News Around the World
One of the less talked about aspects of this America’s Cup has been the validation of the twin-skin mainsails mandatory in the AC75 class; while not as efficient as a solid wing the double-skin sails hung off the aft face of the fat D-section spars (left) can be up to 25 per cent more efficient than a traditional soft sail. At AC75 level control of these rigs is enormously complicated, but for wider use this could be simplified. Compared with the solid rig the twin-skin set-up can be raised, lowered and in theory even reefed with the spar left in the boat rather than removed overnight. And of course sailmakers get to sell double the number of mainsails… crafty
Guadeloupe the equipment was still in good condition but during the delivery back the steering system began to deteriorate. Arriving in France, the bearings were dead. ‘Either you have a liftable rudder as on Gitana (but these are
complex and fragile parts), or you have a fixed rudder… which leaves the windward rudder to be severely stressed by the repeated impacts of the waves, plus the supporting structure threatens to break or the bearings or even the rudder stock itself. ‘For the Jules Verne Trophy we had standard rudders without
elevators (with a spare rudder onboard) and a normal centreboard without any wing at the bottom.’ Francis’s motto has always been ‘keep it simple’. Looks like a
good philosophy for rounding the world at full throttle. With a piece of luck as he had around the Antarctic, he established a record that could not be beaten for a long time, even by the ‘flying’ but vulnerable Ultims. Francis had also thought to install bigger foils on Idec Sport for
flying, but it was very costly in terms of weight and makes a taller mast necessary again… ‘A vicious circle’ for him. He is very happy with the boat as she is; Francis and Idec Sport could once again play a nice part in the Atlantic later this year… Patrice Carpentier
NEW ZEALAND Down the 170-year history of the America’s Cup one hard certainty has become cast in stone: the fastest boat always wins. With the 36th America’s Cup still to be decided in March, the mantra may well prove itself again. The Prada Cup challenger series, however, called that certainty into question. There is a strong suspicion that the fastest challenger boat made
the quickest exit from the competition. Excused further participation was the devastatingly polite way the New York Yacht Club would
24 SEAHORSE
banish defeated crews from its defence selection trials when the club enjoyed its 132-year stranglehold on the trophy. In Auckland, sweltering under a glorious January summer, no diplomatic language could mask the cold reality for the NYYC’s American Magic team. ‘It’s brutal,’ said skipper Terry Hutchinson, as he choked back tears over their early eviction from the competition. Like a defeated army, the giant Stars & Stripes flag was lowered
from its waterfront base, the arsenal of boats and equipment packed away and the crew scattered to the winds. Unless the gap is huge and without the precise data from the
boats, absolute speed is difficult to gauge across all the variables involved. But, on the eve of the Prada Cup, the court of waterfront opinion judged American Magic the fastest of the challengers, with a bias towards medium-fresh conditions. It was clearly the strongest challenger in the pre-Christmas racing, with a 4-2 record; and they were the only team to beat Emirates Team New Zealand. ‘Dangerously fast’ is how Ineos skipper Sir Ben Ainslie described
the American boat. ‘Probably the fastest in a certain wind range,’ conceded Luna Rossa skipper Max Sirena. The bookies felt the same way. On the eve of the Prada Cup they were paying $4 on USA, with Luna Rossa on $6 and Ineos on a whopping $41. The Prada Cup results confounded the predictions. In the two
round-robins and the semi-final American Magic did not record a single win, going down to an ignominious 0-10 scoresheet. By contrast Ineos Team UK, which did not register a point before
Christmas, rocketed directly through to the Prada Cup final with an unblemished 6-0 record. Luna Rossa’s 3-3 round-robin score flatters to deceive: all three
of its victories were at the expense of the Americans, two of them when American Magic was in pieces back at the base following their disastrous capsize on 17 January. The dramatic form reversals of the British and American teams
GILLES MARTIN-RAGET
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