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October 2013 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 5. Oracle Defends Most Exciting America's Cup


SAN FRANCISCO –For those that have been following the America’s Cup it has been one incredible series. I think a lot of people were turned off initially by the use of large, very high tech multihulls with a giant wing mast. Then there was major di- saster when one of these racers capsized and claimed the life of one of her sailors. Next came a ruling from the International Jury regarding a scandal involving ORACLE TEAM USA (OTUSA) in the America’s Cup World Series in 2012. The Jury penal- ized the American defender two races in the America’s Cup fi nals. Then during the America’s Cup fi nals the challenger EMIR- ATES TEAM NEW ZEALAND (ETNZ) took an 8 to 3 lead and needed just one race to capture the America’s Cup. Now you have an underdog, and Americans love the underdog, in the most exciting boats ever to race in the America’s Cup. Slowly the Americans battled back tying the series up at 8 to 8 with the outcome to be determined in one fi nal race, winner take all. When you caught a glimpse of these speedsters on television or online I am sure most were hooked. At the Newport Interna- tional Boat Show there were several booths showing the races live and numerous people stopped and watched. For years sailboat racing has been equated to watching paint dry or grass grow. Not anymore, the racing is quick, a race last less than 40 minutes, and exciting. How many sailors do you know that have to wear helmets and fl ak jackets? The quest for the Cup began in the AC45s and would be used in the America’s Cup World Series in 2011 and 2012.


DIMENSIONS:


Length 44 feet Max. Beam Mast height Max. Draft


Gennaker area


22.6 feet 70.5 feet 8.8 feet


Displacement 3,086 lbs. Wing area Jib area


914 square feet 516 square feet 1345 square feet


Crew 5 people @ 187 pounds/person


The AC 45 was designed by the design- ers and engineers of OTUSA and needed to fi t in a 40-foot container so it was easily shipped. They were also designed as one-de- sign boats so it came down to the sailors and not the boat. Sailors found that these boats quickly got up to speed, could sail in a wide range of conditions and were maneuverable. Maneuverability would be needed on the short courses planned for the World Series events.


When these boats were introduced at Auckland, New Zealand they were clocked doing more than 20 knots. The idea was to allow sailors to gain much needed experi- ence in these high-tech racers. This is not the


fi rst time a catamaran sporting a wing mast has been sailed in the America’s Cup. That occurred in San Diego in 1988 when the New Zealanders challenged the San Diego Yacht Club with a 90-foot monohull. However it was not much of a series as the monohull was no competition for the defender. The Louis Vuitton Cup and the 34th


America’s Cup in 2013 would use a 72-foot version.


DIMENSIONS:


Length 72.2 feet Max. Beam Mast height Max. Draft


Gennaker area


45.9 feet 131.2 feet 14.4 feet


Displacement 13,007.2 lbs. Wing area Jib area


2798.6 square feet 861.1 square feet 3444.5 square feet


Crew 11 people @ 187 pounds/person


The course to be sailed in 2013 would be seven legs and this would allow these speedsters to show their speed and maneu- verability. However the Louis Vuitton Cup Finals and America’s Cup Finals would switch to a fi ve leg course so that two races could be done per day. After the start, the fi rst leg is a short reach followed by a 2.5 mile run downwind. At mark three the racers will head back up wind for three miles and turn and head downwind again for three miles. At the next mark it is another short reach to the fi nish off Piers 27/29 at the America’s Cup Park on San Francisco’s waterfront. The course is about 10 miles in length and should take about 25 minutes to complete. If the race is not completed in 40 minutes it is abandoned. The OTUSA syndicate is headed by billionaire Larry Ellison, who envisioned a major change in how the America’s Cup was raced and viewed. He has been criti- cized by many, mostly because of the cost of building these high-tech machines. When we look back over the history of the Cup it has always been about technology, but also there has been concern about keeping cost in check at times. One can look back at the switch from the J-boats of the 1930s to the 12-metres beginning in 1958. The cost sav- ings was huge.


When designing the AC72s it all comes down to physics of airfl ow, lift and drag. The hulls, amas and masts are all built out of carbon fi bre and the technology to develop these pieces comes from the aerospace in- dustry. The hulls are built right on the edge and when not sailing are hauled up on the hard and repaired or rebuilt as needed. There is a dagger board with a foil and these boats can climb up and these foils and fl y at more than 50 mph. The small sail forward of the wing mast is to assist tacking the boat. Will some of this technology fi nd its


ORACLE and NEW ZEALAND up on their foils and just screaming!


way to the recreational boating world, prob- ably. One aspect that is expected to be used on aircraft is twistable fl aps on the trailing edge, which was used on the wing mast. These would replace the multiple fl aps now in use on aircraft. The America’s Cup has been on tele- vision numerous times, but Ellison was looking to excite the audience and this he accomplished by creating an exciting fast boat and a shorter course with more action. It all was also in sight of crowds lining San Francisco Bay. However, being in the high tech country of California, it is all over the Internet and hand-held devices. The high tech aspects created for the viewer over the last three decades has included the gyroscope stabilizer for cameras and a lens called SchwemGyroZoom and this removed the issues from shooting in a helicopter or


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blimp. There are also more cameras and live audio from each of the racers adding to the information given to the viewer. Also software has been developed that allows a producer to show animated racing with the infl uences on the boats such as wind and currents portrayed as well course and mark rounding zones all over live shots of racing. The producer can also input data from the two boats showing their differences. Disaster struck on 9 May when the 72- foot Swedish entry ARTEMIS capsized on San Francisco Bay killing 36 year old Olym- pic gold medalist Andrew “Bart” Simpson. Simpson was trapped in the wreckage and was underwater for about 10 minutes before being recovered. On-water doctors and those onshore at the San Francisco Yacht


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