blowing from the west at a solid 10kts the crew opted for the J2-5 headsail and the MN9 mainsail which were hoisted by 0930hrs.
The first flight of the day lasted 15 minutes and saw the boat fall off the foils twice – once briefly three minutes after setting off and one at the end of the session with a touch down gybe.
A 15 minute break followed during which a member of the support crew came aboard with a tool bag.
The second flight began at 1015hrs and – other than a brief touch down and takeoff – lasted 45 minutes and included 13 foiling gybes and seven foiling tacks.
With marginally less wind and a flatter sea state than the previous day the boat looked to be flying in a more stable mode and with its familiar characteristic bow down pitch. A 20-minute stop was made at 1100hrs to rotate the cyclors, change batteries, and swap to the J1.5-2 headsail as the breeze had backed off to around 7kts.
A 50 minute session followed that saw the crew seemingly able to tack without issue but struggle to pull off foiling gybes downwind. Six foiling and one touch down tacks were completed along with one foiling and seven touch down gybes. A 10 minute stop at 1207hrs was followed by the final session of the day as the American boat was towed up and set off towards the harbour.
Although the breeze off the airport was fading quickly the American Magic sailors found themselves sailing into a new 8-10kt northerly breeze as they crossed the commercial anchor field off the entrance to Barcelona's commercial port.
Five touchdown tacks were completed along with three on foils before the team took advantage of the new breeze to engage in a series of two board manoeuvres including bear aways, round ups, as well as tacks and gybes. Time was called at 1255hrs with the boat arriving back at the dock at 1310hrs.
No sailing is scheduled for tomorrow Wednesday January 10.
Report from Justin Chisholm - AC37 Joint Recon Team
Crew: Paul Goodison, Tom Slingsby, Michael Menniger, Riley Gibbs, Andrew Campbell, John Croom, Colten Hall, Tim Hornsby, James Wright, Ashton Lambie, Trevor Bird
Session Statistics: American Magic - AC75 - Day 65 - January 9, 2024 - Barcelona
- Weather: Clearing 2-10° C
- Wind Strength: 7-10kts
- Wind Direction: 270°
- Sea State: Light chop slight swell
- Crane In: 0719hrs Dock Out: 0855hrs
- Dock In: 1310hrs Crane out: 1340hrs
- Total Tacks: 25 - Fully foiling: 16; Touch & Go: 2; Touch Down: 7
- Total Gybes: 21 - Fully foiling: 13; Touch & Go: 1; Touch Down: 7
Alinghi Red Bull Racing - AC75 - Day 108 - January 9, 2024 - Barcelona
Alinghi Red Bull Racing rolled out their AC75 'Boat Zero' acquired from Emirates Team New Zealand at 09:00hrs for their first sailing day of 2024.
Routine system checks were carried out, with no new equipment noted on deck. The M1-1R mainsail and a J1-2R jib were prepared on deck ahead of 11:30 dockout. Joseph Ozanne and Yves Courvoisier from the simulation and R&D team observed from the Catalyst 45 chase boat.
Stint 1 (12:15hrs - 12:35hrs, 7-9kts 10° @ 12:15hrs , 9-12kts 40-50° @ 12:35hrs)
The team began sailing in front of the W Hotel with a short upwind warmup. Two touchdown tacks were followed by a fully foiling tack, as the bouncing waves off the breakwater made for difficult sea state. The J1 jib was then swapped for the J3-1R as the wind started to increase.
Stint 2 (12:50hrs - 13:10hrs, 12-15kts 30-40° @ 12:50hrs)
The team sailed upwind towards Badalona, performing six tacks, followed by a downwind leg of four gybes. The yacht nose dived when exiting a gybe, into the offset swell. After coming to a stop, the team debriefed while GoPros were changed. Elliot Pilcher (hydraulics engineer) was also on board to review systems.
Stint 3 (13:25hrs - 13:45hrs, 10-13.5kts 40-50° @ 13:25hrs)
Joseph Ozanne replaced Nico Charbonnier in the starboard guest seat. The team sailed a short upwind/downwind near the coast before setting offshore on a 4NM upwind stretch on port tack. After stopping, ?oseph Ozanne was seen discussing with trimmers Yves Detrey and Nico Rolaz, as a battery change took place.
