Update
slow airborne gybes like a Moth. And, interestingly, while foiling cats typically don’t like waves, Davies reckons the AC75 will. ‘You can have a quick adjustment on the foils and it is not a big deal if you touch down every now and then. You can also go into “safe mode”’ with both foils down. It is still very very quick like that – there’s not a huge speed loss.’ Alarmingly he adds: ‘With this boat you could go and do coastal races. It would be awesome. We might go and do the Coastal Classic.’ The rule is expected to be completed by March, leaving teams
with a few months to complete R&D before starting to build ready for the first launches in 2019. James Boyd
BEST JUDGEMENT – Grant Simmer Blue Robinson spoke to Grant Simmer on his first day at BAR Seahorse: You were part of the management team with Oracle that designed the beast of an AC72. What are your impressions here on the first renderings from ETNZ? Grant Simmer: What is good is that it’s high performance, really high performance. And it will be a difficult technical challenge as it’s a boat the like of which none of us has sailed before. It is often hard to anticipate ultimately what will be the deciding technical factor that will determine who wins the Cup; when we started with the AC72s we didn’t anticipate foiling, much less foiling gybes. The next thing we knew we were foiling upwind, so this Cup will evolve. In my experience you are not quite sure where you are going and
so you just keep applying your best judgment as the project evolves. Take the foiling tacks in Bermuda, we were only doing foiling tacks in the final three months; so in something as technically aggressive as an America’s Cup we don’t know where we will end up, but it will be a hell of an adventure getting there. SH: You have known Team New Zealand technical head Dan Bernasconi since working with him in the Alinghi campaigns… GS:Dan and ETNZ have been great in terms of keeping us informed. I think Dan’s VPP, both static and dynamic, is considered to be the best in the industry at the moment. People may hate me saying that but that is his reputation and clearly he was a critical component of the physics behind the Kiwi AC50, along with Guillaume Verdier, who uses the same VPP with all the cool boats he is doing. SH: The AC36 Protocol allows for TP52 sailing, but no other surrogate yacht exceeding 12m. Is there the possibility then of an oversized Moth – slightly less than 12m in length? GS: There is… Development will be a combination of numerical studies, like dynamic VPPs and simulators, and then doing some- thing in test boats. Now whether these are 12m long or something smaller is something we need to think about. We are not launching into building a 12m foiling monohull just yet. We haven’t discussed this yet but for training purposes I believe
the Moths are relevant. We have Moths here in Portsmouth, it’s just that the water here is too bloody cold to sail them! Now you have got me thinking, Blue, that I need to learn to sail a Moth as well. Maybe we should go somewhere warm and take Philippe Presti on… SH: Where do you need to reshape your new team? GS:That’s a big question. The technical director Richard Hopkirk has come out of McLaren’s F1 programme; he is a really, really clever guy, but I am hoping that my own experience in the Cup can help us finesse the strategic decisions. I have been the design co-ordinator for several successful Cup campaigns, so Richard’s technical skills combined with my experience, together with the guys we’re putting together in our design team mean I am pretty confident. Clearly BAR didn’t make good technical decisions last time, but the team have critically assessed that and are now in a pretty strong position. SH: What are the team’s objectives in terms of crew? GS: There always are the specific athletes who have Cup potential, and we are rebuilding our sailing team, but now under Ben and Giles [Scott]. It’s a pretty strong base – I would say one of the real assets are those two guys. Give them equal equipment and I would put my money on them; it is our job to make sure we give them equal or better equipment.
q 16 SEAHORSE
SNAPSHOTS Brought to you in association with
l Massive…Macif l François…‘never knowingly beaten’ Gabart passed Good Hope solo more than an hour faster than Banque Pop V did it with 14 crew l 851nm…in 24 hours for Gabart l That’s…just for starters, we reckon l Silverrudder…race registrations? l The hoobeedoobie…solo classic sold out all 450 entry slots in 39 minutes l And…51 of those are fast puppies from Seascape l Sizeable story…the Maxi class is now open to yachts up to 115ft l Allowing in…some of the big glamour-pusses that were excluded under the old 100ft limit l Two females and a dog…found drifting in the Pacific? l Really…we never bought it for a second l Plus…how many dogs did they start out with? l Those shipwrecks…in full l When Vestas hit the rocks…three years ago it prompted an environmental row while the team did their best to limit damage to the coral atoll l When a…Clipper yacht bumped into South Africa recently it prompted another unholy row about the clean-up l And, no…naughty readers l We know what…you’re wondering l You…can be very bad people l Meanwhile…a bigger environmental row has been kicking off in Bermuda after the tents had been packed away l After…much of the floor of the Great Sound was found to have been shredded by Cup activity l Along…with the removal of the entire local population of sea turtles l Never mentioned that…did they? l At least…the 35th Cup is claimed to have left a boost to the island finances that outweighed the $77million hosting fee l Heh, turtles... get with the P&L l Great move(s)…Richard Brisius and Johan Salén are (finally) in charge of the Volvo Ocean Race l EF…Assa Abloy, Ericsson, Intrum, SCA… a history of race wins and project success l Spare…a major thought l While…the Caribbean clean-up proceeds at a breathtaking pace l The recycling…problems of a large group of semi-remote small islands are proving very serious l Maybe redirect…some other initiatives for a while, people? l It took a big…rework for series production by creator David Raison l But in January…you can buy yourself an off-the-peg Mini Scow from IDB in Brittany l Where…else? l Much more…next month l That’s before…we talk about the 40-footer l No sooner…have we seen a ‘draft’ AC75 l Than…people are talking a scaled-down 40 l Whoa…boys! l Steady… l Already…who will pay, where can we do it? l The Auckland…City Council are already having serious disagreements over plans for an America’s Cup venue l Meanwhile…Italy waits patiently l Stay after 4 o/clock…you bunch of jobsworths and sort it out l Ciao… l Next…TP52 champions Azzurra have lost their jovial (and really rather good) tactician Vasco Vascotto to Luna Rossa l WTF…eSailing Worlds, shifting conference venues around some of the most luxurious venues on earth l And…the sailing? l Finessed…the HP30 class has relaunched with tighter parameters l That one... will happen l After 25 years…and five Olympic medals (two gold) Robert Scheidt has hung up his Olympic boots l But…only the Olympic boots l Great sailor…terrific guy l Role model…(not hyperbole) l Now for…RaceBoatsOnly and ScuttlebuttEurope l Spend it wisely…
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