Left: not so different from an America’s Cup AC75 at all, just this flying spider has one extra leg in the middle to give it some permanent stability which, given the Imoca track includes the Southern Ocean, seems sensible. But that is not what is interesting rival Vendée Globe teams about Armel Tripon’s Sam Manuard-designed Imoca scow L’Occitane. Tripon only managed a few days’ sailing before lockdown but his boat was clearly flying very level from the outset and very smoothly. For an Imoca the scow platform has two key advantages: the boat does not slow so much in a bow touchdown; and in the event of damage L’Occitane still performs well without her foils. Tripon already has a second set of foils ready – he also does not seem bothered about a lack of opportunities to go up against another Imoca any time soon. Another criterion was a foil configuration that allows the foils to be lifted well clear of the water when conditions are either very rough or very light. For a brand new design Tripon’s team were quickly into refinement, focusing on reducing ride height from the maximum for steadier flight. No one was arguing that L’Occitane did not immediately look very good in flat water at least. If Manuard and Tripon are right, and get enough preparation, some of their competition have cause to be worried
the opportunity to truly thank the city and community of Pensacola for opening their doors to us has also been quarantined. As I have written in the past Pensacola Bay is a phenomenal venue for testing a foiling AC75 or really any type of racing. In the bay or Gulf of Mexico I think you could choose your preferred conditions and the sky is the limit to the options on hand. I can’t help but think that Defiant’s last day on the bay was a bit anticlimactic given the conditions were as good as they have ever been. Who knows, maybe there will be a chance in the future to come back to train and race? By the time this entry is on your kitchen counter we will have
executed on a pivotal decision for our programme. All of our gear will have been loaded and be on its way to New Zealand. It is a nervous time as we have no guarantee at this very moment when non-New Zealand citizens will be allowed into the country. We do know our future is in Auckland and we can only ‘hope’, a great value but not necessarily a great strategy, that by the time Defiant and the gear land in early June the New Zealand government has set up a smart, safe process to allow us to execute our planning. As I write (22 April) Luna Rossa are on the water sailing with
masks on. While we made a conservative decision not to sail, we also know the clock is ticking. As always, time is the one commodity that none of the teams
can get back and we know for a fact we can never have enough. Needless to say, sweaty palms as we are completely relying on a lot of factors out of our control to line up. What’s next? Well, the design and manufacturing side of American
Magic are running full steam ahead. The positive of ‘down time’ with the sailing operation is that we are getting caught up in other areas of the team. The team in Bristol, with the help of Governor of Rhode Island, Gina Raimondo, have kept the manufacturing of boat 2 on track. Her strong leadership through this precarious time has been instrumental in our schedule (one of those things out of our control). This, coupled with the experience of design/production manager Silvio Arrivabene and our boatbuilder Brandon Linton, have been instrumental. We are not out of the woods yet, far from it, so when this is on your kitchen counter let’s see what the mood is? In the past I have heard and probably said that the America’s
Cup is a race for your life. In retrospect that is a mistake given the world environment and the humanitarian crisis that has and is taking place. I can only be thankful that my family are safe and healthy. Our team are weathering the storm and as a sailing community you can see that this storm will pass and when we are all crossing tacks the world will be better. Stay safe, healthy, and keep your head down – it is called the boom for a reason! Standing by, 22 April, Pensacola, Florida
DECEPTIVE – Peter Holmberg In case you missed it, there was a major port/starboard collision recently at the start of Race 1 in Antigua between two J Class yachts. Usually after a major incident like this it is best for those involved to say less rather than more. But, with some of the speculation and
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