BOATZERO BLITZING BARCELONA

Control was everything, with smooth flight expertly executed by Bryan Mettraux and Nicolas Rolaz whilst Arnaud Psarofaghis and Nicholas Charbonnier drove the AC75 like they stole it – even after Ernesto Bertarelli came onboard for the ultimate joyride. Demonstration sailing at times, Alinghi Red Bull Racing’s coaches will have come off the water today firmly in the belief that this is a team untapping incredible potential and more than capable of an upset when racing begins in earnest.

Setting the mainsail inside the Port Vell entrance just off their temporary base at the mouth of the busy harbour at 1pm, the Swiss wisely elected the J5 headsail with an afternoon forecast that looked to build and build on a south-south-westerly ‘Garbi’ airflow. The swell was in full flow - not the worst we’ve seen - but kicking up at times and in patches off the man-made underwater shoals and reefs that dot all along the beachfront down to the Port Olímpic and beyond to the Forum Quarter built for the 1992 Olympic Games.

It was challenging sailing, but the pro-sailors revelled in the conditions tapping into the knowledge gained having spent so long at the venue, getting more than familiar with its vagaries. Right from the off it was all-on yachting at the max with BoatZero taking flight and rocketing off at speeds “in excess of 45 knots” according to Augustin Maillefer one of the super-fit Power Group manning the cyclor pods dotted cleverly near the centreline.

Unfortunately, a sensor issue on the traveller brought the day to a close after a fast round-up from offwind and try as the technicians did, they simply couldn’t fix it on the water and the team very reluctantly called it a day after an aborted attempt to re-sail. Accurate load sensors are vital on both the AC75 and AC40, and to sail with something miscalculating or broken would be dangerous so a wise call by the Chase Boat team in the end and BoatZero towed back to base, docking in at 4.30pm.

Speaking afterwards, Augustin Maillefer, always one of the great interviewees of the Swiss team summed up the issue saying: “We stopped because we were not sure, there was something with a sensor and yes complex boats, the sensor had to be changed and that's why we stopped…exactly why I don't know but it needed to be replaced and when it was done we were still not happy with how it was going. It's a very complex boat and many things need to be perfect for it to be ready to sail so that's why we called it a day in the end.”

Talking about the cyclor role on the boat, it’s clear that this position is going to become more and more loaded with responsibilities, especially with the numbers for the new AC75 rule down from 11 crew to 8 for AC37. Augustin summarised the job both on and off the water saying: “When we are not cycling on the boat, to be honest, we are cycling a lot as well out of the boat so it's either you cycle or you cycle more or less, of course you do a bit of other stuff to be like a complete athlete, doing only cycling is not the best way to be the strongest possible, so we top up with gym and other cardiovascular sessions that you can do…on the boat we participate a lot. Actually, when you’re on the boat it's very important that you are okay, you give the energy, but you really think about the feedbacks you will give to the rest of the team so then you can work and improve the systems. So it's not just about peddling and cycling it's as well about how you can think ahead and think about how you can improve the system and what other feedbacks and what is going well, what could go better and as well just get used to how it's going, understanding everything, trying to be able to anticipate the next manoeuvre, how will it feel for me, what do I have to be ready for, all this kind of stuff. We learn a lot!”

Great session, cruelly curtailed by gear failure but safety first and BoatZero will be back again this week with Alinghi Red Bull Racing ramping up their training through to the weekend. More to come. Exciting to watch.

On-Water Recon Unit Notes: Alinghi Red Bull Racing rolled out their AC75 at 09:40, with a late dock out planned for 13:00 on account of the ‘Garbi’ late afternoon thermal breeze.

The wind came in stronger than expected, with winds measured between 15-18 knots throughout the time on the water. The sea grew choppy fairly quickly, with wave height reaching around 0.5 meters. Before docking out, works were observed being carried out on the hydraulic mainsheet system and respective hoses, as well as on the mast base and cyclor systems. It was also noticed that the load sensors/LED indicators from the jib track were moved under the deck fairing behind the trimmer’s pod. The team prepared the M1 mainsail and J3 jib on deck, exchanging for the J5 before heading out.

This is the first time the J5 has been used in two months. The yacht was towed out two miles from Barceloneta, where sailing commenced at 13:45. The team sailed downwind towards the Forum, pausing for five minutes to take Ernesto Bertarelli on board. Sailing continued upwind to the W Hotel followed by a downwind back to the Forum (the intended race area). The leeward foil lifted out of the water while rounding up, bringing the stint to a stop.

Within half an hour the jib was dropped, and technicians were onboard, with works focused on the mainsail traveller. In the interview with Augustin Maillefer, it was revealed that an issue with sensors was the root of the problem. A box was delivered from the base to the yacht at sea, presumably with replacement sensors. It seemed that sailing would resume as the J5 was hoisted again, but it was promptly dropped as the team decided to call it a day, avoiding any further potential damage.

The recon boat covered a total of 28 Nautical Miles over four hours on the water.

The team completed a total of 12 tacks/gybes in the half hour stint, of which 9 manoeuvres were fully foiling (75%).

Onboard Today

Driving Group: Nicolas Charbonnier / Arnaud Psarofaghis

Flight Control: Bryan Mettraux / Nicolas Rolaz

Power Group: Augustin Maillefer / Nils Theuninck / Florian Trüb / Théry Schir

Conditions: 'Strong 'Garbi' - Thermal Wind - 14-17kn SSW @ 13:35, 15-17kn SSW @ 15:25

Weather AM: 17°C, Intermittent Clouds.

Weather PM: 18°C, Intermittent Clouds.

Sea State AM: Beaufort 2

Sea State PM: Beaufort 3-4

Sails Used:

Mainsail M1 (M1-1R): 2 hours 50 minutes

Jib (J5-1R): 1 hour 10 minutes

Total Tacks: 5 – 3 foil-to-foil, 2 touch & go, 0 touchdowns.

Total Gybes: 7 – 6 foil-to-foil, 0 touch & go, 1 touchdown.

Take-Off speed: 18 knots @ 90° TWA (True Wind Angle)

Recon Notes:

13:45 – 14:20 Sailing (3 Tacks - Fully Foiling, 2 Tacks - Touch & Go, 6 Gybes - Fully Foiling, 1 Gybe - Touch Down)

Dock-Out: 1255 Dock-In: 1630