Update
the boat is deliberately slowed down because one cannot work forward when the boat is at full speed.’ Thomas Coville: ‘During a manoeuvre the boat is slowed by
75 per cent. This is one of the challenges alone on an Ultim: every manoeuvre wastes a lot of time. On a race round the world will better manoeuvres make a difference? I doubt it. To ensure you make up the time lost in a manoeuvre the whole strategy, the gain and loss, it all must be calculated perfectly before you begin. ‘When the wind is irregular and gusty an Ultim becomes very
demanding. If you prefer to be cautious you risk being slow for too long. But then if you set up for the average wind a gust can capsize you very easily. It can be scary. I remember arriving by night at Pointe à Pitre in the Rhum in a complete calm surrounded by mountains. I was under gennaker. A strong gust suddenly hit and I had to let everything go just to stay upright. On the other hand, sailing in a steady 25kt wind on a flat Quiberon Bay is pure pleasure! ‘Under one reef and the J3 it goes fast and easy, a steady 45kt
of boatspeed. The high-speed difficulty is cavitation. This limits us to a maximum speed of 50kt. The appendages cannot manage the flow speed – you lose the lift of the foil and fall back into the water. Or if it is the rudder that cavitates first the boat completely skids. ‘We make sure we avoid the cavitation threshold because it
damages the surface of the appendages and reduces their efficiency for the rest of the course. We could design foils that cavitate at higher speeds but that would be at the expense of their efficiency at lower speed. On the Ultims you need versatility. Also, a thinner profile would be better, but there are big structural demands to be met on the foils which limits how thin you can go. That said, we are not here to break speed records. Our goal is to go faster in medium weather and for that there is still a lot of progress to be made. ‘A lot of aerodynamic work was done on the latest-generation
Ultims to reduce the drag of the platforms and we clearly see the difference. Also, the foils are getting larger which requires stronger boats structurally and therefore a little heavier than the previous generation. Same as the Imocas, which are also getting heavier again with complex foil systems and the need for stronger hulls. ‘All these offshore weapons are fantastic technically but they are q
also very demanding for the human who is onboard!’ SNAPSHOTS Brought to you in association with
Let’s put all that AC75 excitement into context, shall we? This is 25-year-old Spanish MotoGP rider Jorge Martin during practice in Valencia this winter. Martin is tipped to be the latest in the long line of fearless Spanish biking superstars. To understand how Spain keeps turning them out, if you’re sailing in Valencia drop by the local track… any day any time you will see just how bike-nuts the nation is. Four years old and up, all doing crazy things at crazy speeds… all on the way to becoming crazy good
18 SEAHORSE
l What else… does he have to do? l Ian Williams… wins his 7th Match Racing world title l They too must have… something extra special in the department of trophy cabinets... l Libby… and Jonathan McKee won another Tasar Worlds in Australia last month… l To add to… well, how long have you got? l But pity poor… Giovanni Soldini… l Brilliant ocean racer… who has achieved great things with the backing of Maserati… l Sadly… Maserati have gone... l But Ferrari… have arrived!!! l US Sailing… suing everyone, burning money on attorneys l Leaving sweet FA… for promising young sailors l IRC bandits… can’t decide? l New 33ft Pogo RC… circa 300-350k euros fully loaded... l A development of… the all-conquering 35ft Lan Ael 3… l Which went float… at 600,000+ euros l Just… trying to save you money lWow… at time of typing Gitana leads the Arkéa Challenge l The original… and still the most ‘committed’ foiling Ultim l Launched in 2017… what’s that about time on the water? l Nuts… or just very good... l The Croatian… Fantella brothers decided to try 49er sailing in a Bora blowing 50kt+ l Recording a top speed… of 24kt in very rough conditions l There’s… a reason people win Olympic gold medals l Hard water too… the DN iceboat class is concerned about rising equipment costs… but is doing something about it l Though a good DN… is still cheaper than a new Laser (sic) l Anyone else tracking… days afloat by different AC teams? l America’s Cup betting… and a word to the wise… l Dennis Conner… multiple Cup winner (and GOAT)… l Endless miles… of testing, thousands of practice corners l Team NZ… brilliant designers, engineers and sailors… l Oh yes… and endless long days afloat testing followed by… l Corner practice… at the end (but heh, they’re competent) l Alinghi… brilliant designers, engineers and sailors... l And… those endless long days afloat full-scale testing… l Oracle USA… pass; but humongous dollars, sneaky lawyers and paying for a lot of nice houses around the world l So… in 2024 why are some teams on the water so rarely? l And there’s your America’s Cup betting guide… FOC l Good decision… Ineos Britannia’s troublesome T6 test boat may not be seen again… l Smart call… UK telemetry boffins monitoring real-time loads l All bloody marvellous… but perhaps not yet? l Slowing down… former RORC commodore David Aisher is selling his immaculate 1989 gaff cutter Thalia l Short... of round-the-world options? l Numbers are growing... for Manfred Ramspacher’s two-handed Globe 40 starting in 2025 l Farewell... to many great sailors this month… l Two-time Tempest World Champion... Cliff Norbury was one of the best UK dinghy sailors through the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, and of course worked with Ian Proctor to create the eponymous sparmaker… l Barrie Perry... another original Proctor Masts co-founder… l Larry Marks... dinghy champion of legend, especially in 505s l And… Tony Blatchford, dinghy champion, 3/4 Ton Cup winner and the beating heart of many a yacht club l Last but… definitely not least, we missed the passing of young Pete Conway a few months back… l The… most enthusiastic dinghy sailor you ever met… l Trapezing… on Int 14s and skiffs into his 80s l Pete… has set a standard by which all ageing dinghy sailors must now be judged! l And all of them... a wonderful credit to the sport l Maybe soon… we’ll be offering old AC75s at
RaceboatsOnly.com l Worth the money… find out at
EurosailNews.com?
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