Stint 4 (14:00hrs - 14:15hrs, 10-12kt from 50° @ 13:55hrs)
The yacht sailed back towards the coast towards the course, which was set in front of Badalona at 50°, 1NM in length. A cyclor exchange saw Nico Stahlberg replace Thery Schir, and Joseph Ozanne was replaced by Nico Charbonnier.
Stint 5 (14:25hrs - 14:50hrs, 6-9kts 65° @ 14:25hrs)
Near the land, the wind decreased. The team warmed up with a quick upwind/downwind before practicing around the course. After gybing into the pre-start box, the yacht lost flight but regained it soon after. The pre-start was restarted, but the yacht lost flight in the same way as the previous attempt, this time regaining flight sooner but touching down after the first tack post crossing the start line. The J3 jib was subsequently exchanged for the J2-2L due to the decreased wind.
Stint 6 (15:05hrs - 15:50hrs, 6-8kts 55°-65° @ 15:05hrs, 8-10kts 50°-60° @ 15:15hrs)
A gybe into the pre-start box was followed by another temporary loss of flight. The pre-start was attempted again and this time the team started the race at speed, tacking immediately after crossing the line.
Four tacks were performed to the windward mark, with manoeuvres becoming marginal towards the top of the course, forcing the team to pinch to the mark. After clearing the mark, a touch down gybe downwind prompted the team to abandon race course practice and sail downwind back to base.
Sails were dropped at 16:00hrs in the port to conclude the day. The team spent four and a half hours on the water, with 145 minutes of sailing time. A total of 38 manoeuvres were observed, with a 68% fully (dry) foiling rate, with gybes 30% better than tacks.
Session Statistics: Alinghi Red Bull Racing - AC75 - Day 108 - January 9, 2024 - Barcelona
- Weather: 6°. Sunny
- Wind Strength 7-15kts
- Wind Direction: 40° - 65°
- Sea State: 0.8 - 1.3mtr
- Crane In: 0930hrs Dock Out: 1130hrs
- Dock In: 1615hrs Crane out: 1645hrs
- Total Tacks: 6 - Fully foiling: 6; Touch & Go: 0; Touch Down: 0
- Total Gybes: 3 - Fully foiling: 1; Touch & Go: 1; Touch Down: 1
Crew:Sailing: Arnaud Psarofaghis, Maxime Bachelin, Nico Charbonnier, Yves Detrey, Bryan Mettraux, Nico Rolaz. Power: Théry Schir, Arthur Cevey, Nico Stahlberg, Barnabé Delarze, Augustin Maillefer
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (LRPP) - LEQ12 - Day 108 - January 9, 2023 - Cagliari
The Italian team Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli rolled out their LEQ12 prototype at 08:45hrs, stepped mast and craned the yacht in by 09:00hrs.
On the appendage configuration, the port foil arm/arm stock has clearly been modified with additional volume on leading edge.
After running the usual FCS [Foil Control System], flap, rudder rake checks, the sailors proceeded with the sail control checks. M2-1 was placed on the deck before dockout.
At the base Chase 3 and the Italians AC40 were being unloaded from trucks.
Six sailors boarded the LEQ12 and rotated on the passenger seats during the whole session.
At 10:00hrs the yacht was being towed out to fully hoist M2-1 and pairing it with the J4-1.
Unfortunately the left engine of Recon RIB broke down and the Recon Unit had to drive back to the dock for a quick engine check. There was no easy fix and the Recon Unit was allowed to board Chase-2 while the LEQ12 was already sailing hence missing any footage/observation for the first 45 minutes of training.
Once Chase-2 caught up with the yacht, the team seemed to be conducting straight line testing mostly downwind before marks were laid out by Chase-2.
The breeze was measured from 335° with 13-15kts as the LEQ12 was towed up on port tack for a short upwind stint before bearing away heading to the windward gate.
There, the yacht seemed to practice a prestart drill killing time around the leeward gate followed by two upwind and two downwind legs before stopping again.
At this stage, personnel on Chase 1 seemed to gather footage on the pressure side of starboard wing for a speculative issue. Apparently there was nothing major as the yacht was towed up again at 11:45hrs on port tack before bearing away, executing a series of gybes and sailing on two boards downwind for a short while heading back to the leeward gate for a quick two boards round up.
Two legs followed before the yacht seemed to have some troubles while exiting a tack from starboard to port leading to a significant splash. The breeze had increased to 17-18kts from 330°. The support crew proceeded with some checks below deck and once given the green light the yacht was quickly towed back foilborne and a time on distance drill followed with additional two laps including a series of quick tacks.
