So did the Elephant Boatyard’s Tom Richardson take steps to protect the Black Bottom design (inset/right) he later built for the 1973 Quarter Ton Cup? If so, with the help of a good solicitor he could be on for some nice clothing by Belstaff or perhaps even one of Ineos Team UK owner Jim Ratcliffe’s Grenadier Land Rover Defender ‘replacements’. While Britannia II’s curiously ropey-looking keel hints at a disguise, or trial fairing, what we do know is Black Bottom’s similar bulge was never judged to be a universal success!
under load, but that will certainly have been a design factor. And we can only guess about the systems that the ‘flight controller’ on each yacht will be using. The designers also get paid for conceiving and building the control systems. And reliability will be key. The AC75s fly fast enough for cavitation to be a major design
issue. Low-pressure zones around the foil wings lead to this low-temperature boiling, and the hydrofoils then operate in lower- density water vapour rather than the liquid state. The ratio of foil thickness to chord has a major effect for the onset of cavitation. But we’ll leave those issues for a future article, and stick with lift for now. For a full understanding of lift you can read McLean’s 38 pages. Or you can rely on the 17 words of this haiku to help you remember the four main factors that influence lift: AoA. Foil Shape. Fluid density. Flow speed. Newton. Bernoulli. The AC75s are poetry in motion.
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WHAT A WEEK! – Terry Hutchinson On Friday 16 October in front of families, team members and local supporters NYYC American Magic christened boat 2, Patriot. US General Consul Katelyn Choe pulled the lever and cracked the bottle, signalling a new beginning. Patriot splashed and continued with a series of system checks and loading. From there we towed her out onto the Waitemata Harbor heading
towards Rangitoto Lighthouse. The forecast was light and, while we planned on some simple load testing and towing to check off the foil cant system (FCS), the greatest plans go by the wayside. The southwest sea breeze had other plans and pumped in at a solid 18-22kt. As any group of kids would do with a new toy, Dean said let’s sheet on and have a sail. It was awesome! Patriot came to life and off we went. The end of the sail was marked by a second launching. I am sure most have seen the video, but we all had a good chuckle onboard and fortunately no damage was done. In retrospect maybe a bit aggressive but, oh well, no harm no
foul and so begins the development. Sitting here we are on the front side of the learning curve. Picking
up where we left off with Defiant and yet there are not a lot of similarities between the Defiant and Patriot hull forms. That is the most exciting part. Understanding the nuances of a new boat and
doing it all, your hair on fire. Defiant served her purpose for American Magic and taught us some valuable lessons. We did get a bit loose, had a capsize, some incredible days’ yachting, learned a lot about systems and how to develop some reliability. Onto Patriot! Since our launch Ineos Team UK and Luna Rossa have launched
their second boats. As with Patriot, both teams have taken steps forward and you can see with the evolution of hulls, deck layouts and aero features that the fleet is raising the bar. All that’s left is the Defender and the evolution will be complete. Exciting times! As I think about the next eight weeks of development the team
that manages reliability and time will be in a strong spot. From the Christmas Cup (17-20 December) each challenger will have 25 days to the start of the challenger series. Gives me sweaty palms thinking about it as it will all be over in a blink of an eye! Best not to dwell on it. Looking forward to the eight weeks in
front of us and seeing the potential of Patriot. As I write we are on day 70 of AC75 sailing and day 4 in Patriot. Standing by in Auckland, New Zealand!
FULL MARKS – Marcus Stamper In these challenging times for every public event, to see through something on the scale of a boat show requires a window of oppor- tunity with local restrictions, but –much more important – it demands real political courage. For many boat show organisers national and local restrictions have simply made it impossible to proceed. How- ever, in other cases it has been the lack of that political courage or, worse, the temptation to pander to political masters that has brought commercial chaos and the wasting of large amounts of precious cash for marine companies at a time when every cent saved helps to keep someone in a job. Having not been in the rooms when the last-minute fiascos played
out in Cannes and Southampton it’s hard to judge. Cannes cancelled with a few days to go, Southampton literally just a few hours before opening the doors, with exhibition stands completed and sales staff on site. But the post-cancellation mud slinging didn’t exactly inspire confidence. But when that political courage came to be tested, while found
wanting elsewhere, not so the organisers of this year’s Genoa Boat Show, run successfully and safely at the heart of what a few months before had been one of Europe’s worst disease hotspots. Good planning, hard work and sensible precautions, masks indoors and
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