America's Cup Recon: Aug 5 - Kiwis test in snow gear after a two month break
by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World NZ 8 Aug 18:24 PDT
Emirates Team NZ - Day 17 - August 5, 2026 - Auckland, NZ © Sam Thom / America's Cup
Emirates Team NZ resumed their AC75 sailing program on Wednesday after a two-month break.
The team are planning on spending two weeks on the water in the AC75, having to work around the vagaries of the New Zealand winter, which turned on a cold, blue-sky day on Wednesday and overcast skies on a rare Saturday sailing session.
From the observations on boat performance in the recon report, there may have been some changes made, but sail choice aside, no changes from the last session on June 15's wingfoils, foil arms, and rudder were recorded on the Recon team's component declaration sheet.
At some stage of this development cycle, teams will have to experiment with new wing shapes and sections, and can't keep sailing with legacy foils, unless they opt for weight removal with no alteration in shape.
With just nine months left until the start of the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger selection series, lead times for design, build and test are becoming more pressing.
As the team with the most sailing time on the water, Emirates Team NZ would be expected to be the most likely to reveal their latest thinking in wing design. But as Defenders they have another couple of months up their sleeve - depending on how seriously they take competition in the group, or Round Robin phase of the Louis Vuitton Cup - which is their last chance to gauge their performance relative to the six Challengers.
Under the rules for the next America's Cup, teams are allowed to modify a wingfoil but it must retain 80% of its original mass. The objective is to remove weight and make a thinner and faster foil. Testing will reveal whether the new wings generate sufficient lift at the bottom end of the wind range to lift the AC75, which in racing configuration will be 545 kg lighter due to a combination of class rule changes from the 2024 model AC75s that raced in Barcelona.
The recon team noted in their report, "Lifting onto the foil at 17 knots, the acceleration of ETNZ from lift-off to their racing speed seemed much quicker than usual. They were very quickly up to max VMG, especially considering the lighter winds and smaller jib" - an interesting combination of factors.
The report from the Recon team focussed more on the Kiwis' ability to quickly alter sail shape in response to the changing breeze and pressure. However, a factor in these mid-winter testing sessions could be the colder air temperatures and denser air, where a wingsail generates more power at a lower wind speed. In theory, this means the yacht will reach its critical take-off speed earlier, allowing it to pop up onto its foils in lighter wind conditions than it would need on a hot summer day.
Quite how all that extrapolates across into the summer sailing breezes of Naples will surely exercise greater minds than ours.
The second session on Saturday appeared to be punctuated with some interesting routines, and it will be interesting to see the comments made by the Recon team when their report is available.
Recon Report - 5th August 2026
Sailing Day 17 Statistics
Emirates Team New Zealand - Day 17, August 5, 2026 - Auckland, New Zealand
Crew List:
- Port Helm: Chris Draper (GBR)
- Starboard Helm: Nathan Outteridge AUS/NZL)
- Port Trimmer: Iain Jensen (AUS)
- Starboard Trimmer: Andy Maloney (NZL)
- Pos: 5: Jo Aleh (Port)
Wind & Sea Conditions:
- AM: Sunny: Wind: 8-18kts 180° (S)
- PM: Sunny: Wind: 8-18kts 202.5° (SSW)
- Sea State: Flat
Sailing Stats:
- Dock Out: 1000hrs
- Dock In: 1545hrs
- Time sailed: 3hrs
- Foiling time: Not reported
- Tacks: No data Gybes: No data
Recon Report - Sailing Day 17 - August 5, 2026
Key Points:
- Wide range of wind speed
- Difficulty with main hoist
- J4 and J3 used.
- Cold, dense breeze.
A cold but beautiful sunny day in Auckland as ETNZ rolled out of the shed at a slightly earlier than usual 0815 this morning. Splashing down at 0857 and off the dock at 1000. The standard crew of Outteridge, Maloney, Jensen and Aleh, but with Draper filling in on port helm for an absent Menzies [49er sailing in Europe].
It was a long 30km tow down to the far end of the paddock near Passage Rock. A strong 20-knot southerly was quickly easing, and by the time ETNZ hoisted their M2-0 and J4-2 the breeze was already a much calmer 12-16 knots.
ETNZ came off the tow at 1042, but it wasn't until 1118 before the main was fully hoisted, as the main was stuck near the bottom and paused several times as it slowly made its way up. A bit of time was spent between the sail skins, and a man was sent up the mast to get the main fully hoisted.
Finally at 1129 ETNZ were able to get under way and sail up onto the foil. Lifting onto the foil at 17 knots the acceleration of ETNZ from lift-off to their racing speed seemed much quicker than usual. They were very quickly up to max VMG, especially considering the lighter winds and smaller jib.
They then quickly made their way back up to Eastern Beach where the breeze was stronger and more suitable conditions for the J4-2 they had hoisted. ETNZ then performed some speed runs, reaching across the wind at close to 50knots boat speed, along with some short up and downs before ending their first session at 1212 in the shelter of Motuihe Island.
ETNZ then changed to their J3-3 and sailed up onto the foil in a much lighter, but puffy 8-10knots behind Motuihe Island, sailing downwind to the Noises. At 1252 they fell off the foils in a gybe, the breeze was a patchy 7-8knots and below the usual range of the J3, however, the failed manoeuvre was still a small surprise as the boat had plenty of entry speed but on exit appeared to suddenly stall the flow over the sails, causing a pop off the foil.
They were then briefly towed by Chase 1 to the other side of the noises where a much steadier and stronger breeze awaited. The session ended at 1307 on the northern side of Rakino Island. A quick VIP swap before ETNZ sailed back onto the foils in a sheltered 8- 10 knots; they then proceeded to head over to Whangaparoa, where the breeze was once again much stronger. The session consisted of much longer runs up and down before ending at 13:58 up by Rangitoto Island.
During these longer runs, there appeared to be much more rapid and greater adjustments of the depth of mainsail than previously, with the platform itself remaining relatively stable throughout. Previous sessions had seen a lot of movement in the very top of the main, but this was the most and quickest movement in the middle segment of the main we've seen yet, suggesting a lot of work over the recent break to develop these controls and the coordination of the trimming systems. Manoeuvres overall today were minimal, suggesting a focus instead on straight-line speed development in the punchy, cool southerly.
ETNZ then swapped back to their J4-2 and sailed onto the foils in a nice 14-18 knot SW. Some short runs up and down closer to Takapuna Beach before running through several pre-starts, slowly working their way back up the harbour.
After multiple short runs around the inner harbour off of Mission Bay, ETNZ ended their day at 1515 in the shelter of Mechanics Bay, arriving back at the dock at 1545.
Overall, a great winter's day sailing for ETNZ. A lot of sailing miles around the gulf in search of stronger winds to test in a higher range than usual in a cold, dense breeze. ETNZ showed quick acceleration along with increased speed and depth in mainsail trim.
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