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What did we learn on day 1 of the Louis Vuitton Preliminary Regatta - Barcelona?

by Mark Jardine 22 Aug 2024 08:09 PDT 22 August 2024

We weren't expecting outright answers in this preliminary regatta, but we certainly gained clues about the relative strengths and weaknesses of the teams.

Key points from the racing:

  • A good start is critical. This comes as no surprise, but the point was reinforced.

  • These boats are complex, and when the electronics go wrong you can end up stranded like Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli in their race against Emirates Team New Zealand.

  • The New York Yacht Club American Magic boat looks fast, but we heard the shout of 'dig, dig, dig', followed by a splashdown at the windward mark.

  • The right hand side of the course upwind seemed favoured at times.
The Live Coverage

The livestream of the racing definitely needs honing and polishing around the edges. Talking of edges, the Youtube footage was surrounded by black bars on all sides, almost like the feed was taken from another source, and then embedded into the Youtube feed. I'm sure this can be fixed, but it was off putting.

The sound needs a lot of work. The background noise was high, meaning the commentators were hard to hear at times. Moreover, the comms from on board the boats were on continually, making things even more muddled, leading to it sounding like a Zoom call with 50 people on it while sitting beside a busy road.

The background music, especially in the pre-start, sounded like someone was letting off cannons in the distance.

I understand it must be difficult to stabilise cameras on an AC75, but the view from the back of the boat was particularly shaky. The views of the sailors were good, but showing four at once didn't add much as sailing these boats doesn't require much movement, so they are all very still.

The wind overlay on the course seemed strange. In my opinion it would be far better to show the disturbed air behind each yacht.

Notes from the individual races

Alinghi Red Bull Racing vs. Orient Express Racing Team

The Swiss Alinghi Red Bull Racing started impressively, with the French Orient Express Racing Team starting poorly.

Both teams seemed relatively evenly matched speed-wise, with VMG modes between 35 and 38 knots upwind, and 43 knots downwind.

In the end, the Swiss team won by 36 seconds.

Emirates Team New Zealand vs.Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli

This re-run of the 36th America's Cup Match saw a closer start, with the New Zealand team near the pin, and the Italians to windward tacking away.

Things were leading up to be a great race when Luna Rossa had a system failure while tacking from port to starboard, with Francesco Bruni saying they had no control of the boat for approximately 20 seconds.

This effectively was race over, with Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli retiring.

New York Yacht Club American Magic vs. INEOS Britannia

A superb start by both boats, with NYYC American Magic having to do a slight slow-down and the Brits to windward. INEOS Britannia gained early on the upwind leg, showing impressive speed, but the Americans overtook them when they went right, possibly in more pressure.

While the American team showed impressive speed, they had a messy second windward mark rounding, which was possibly due to a lack of power. Was this due to their recumbent cyclors and the 10% less power that they can generate? It would all point to the 'going for speed' in their design, over manoeuvrability. After all, the fastest boat is what you want in the America's Cup...

It was an impressive showing by the Americans, winning by 20 seconds.

Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli vs. Orient Express Racing Team

This one was effectively over before it began, with the French coming off the foils in the pre start, leading to them being penalised with a start and boundary penalty.

There was no repeat of the electronic issue for the Italians, and they cruised to victory.

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