Above: Race 8: OCS or clean start? Jack Griffin argues why high-precision umpiring is needed rather than humans in boats making OCS calls. Zooming in we can see (right) that at the gun NZL was only 1.46m behind the line, doing 37kt. Do the maths – 77 milliseconds ‘late’
Clockwise from top left: before the start of Race 7 met man Roger ‘Clouds’ Badham told the TNZ crew to favour the right side of the course. The course axis was set at 280°. With the predicted shift the Kiwis set up to windward of GBR at the start. In our diagrams from the umpire system the second line below the boat ID shows TWD for each boat. They indicate the situation at the start, at 15 seconds, at 25 seconds and finally when GBR tacked. The TWD number and the wind line shown on the boats reveal how the right shift came in just before the start. As NZL were on the right they got the shift first. The shift was 7° at the start, topping at 28° then 15° when GBR tacked…
here to stay,’ said ETNZ Design Chief Dan Bernasconi. Modifications might include making the boats lighter. ‘We got a ton off the boats with this generation, but some teams are still carrying ballast,’ he said. Crew configurations could change and
he spoke of reducing the level of automa- tion in the control systems to place more of the sailing functions in the hands of sailors. There could also be more one- design elements in the control systems. Already the foil cant systems and all of the tactical software are standard across the fleet. ‘We might look at going further in that
direction,’ said Bernasconi. ‘All the teams are keen to save costs. These are very complex boats and the entry barrier for a
new team is high. Particularly in that mechatronics area, the electronics and hydraulics, that is super complex. That is another argument for simplying that area, or making more parts of it common.’ At the same time he argued that the
America’s Cup was a design contest and a balance needed to be struck between a rule that was too open or too one-design. To open up entry for new teams Bernasconi adds that care should be taken to ensure rule changes did not make the current generation obsolete. ‘If the rule does not change much, which it is unlikely to, it might be possible for new teams to enter using existing boats. There is a constructed in-country requirement in the Deed of Gift, so that would have to be looked at,
but there are precedents.’ On the perennial issue of cost-cutting,
Dalton hinted at the imposition of manda- tory caps but, as other sporting codes have learnt, this is a devilishly hard area to control. The Women’s America’s Cup, which
made its first appearance at this regatta, and the Youth America’s Cup would remain. Although it was not spelled out, it is assumed these would continue to be sailed in AC40s. Although the defender has the stronger
hand in these discussions, the British will formulate their own positions, no doubt with lobbying from other interested teams to try to ensure challenger interests are also accommodated…
SEAHORSE 51
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