"The use of headsets has become a mission critical system on board the boat - vital to the crew coordination required to pull off any of the high speed maneuvers."
ETNZ tactician Ray Davies, a multiple America's Cup campaigner, described sailing aboard the Kiwi AC72 as "a thrilling experience". "As soon as we get a bit of breeze - we really only need 10 or 11 knots - the boats require an incredible amount of work to sail them around the course," Davies said. "But they are also very rewarding and the better you sail the boat, the better the reward. So they are a challenge but they are exhilarating and incredibly fast at the same time. There is a lot of logistical work which goes along with these boats too." Davies said the AC72s had been a game changer for the America's Cup but one which he had been delighted to get the chance to be part of. "The game has changed dramatically in terms of when you are looking at where the wind is coming from, having to think ahead a couple of moves, doing a maneuver can be quite a big penalty on these boats. It's all very different now and it's been a hell of a lot of fun to be involved in this Cup." Although Davies' location, tucked in behind the helmsman, might be a familiar one for a raceboat tactician, he said the hurricane force apparent winds they generate make normal spoken communication with Dean Barker impossible, particularly when he moves to the opposite hull. "I communicate with Dean through a headset - there is too much wind noise and too much distance between us from one hull to another [to speak
Image credit: ACEA / Giles Martin Raget.
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