Keep it simple, stupid. Not always easy when every man and his dog wants to join you on your Class Libera for the Centomiglia on Lake Garda. Meanwhile, there was another long queue which had lined up to try out the first example out of the factory of the superb new Flying Dutchman (left) which is now being built in Dubai by Hans Genthe at Aeolos Marine
concepts for their AC75 raceboat; now they are using it effectively for race training against their AC40 OD. Luna Rossa has made it to the Match twice – in 2000 and 2021, both times against the Kiwis. They were skunked five-nil in 2000 but took three races in 2021. Will they rule the Challenger Selection Series again? Will the third time be the charm against the Kiwis? Alinghi will once again be the first to sail an AC75 in Barcelona.
They have made excellent use of the first-generation boat they bought from ETNZ. Their (mostly) young sailing team learned to tame the beast over a year ago. And they did it in the challenging conditions of Barcelona. Alinghi designers, boatbuilders and shore crew have all gained
experience by building out the systems that are the guts and nervous system of the yacht. The Swiss have shown creative ideas in their design programme, testing asymmetric foil wings – allowed for testing but forbidden for racing – and a unique tubercle wing. Alinghi have also been creative in their training schedule. Since
December they have commuted between Barcelona and Jeddah, sailing the AC75 in Barcelona and their two AC40s in Jeddah. This has given them the best of both worlds – continuing to test at full scale in Barcelona and enjoying ideal conditions in Jeddah for two- boat race training. Their race training benefits from exceptionally experienced coaching. Sports director Pierre-Yves Jorand has brought in Phil Robertson and Dean Barker for the race training in Jeddah. Alinghi seem to be taking advantage of every opportunity to build a competitive team. Expect some surprises when the racing begins. Ineos Britannia have had their new boat out of the Carrington
shed in Hythe, Southampton, and the assumption is that she is on her way to Barcelona for fit-out. The British team is tightly coupled with F1 partner Mercedes AMG Petronas. The design team work their magic in Brackley. When training the sailors are in direct comms with a command centre, also in Brackley, just like an F1 team. On the downside, this team is plagued with systems failures when
afloat. Same as their AC75 in Auckland… Nominal technical leader James Allison is far more focused on giving Lewis Hamilton a car to compete with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Like the Brits, New York Yacht Club American Magic also rolled
their boat out of the shed for a ceremony – this one limited to a small circle of NYYC dignitaries, sponsors and team members. Their yacht will have a longer journey than the Brits’, but shorter and safer than the Kiwis’ trip. Meanwhile, the US team is putting in a lot of hours two-boat race training in Barcelona. It seems that the AC40s are a handful in the difficult conditions of Barcelona. No doubt the Americans are impatient to start sailing their new AC75 – probably much better suited to the conditions. Orient Express Racing Team have converted their AC40 into an
LEQ12 test boat. As the newest team they have probably the steepest mountain to climb. They are clearly learning the wind and wave patterns in Barcelona. Of their two helmsmen, Quentin Delapierre has more experience in foiling boats, but Kevin Peponnet is a quick study. Now pause for a moment and think back to Tuesday 10 September
2013 and Race 5 of the 2013 America’s Cup. ETNZ had won the first three races, but Oracle Team USA had taken Race 4. Winning Race 5 would have been a big boost. Jimmy Spithill won the start, led at Mark 1 and on the first downwind leg. Approaching the leeward gate, John ‘JK’ Kostecki, Oracle’s tactician, called ‘Foiling tack!’ He wanted to head back right upwind and get relief from the flooding tide in the cone below Alcatraz Island. They couldn’t execute the manoeuvre and splashed down, handing the race to ETNZ. Clearly distraught, Oracle used their only postponement card to avoid another race and possible defeat that day. JK was replaced by Ben Ainslie as tactician. But JK is a great sailor. He has an Olympic medal and a victory in the Volvo Race as skipper of Illbruck to prove it. Now all the teams are practising ‘JKs’. A nice tribute, 11 years later.
CupExperience.com
FIRM HAND ON THE HELM – Tim Jeffery Becoming Commodore and having the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s centenary and reinstatement of the Admiral’s Cup occur on your watch was always going to pique interest. To become the club’s first female to hold that office was only going to amplify that interest. Gender: it shouldn’t be a factor nowadays? Yet Dr Deborah Fish’s (OBE) election registered with international online news outlets Yahoo
SEAHORSE 15
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