Update
unaligned with the waves. Each team needed to make their own set of subjective assumptions: design for winds in the 8-10kt range, to be expected during the Match in October, or for 12-15kt, which might be seen during the challenger selection series in September? Opti- mise for upwind or downwind? Prioritise top-end speed and overcome cavitation, or low speed and provide easier take-off? The innovative and successful shared reconnaissance programme
gave us a steady stream of detailed images to follow each team’s development, at least until the programme ended in mid-June. The data from the recon programme gave each team information to feed their simulators to develop VPPs for their competitors. As always in the America’s Cup, development continued until the
very last race of the match, sometimes visible to us, most times not. Relatively late, we could see that ETNZ added a fairing over their mainsheet traveller, reminiscent of the ‘pie warmer’ spoilers they added on the aft crossbeam of their AC72 catamaran in 2013. Invisible to us but essential to Ineos Britannia, their AC75 sent
a constant stream of real-time data from the yacht to the Mercedes- AMG design centre in Brackley, just as F1 teams do when a car is on track. This will have allowed software changes for the control systems to be coded and then sent to Barcelona for installation on the yacht in time for the next race. Changes to the yachts during racing were strictly limited, a very
different situation from the one in San Francisco in 2013. For each of the 19 races in the 2013 Match, Oracle presented a different measurement certificate! In Barcelona in 2024 teams had to fix their configuration and declare it five days before the start of each round of competition. This had two important effects. One, that foils and rudders had
to be designed for a range of conditions. Even if they could predict the likely wind at the beginning of the Match there would be no way to know what they might face in the last race, and the last race is the one you must win! Two, this made life slightly less insane for the shore crews. Instead of waiting each evening for the weather call for the following day and then working through the night to reconfigure the yacht, they could just perform the daily maintenance routines and be on standby in case of breakage or breakdowns. When the Match began we had not seen ETNZ racing since the
end of the round robin. (Remember that races against ETNZ did not count towards the score among the challengers.) But ETNZ had written a bit of intentional and transparent unfairness
into the rules: they had access to the racecourse during the LVC semi-finals and finals. They could train in exactly the same conditions that their future opponent raced in. And, since they were training, not racing, their yacht did not need to comply with the class rules. This allowed them to mount Lidar sensors on their yacht to measure the exact wind and wave state, and even to see the texture of the water surface. TNZ could also access all the data coming off the potential challengers during Louis Vuitton Cup races. So what did GBR and NZL bring to the Match? GBR seemed to
have an advantage in a straight line and downwind and in a rougher sea state. NZL lost Race 5 during pre-start manoeuvring when they fell off their foils in light wind and were not able to lift off in the chop and waves until GBR had built an insurmountable lead. In flat water and light wind NZL’s unique mainsail controls seemed
to give them the ability to accelerate faster out of tacks and to shift gears more quickly, moding the boat for power or speed on the fly (pun intended). Other teams had a single mainsheet controlling both mainsail skins. NZL had a separate sheet for each skin, allowing independent control over the depth of each skin. The mainsheet control seemed to be linked to mast rotation and to jib trim, which is allowed by the class rule. We couldn’t see how they controlled the outhaul and Cunningham; they were probably part of the same control loop. All the teams put up a good fight and a good show in Barcelona.
The Brits have come a long way since Bermuda, making it to the AC Match. The Kiwis had a strong team in the right boat for the conditions. Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron immediately accepted a challenge from the Royal Yacht Squadron for the next defence. We can enjoy going back and replaying the videos of the races
while we wait for the details of the next edition.
CupExperience.com
18 SEAHORSE q SNAPSHOTS Brought to you in association with
l We still don’t know… who the anonymous weasel was who complained about Sir Ben’s use of entirely appropriate fruity language during a Cup interview… l He/she/it was definitely… unconnected with a Cup team l He/she/it is definitely… a complete tosser l Note: Conner Blouin (USA) is Sunfish World Champion… l Why… previous Sunfish champs include, famously, a young and light-displacement John Kostecki… l Plus… Gary Hoyt, Andy Pimental, Dave Chapin, Scott Kyle and Paul Foerster l Crikey… the eventual goal of current SailGP CEO Andrew Thompson is to be running 18-20 events per season… l Over to you… Larry? lBTW… the Seahorse story by Ian Ward about the benefits of adding a small booster to a Skeeta rudder for light airs… l Well, someone read it… because now the same move is being evaluated for the F50 foilers in SailGP l Legacy… key broker in putting together what became the Ruyant/Goodchild Vendée Globe assault was none other than our former editor Marcus Hutchinson… l Sad face… the Ultim Gitana will not be challenging for the Jules Verne this winter after dismasting… l Plus… they have a shiny new one to prepare for soon… l One careful owner… when the current boat goes onto RaceBoatsOnly it will have around 190,000nm on the clock l A top speed… of 51.7kt and 15 podiums in 16 races l The new one… will require more than 220,000 man-hours from start to launch l And not… on minimum wage either l Fair to say that… Swiss Vendée skipper Alan Roura felt underwhelmed after taking over the former Hugo Boss… l A strange… sailplan, foils that didn’t do much, poor balance, no rake, too light (he added 300kg to the bulb), sticky in light air… his list went on… l He also… cut 4m off the bow and redesigned it… l Harsh… he does, however, concede that ‘the boat was very tailored to Alex’s own sailing style…’ l Which… was obviously ‘very different to mine!!’ l 400 watts... sometimes even 500 watts the best cyclors were hitting in Barcelona… l ‘Ripped’ road cyclist… Tadej Pogacar can average 7 watts/kg for 40 minutes in the Tour de France... l In the velodrome… outputs of 2,000W are not unusual… l Allegedly!!! one group of people we do not wish to insult l Consolation prize… as Giles Scott passed the port wheel of Ineos Britannia to Dylan Fletcher he was, however, confirmed as skipper of Canada SailGP for 2025 l Zut alors… 14 of the 40 skippers scheduled to start the
2024/25 Vendée Globe are not French… l We need… to talk l Is Australia on the brink of… a big Cup comeback… l Asked… a Sydney paper straight after the 37th Match... l No… we chorused, with glum expressions… but it would be nice if it happened l Huge, huge… congratulations to indefatigable Finn sailor Howard Sellars (GBR)… l 212th… in the 2024 World Masters in Punta Ala (in a fleet of about 10,000)… l A Finn Super Legend… Howard was born in 1941 l Quality boatbuilding… it is well known that Fairey Marine (ex-Fairey Aviation) used birch ply left from building Mosquito night fighters and Horsa military gliders to build early Fireflys for the 1948 Olympics and other hot-moulded dinghies… l But those materials!! There is a 1940s Merlin Rocket still sailing on the River Thames where the original stamp of the plywood supplier remains visible beneath the varnish l Stay tuned… we shall have more about the ‘real’ origins of autoclave-cured composite boatbuilding in a future issue l RaceboatsOnly… look at Patrice Carpentier’s JPK 960 l How much winnings… did he achieve with this Groupe 5? l You’ll find that… at
EurosailNews.com
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