After a short debrief for additional planned training manuevers, the yacht was towed up on starboard tack this time and the last two laps around the marks followed.
At 12:40hrs Chase 2 started recovering the marks providing the LEQ12 with the virtual targets for some last roundings.
Once again the boat looked fast and controlled in higher range breeze around the marks where the team seemed to focus especially on clean execution of all kinds of mark maneuvers The team docked in at 13:20hrs with approximately 130 minutes of foiling time - performing 24 tacks and 18 gybes
[Michele Melis AC Recon].
Crew: Marco Gradoni, Francesco Bruni, Jimmy Spithill, Umberto Mollineris, Vittorio Bissaro, Andrea Tesel
Session Statistics: Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (LRPP) - LEQ12 - Day 108 - January 9, 2023 - Cagliari
- Weather: Sunny 12°C
- Wind Strength 13-18kts
- Wind Direction: 330°-335°
- Sea State: Mostly flat
- Crane In: 0900hrs Dock Out: 1000hrs
- Dock In: 1320hrs Crane out:
- Total Tacks: 24 - Fully foiling: 20; Touch & Go: 2; Touch Down: 2
- Total Gybes: 18 - Fully foiling: 16; Touch & Go: 2; Touch Down: 0
INEOS Britannia (IB) - AC-2 and AC-10 - Day 1 - January 9, 2023 - Barcelona - AC37 Joint Recon Unit
Team INEOS Britannia craned to the water their AC40-10 'Sienna' at 06.30hrs, that apparently was left rigged and ready the previous evening. At 07.00hrs the older AC40-2 'Athena' got rolled out and half an hour later it was craned to the water after stepping the mast. Both boats on full one-design configuration. Nothing in particular could be noticed, other than some works on the foils´ hatches of AC40-2.
The team docked out at 08:30hrs, as planned. One-design mainsails were hoisted at 08:45hrs and one-design J2s followed at 08:50hrs, on both boats, just before coming out of the harbor.
Those were the only sails used during the session.
Today´s training had two parts. The first one consisted of doing some short upwind-downwind laps, at the AC race area, doing three to four tacks and gybes per leg. Generally speaking, AC40-10 seemed more stable and consistent than AC40-2, specially on the tacks, gybes and when bearing away and heading up, while dealing with an uncomfortable off-axis northeasterly sea state.
After three upwind – downwind legs, at 10:10 AC40-2 stopped and stayed heading into the wind for approximately 40 minutes. One of the team´s chase boats came along.
During this period of time, it seemed to have issues on one of the mainsail control systems. Two sailors could be identified working on the lower front part of the mainsail, while the starboard side trimmer stayed in the cockpit trying different things on the controllers.
Nevertheless, at 10:50hrs the training continued but with the focus on sailing in a straight-line, speed testing in between both boats, sailing longer distances,. Two long downwind-upwind legs were executed in which AC40-10 was slightly faster, both upwind and downwind, performing a better VMG than AC40-2.
However, the offshore medium-winds conditions that prevailed during the day, combined with a tricky off-axis disorganized northeasterly swell, made the speed tests non highly reliable.
At 12:22hrs both boats entered the port. Sails were lowered at 12:30hrs, both boats docked at 12:45hrs and AC40-2 was the first of the two to be craned out of the water at 13:15hrs indicating the end of the day.
Sebastian Peri Brusa – Recon on INEOS Britannia
Session Statistics: INEOS Britannia (IB) - AC-2 and AC-10 - Day 1 - January 9, 2023 - Barcelona - AC37 Joint Recon Unit
- Weather: Part Sunny, 11°.
- Wind Strength 11-16kts
- Wind Direction: 320°-345°
- Sea State: 0.85mtr swell
- Crane In: 0630 & 0730hrs Dock Out: 0830hrs
- Dock In: 1245hrs Crane out: 1315hrs
- Total Tacks: 17 - Fully foiling: 14; Touch & Go: 1; Touch Down: 1
- Total Gybes: 14 - Fully foiling: 13; Touch & Go: 0; Touch Down: 1
Crew: AC-2: Ben Ainslie, Giles Scott, Bleddyn Mon, Alex Hughes. AC-10: Dylan Fletcher, Ben Cornish, Leigh McMillan, Luke Parkinson
Additional Images:
INEOS Britannia (IB) - AC-2 and AC-10 - Day 1 - January 9, 2023 - Barcelona - AC37 Joint Recon Unit
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.