MAGIC CROSSOVERS
Mother Nature was proving its fickle best out on the glittering early winter expanse of Pensacola Bay yesterday. American Magic pushed out a solid session of crew training, which is very much the focus through to the Christmas break, that at times was a battle against the elements.
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t was a stop-start kind of day but still the team covered some 55 nautical miles and executed their now-customary high number of tacks and gybes. These training days are intense and unrelenting with emphasis on crew-work and crew-dynamics as team members swap positions and rotate. The longer vision of this is compelling – as having multi-tasking crew members able to cover multiple positions onboard these AC75s, particularly when the crew numbers go down to just eight onboard the 2024 versions, is going to be vital. Understanding the technicalities of each position and getting everyone into that ‘second-nature’ level of comfort onboard is the ultimate aim for the American Magic project. Consider too that they are bedding in two helmsmen in Paul Goodison and Tom Slingsby, steering from across the pods and the requirement for effective and clear communication is at a paramount.
As Tom Slingsby said afterwards: “For me it’s learning how to take the boat off the water as it’s a bit different from a (foiling) catamaran (as) you don’t have the same stability. And just getting the balance right of sail trim, foil lift and how you get to your tale-off speed as quick as possible.” Tom, and indeed Paul Goodison, are refreshingly honest in interview and provide superb insights into their progress. Tom continued his summation of the day saying: “It’s all about learning the crossovers and where the boat can do a foiling manoeuvre and where it can’t, what angles the boat likes to come out of manoeuvres and accelerations.”
Patriot was pushing its light air performance today, an area where there was a perception in Auckland that they struggled and in the ultimate crossover condition where the team thought the wind would build but ultimately it faded, having the smaller AM-MN9 mainsail up was somewhat of a hinderance. The team has a slightly larger one at their disposal but the call was made to go with the smaller one rather than sending the chase boat ashore for a swap over, and it was a decision that perhaps they rued. No matter, Patriot was hitting speeds upwind of 25 knots and in excess of 30 knots downwind in a straight line but the tack and gybe completion percentage – having been in the high 80%’s yesterday at full power – was in the 50-60 percentage rates of successful foil-to-foil manoeuvres. More horsepower was ultimately required.
A small hydraulic problem brought the session to a brief halt during the day, but with the shore team bang on point, this was quickly rectified and the day continued to conclusion with no further issues.
American Magic has a busy schedule through December – possibly the busiest of all the syndicates and this time-on-the-water approach is certainly catching everyone’s eyes in this America’s Cup cycle.
The New York Yacht Club are very serious about winning back the America’s Cup, a deep part of their long heritage and history, in 2024. (Magnus Wheatley)
On-Water Recon Unit Notes: Patriot sailed approximately 55nm comprised of 6 W/L legs. The breeze started out around 18k prior to dock out and decreased throughout the day to 7k. Three different headsails were hoisted (only 2 were sailed on). Patriot was on foil for a combined total of 1 Hr 28Min and completed 11 gybes/23 tacks. Boat speeds were down today with the decrease in pressure Upwind approximately 25k and downwind 30k (using the GPS aboard the RIB). The majority of the day was spent getting towed up and foiling for short (1-5 minute) durations followed by lengthy visits (meetings) from the coach RIB. A small hydraulic problem was noted as taking a few minutes to fix according to the interview. Tom Slingsby also indicated in the interview that the team may sail offshore next week to test in larger sea states.
Patriot was on foil a combined total of 1Hr 28Min, mostly comprised of 3-9 minute sessions. The longer foiling times were: 9, 16, and 19 minutes. Five headsails were loaded into the support RIB today.
Total Tacks: 23 – 12 foil-to-foil, 2 touch & go, 9 touchdowns
Total Gybes: 11 – 7 foil-to foil, 1 touch & go, 3 touchdowns
Dock-out 10.32 Dock-in 4pm
Conditions: 9knots (Am), 7 Knots (PM) 65 degrees and sunny – wind from N
(Windspeed was measured using a handheld anemometer approximately 8 feet above sea level. 1045 N 9k/ 1100 N 7k/ 1311 N 8k/ 1449 N 7k).
Sails Used:
M1: (AM-MN9): 5 hours 25 minutes
J1: (J1-6): 2 hours 10 minutes
J2: (J2-5): 36 minutes
J1-5-2 (crossover): 10 minutes
Onboard Today:
Helms: Paul Goodison/Tom Slingsby
Trim: Lucas Calbrese
Flight Control: Andrew Campbell / Michael Menninger