DRONE FLYING BULL
As the newest entrant to the America’s Cup, despite a storied and winning history at the event, the learning curve that the young Swiss sailors are on at Alinghi Red Bull Racing is almost vertical. Aided by the experience of their Sailing Advisers Pietro Sibello and Dean Barker, both veterans of multiple Cups and most recently at Auckland in 2021, everything the team does is a learning experience.
On Saturday first attempts were made at tow to foil procedures. Four were attempted but none were ultimately successful as the wind just refused to play ball until the call was made to tow out to just south of the airport to find a modicum of more stable late afternoon breeze. Once they found that, BoatZero was in its element, revelling in the 7 knots and able to maintain flight, hitting speeds in the 20-knot bracket and enjoying a solid hour of intense training. Interestingly, once the boat was in flight, the Alinghi Red Bull Racing chase boat launched a drone to buzz around the boat capturing photos from all angles with a particular focus being shots from the bow looking aft at mid-mast height – presumably looking at sail trim and adding a whole new dimension to data capturing.
The Swiss are leaving no stone unturned in the quest to win the America’s Cup and we should see this week, the re-cut M1 mainsail to fit the new boomless arrangement which will give the team more options when the wind is in the lower bracket. We could also see the introduction of cyclors at some point very soon and judging by the crew video diaries, their training regimen is heavily cycle-based with the power group taking regular evening rides in the hills around Barcelona and turbo-trainers set up in their living rooms. From what we’re seeing out in Pensacola with American Magic, the cyclors are proving to be highly efficient and more than capable of meeting, if not exceeding, the power demands of the AC75.
After five hours on the water today, the team docked in just after sunset and Arnaud Psarofaghis, one of the coolest heads in the America’s Cup commented: “Today we knew it was going to be light and a long day on the water so we went out at midday and were waiting for the wind that didn’t really fill in before 4 o’clock…we got the testing that we wanted at the end so it was a good day for us.” And when asked about the tow-to-foil manoeuvres, he was equally pragmatic: “We never did it before so it was a good day to try it but the wind was quite light so we couldn’t keep up when we left the tow – just to try, we didn’t achieve them, but it was good training for the next time.”
This step-by-step approach is the hallmark of Alinghi Red Bull Racing who are methodical in everything they do and with the programme continuing on at pace, they are just getting better and better with each session.
A fascinating watch – the Bull is coming, fast. (Magnus Wheatley)
On-Water Recon Unit Notes: With very light winds before noon, the team docked out just after midday to find stronger breeze. The yacht was not able to get on foils without tow-assisted starts, which also did not work effectively. Aiming to get data on the clew, the yacht was towed southwest past the harbour entrance, towards the airport. With marginally more wind, Alinghi managed a stint of an hour consisting of long legs on foil. The session was brought to an end the yacht towed back just before sunset.
Wind speeds were measured with an anemometer 3m above sea level. The wind remained light all day, clocking from East to South. 4-kn 70° @ 13:30, 5-6kn 160° @ 14:15, 5-6kn 160° @ 14:50, 5.5-7.5kn 190° @ 15:30, 6-8kn 190° @ 15:50. Sailing 13:35 - 14:00 (Displacement Mode, 3 Non Foiling Tacks), Towing Inshore 14:15 - 14:20, Sailing 14:20 - 14:35, Tow-assisted foiling 14:35 - 15:00 (4 unsuccessful attempts made, the yacht was not able to maintain stable flight once releasing the tow line), Towing South West 15:30 - 15:40, Sailing 15:50 - 16:50 (1 Non Foiling Tack, 1 Foiling Tack - Touch Down, 1 Foiling Gybe - Touch Down). Sails down at 17:00 and tow back to base.
Driving Group: Arnaud Psarofaghis, Dean Barker, Yves Detrey, Bryan Mettraux, Pietro Sibello
Power Group: Nicolas Rolaz, Nils Theuninck, Augustin Maillefer, Thery Schir, Nico Stahlberg, Florian Trub
Sails:
Mainsail: M2-2L - Hoisted @ 12:50, Dropped @ 17:00
Jib: J1-1R - Hoisted @ 13:30 , Dropped @ 16:55
Dock-out: 12.30pm Dock-in: 5.30pm
Total Tacks: 5 – 1 foiling, 4 touchdowns.
Total Gybes: 1 – touchdown
Take off at 20 knots (estimated) at 90 degrees TWA (True Wind Angle)