Update
TEMPUS FUGIT – Jack Griffin The 37th America’s Cup entered a new phase in July. All teams are required to do all AC40 and AC75 testing and training in Barcelona from now until October. In mid-September the AC40s will race in Vilanova i La Geltrú, just south of Barcelona, and in October they’ll be racing in Jeddah. Each of the teams has its own set of assets, its own priorities and its own timetable. Alinghi Red Bull Racing has been sailing in Barcelona for a year.
Emirates Team New Zealand got on the water there with Te Rehutai, their winning AC75 from 2021. New York Yacht Club American Magic moved from Pensacola, Florida and began sailing their two AC40s. Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli began sailing their LEQ12 test boat and their AC40. Challenger of Record Ineos wrapped up their operations in Palma in mid-June, but will not be on the water in Barcelona until August. The French Orient Express Team have yet to receive their AC40 but have been competing in SailGP. American Magic have focused on foil design-testing with their two
AC40s – one of them kept in its class-compliant one-design state and the other with multiple foil arms and wings. They have tested various foil wings and bulbs and also with a variety of small ‘shapes’ attached to the foil arms. Remember the foil arm stocks are supplied equipment, but each team develops its own fairings and attachments to the foil wings. American Magic have experimented with shapes on the foil arm
connector which are intended to reduce leeway. The recon team report that these modifications allow the modified AC40 to point significantly higher upwind than the one-design version. The team sailed with these modifications in Pensacola and are
now collecting data on how they perform in the various Barcelona sea states. The recon team have observed that wave angle can make take-offs more difficult on one tack compared to the other. Luna Rossa got a quick introduction to the waters off Barcelona
when they capsized their AC40 on their first day of sailing. The Italians will continue development on their LEQ12 in Cagliari and divide their
14 SEAHORSE
training between Sardinia and Barcelona. They will sail their AC40 in class-compliant configuration as they prepare for the preliminary regatta in Vilanova i La Geltrú. As a new team Alinghi Red Bull Racing entered the contest with
no experience in the foiling monohull AC75. Their team of young sailors have been climbing the learning curve fast, soon mastering the full-sized AC75 bought from ETNZ. As the first challenger after COR Ineos, Alinghi received their two AC40s months ago and have been able to work on racing skills and also two-boat test design concepts by modifying one or other of the 40s. Alinghi had soon also reconfigured the deck layout and crew pods
of their AC75, adding cyclor stations in March. The Swiss team have operated comfortably from their temporary base in Barcelona. Their new base should be ready in the autumn. Alinghi set a new standard with their base in Auckland for the 2003 event. Their base in Valencia in 2007 and 2010 raised that standard; expect their new home in Barcelona to be even more impressive. Emirates Team New Zealand have been sailing their AC75 and
two AC40s, one of them taken out of class to test foil wings and other components. Remember that they are not allowed to use foils or rudders other than those used in 2021. Certain other modifications are permitted including cyclor stations replacing the arm-grinding pedestals. The Kiwis quickly got their Barcelona base operational and started sailing there in Te Rehutai. Their two AC40s should be sailing in Barcelona soon. They have juggled crew line-ups in Barcelona with some of their sailors travelling to SailGP events. Ineos Britannia have had the bumpiest test and development
road of the active teams. The big idea for tow-testing with their LEQ12 test boat never got afloat. LEQ12 yachts are restricted to one mast by the rules and the towing structure the team built was deemed to be a mast. Then they capsized and turtled this test boat and it almost sank.
The control systems sustained severe damage, including batteries that caught fire, costing weeks of testing time lost to the repairs. Of the teams that needed to move to Barcelona, the Brits had
FRANCOIS VAN MALLEGHEM | GUYADER
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