News Around the World Early outings indicated a boat that will lift off quickly, even in


winds at the bottom of the 6kt racing range. This quick take-off is believed to come from the combination of the pronounced bustle running down the centreline of the underbody and the hard chine. The idea is to think of it as a narrow multihull. As the boat heels slightly it rides on the bustle and chine, reducing drag and promoting lift onto the foils. The team is tight-lipped about crew choreography but skipper


Peter Burling’s helm position is forward, with two crew positioned behind him. In tacks it appears three crew move across the boat, running forward around the mast. The crew are positioned in four separate cockpits, two on either side, unlike on the other boats which have long crew trenches. All the boats emphasise positioning the crew low and out of the wind to improve aerodynamics. Looking at the depth of the ETNZ cockpits, they resemble battle -


ground foxholes, which would take some athletic ability to escape. Burling shrugged that off as a non-issue, although Bernasconi acknowledged: ‘We built mock-ups for crew training, but it is one thing doing it in the shed and quite another thing doing it in the middle of a foiling gybe at 40kt. We will see how they go.’ Apart from aerodynamics, the high sides of the cockpits and the


sloping deck in between are designed to shed water and protect instrumentation in the event of a nose-plant, but may also provide a bonus in terms of additional mainsail area. ‘Under the rule there is a datum point just aft of the mast,’ notes Lester. ‘The way the deck curves down aft of that point provides additional


free sail area. Although that is a low pressure zone, in terms of end-plate effect it is still generating horsepower in some form.’ Of course, natural as it is to focus on the canoe body shapes


of the new boats and analyse the thinking behind them, it is a given that major aspects of their performance lie hidden beneath the surface. The control systems, foil wings and the shaping of the twin- luff mainsail probably have as much, if not more, to do with the winning and losing of the Cup – most of which will remain very closely guarded for the duration. It is 17 years since New Zealand was last an America’s Cup


defender. It now finds itself under fire, particularly from the Italian Challenger of Record, which has transformed from one-time ally to hostile invader. ETNZ boss Grant Dalton has spoken of withstanding a ‘hail of bullets’. Never one to shy away from battle, he told an interviewer the attacks were invigorating and motivating. However, it is one thing to face onslaughts from the challengers,


but ETNZ has also been attacked from within with former event contractors Mayo & Calder raising questions about the management of government funds, all of which is subject to litigation. At the ETNZ launch chairman of the board Sir Stephen Tindall made reference to the controversy. ‘In more than 50 years in business, management and governance I have never come across anything as diverse, difficult and complicated as organising a team and running the AC event in one go. ‘Add to this the history of the AC and other teams funded by


billionaires with massively bigger budgets trying everything to disrupt the defender. But,’ he added, ‘let me assure you of our integrity in these matters and that those distractions have not impacted our campaign, our designers, the sailors and our broader team.’ While most expect that once the racing begins the extraneous


noise and disputes will fade into the background, the challengers are likely to jab and probe at any potential holes in ETNZ’s defences, including design. ‘There is always a possibility somebody will have a go at us,’ says Bernasconi. ‘However, we know the rule pretty well. We wrote it and think we know what it means. We studied it very hard to make sure there is nothing on the boat we don’t think is 100 per cent legitimate.’ Burling added: ‘I don’t think we are pushing the rule. The


measurers have been all over it through the process. The lines are a bit different from what you see out there in the paddock. That is the culmination of a lot of development from Boat One and the 12m Te Kahu, and a lot of hours in design, thinking through problems


26 SEAHORSE


we had with our first boat and being innovative in the way we have gone about trying to solve them. It is about how creative the team is and trying to solve the problem. It has been amazing to see the ideas bouncing around.’ As for sailing the boat, he described it as a bit different and quite


similar at the same time. ‘The faster it goes the easier it is. Hopefully it goes as well as we think it will.’ Ivor Wilkins


AUSTRALIA Controlling the controllables – Lisa Darmanin Seahorse Magazine: Having won silver at the Rio Olympics in the Nacra 17 just behind Santiago Lange and Cecilia Saroli, was Tokyo the goal for you and Jason Waterhouse after 2016? Lisa Darmanin: Jason and I decided before the Rio Olympics that we would continue whatever the outcome was in 2016 – gold, fifth place or whatever – but getting a silver medal really intensified that focus, and so 100 per cent we were going again. A very easy decision for both of us. SH: But a close podium for the Nacras back in Rio… LD: It was, and I have to say it felt pretty rough missing out on a gold medal by just one point. So it took a little while for us to realise that a silver medal was a fantastic achievement and that we had come incredibly close to our ultimate goal. Nevertheless, to stand on that podium was very special as 24-year-olds at our first Olympics. SH: Plus you are looking out at the rest of the fleet stuffed with talent... who didn’t make the podium. LD: Sure… I think the reason Jason and I have generally done well is we have a strong belief in ourselves and we are totally confident we can achieve great things. When you start looking at the people that we are racing against you immediately see how good they are; but it is important to put them out of your mind and realise they are just another boat on the course. But, for sure, to race against the best in the world – that is a very cool thing to be able to do! SH: Same support team this time around? LD:We had Andrew Landenberger as our coach going into Rio, when we were racing against Darren Bundock and Nina Curtis. And now Bundy is our coach. He is back at his farm with his family and so we are lucky to have his experience and input as a fantastic coach. SH: What sort of adjustments were learnt during the Rio cycle? More regattas, fewer regattas, more international travel? Less? LD: We did a lot of sailing and racing that first quad heading into Rio, but we were new to the Olympic circuit and we really needed to do that. Because the Nacra 17 then changed to foiling there needed to be a lot of time on the water to get to grips with all that. But I don’t think there have been many major changes in our training process, I would say we are probably a bit more relaxed than we were back in the Rio quad and basically that is down to experience in the campaign, knowing what is important and what is not. SH: Different influences from different sports coaches? LD:Sure. After Rio Jason went to Bermuda to sail with the SoftBank America’s Cup team where he worked closely with people like Chris Draper, which was really good for him, plus of course the level of experience around him as part of the Australian SailGP Team. We also put a strong emphasis on having a life outside Olympic sailing – which we feel strongly supports our campaign from the wider per- spective. Plus we use some seriously good sailors around the world who we know well to bounce ideas off. SH: Key things outside sailing? LD: For Jason it was a professional sailing route. For me I completed my university degree during the Rio quad. So after the Rio Games I just wanted to ensure I was advancing my career, and that has involved event management plus commentating and reporting for SailGP which I really enjoy. I guess that is driven by a strong passion for sailing, and I wanted to be part of explaining this technical sport we love in a way for the public to understand. SH: Any changes to nutrition? LD: Very little. We were pretty professional heading into Rio. With


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