MELLOW KIWIS
Calm efficiency pervades Emirates Team New Zealand at the moment as they quietly go about their sailing programme in Auckland shorn of razzmatazz but high on output with Te Rehutai simply looking better and better as the days go on. The recon unit even commented that the team seemed ‘mellow’ with everyone dialled into their jobs and roles – there’s no tall poppies, that’s the Kiwi way. And what this efficiency translates into is performance with their AC75 looking dynamite fast and leaving the following RIBs way in their wake and having to cut gybe corners to get close again.
Speed is a given in the AC75, especially now with the massively reduced all-up weight, the removal of the backstays and the implementation of far more efficient powertrain systems. The Kiwis were burning through their super-fit cyclor team like cannon fodder but the control they were exerting on the mainsail was just otherworldly. Down at the clew box is where a lot of the action is happening, shrouded by large plates of cloth that keep their latest thinking hidden from prying recon eyes and camera.
What we can see most clearly is the net effect – the speed creases down to the clew and the angled creases all the way down to the tack would suggest massive loads being applied in both areas and it’s clear by following the on-deck lines of the (still) external mast rotation system that this is linked up to the traveller and clew arrangement. Even twist is much in evidence and the uniform leech break is a thing of wonder – a little tweak dump on the traveller and Te Rehutai’s mainsail is dumped the full way up whilst the power is maintained throughout the forward section.
The other teams watching the recon footage have been filing in a heap of questions to the recon portal where they can ask for specific footage to be captured and the vast majority of questions are around the self-tacking jib arrangement and jib tracks of Emirates Team New Zealand. So far, to date, it has been a hard task for the photographers to get any meaningful shots of the system as both the jib and mainsail tracks appear to be set in aero trenches that arc upwards at the extreme outboard ends. Looking into those trenches is the Holy Grail that the recon units will be looking to record in the coming days. The innovation is on – again.
Another question that a specific team wants recording is completed manoeuvres and what we saw out in Auckland today (Tuesday) was the team operating on flat water upwind in low flight, albeit at break-neck speed, and through the tacks they entered low, dropped the board, turned into the tack before the Flight Controllers just tweaked the bow up post tack before dropping back into low flight mode. It’s subtle control but it looked fast and effective.
The area they call the ‘Back Paddock’ was the testing ground today and Tony Rae, the seven-time Cup specialist and veteran of the legendary 1995 ‘Black Magic’ team who is now the team’s highly respected Chase Boat driver saw it as another good day, saying: “It worked out really well. It was kind of what Ray (Davies) said the breeze was going to do. It took a little while to get going but we managed to sort of tow down the harbour and it ended up nothing. Then we got out to the Bean Rock area and off we went but yeah it was super flat water and it was strange patches because it took a while for that breeze to fill in down to the Back Paddock. We sort of followed it down as Pete (Burling) was saying on the radio you know just do a few gybes and just sort of inch our way down there towards Maraetai, set up a course and did a few laps and it all looked pretty good to me.”
Talking about the team and how they’re progressing, Tony gave an holistic view saying: “We’re not racing yet but it's all about at this stage of game it's just about sort of collecting data and learning as much as we can and it doesn't really matter whether it's what they are learning on the boat, we are learning stuff on the chase boat you know with whether it be putting marks down or what we do or what the spares we have on board all that side of it where we’re changing and adapting little bits and pieces every time we go out on the water and trying to make all the systems that we use, and the boat uses, all work smoother and more streamlined.”
And if you want a glimpse of the unique culture within Emirates Team New Zealand then look no further than Tony’s comment on the team: “I think everyone doing their own job is probably the big one you know, just taking care of their own areas as much as possible and bringing in help when they need it and speaking up if you do need help in an area to make it happen and to be ready for the next day sailing.”
Efficiency exudes from every pore. The Defenders of the America’s Cup are not giving that Auld Mug away lightly.
Recon Unit Notes: Te Rehutai left the shed at 10.35, had her rig stepped by 10.51 and was floating in the pen at 11.07. The rigging process looks to be becoming more efficient. At 12.06 the yacht was towed from her berth out to the end of the old tank farm where she was pointed head to the breeze to bend on sails. After a brief attempt to self-start in super soft air she was taken in tow and brought down to Compass Dolphin where she dropped her tow and did several laps of the inner harbour waiting for the building southwest breeze to fill in further to her East.
At 13.34 after a short pause, she was up and ripping again heading for the Back Paddock. The recon team did their best to keep up in flat water and 10-12 knots of wind - our boat was trimmed up and throttles on the floor showing a best speed on the GPS of 45.2 knots, without cutting the corners of their gybes we could not have stayed with them.
Off Maraetai she stopped and took Chase 1 alongside. At 13.49 the J1 was dropped and by 13.58 the J3 was on its lock. Chase 2 had set a top and bottom gate with a course length of approximately 1.5 NM. We positioned ourselves at the bottom gate and observed one prestart and full windward/leeward practice. The breeze dropped on the yacht’s approach to the bottom gate needing two extra quick gybes to only just pull off a two board down rounding.
One more lap of the course was observed before Te Rehutai turned towards the bottom end at warp speed. We later tracked back up the harbour with them on the tight lay through back up the harbour. She dropped sails off the old tank farm and was back alongside by 16.31
Onboard today:
Helms: Nathan Outteridge / Pete Burling
Trimmers: Andy Maloney / Blair Tuke
Power Group: Simon van Velthooven / Marius van der Pol / Louis Sinclair / Louis Crosby
Sails Used:
Mainsail M1: 4 hours
J1: 1 hour 20 minutes
J3: 2 hours 20 minutes
Manoeuvres:
Total Tacks: 12 – 10 foil-to-foil, 1 touch & go, 1 touchdown.
Total Gybes: 16 – 14 foil-to-foil, 1 touch & go, 1 touchdown.
Take-off: 90° TWA (True Wind Angle) Speed not recorded
Recon Comments: 1 tow-up, 5 self-take-offs.
Conditions: Light sub 6knots SW on leaving base, building in fits and starts to a peak of 16 SW. AM: 25% cloud cover Light breeze, sunny. PM: 60% cloud. Fine 23 degrees. Sea-state: Calm - Slight (AM-PM)
Dock Out: 1206 Dock In: 1630