NEW DIRECTION FOR INEOS BRITANNIA
It was a move that was anticipated but perhaps not expected as INEOS Britannia rolled out ‘T6’, their LEQ12 prototype, after a week of upgrades and modifications with the most obvious change being that the radical W-Foil concept that the team have been trialling since we first saw it on the 22nd March 2023, has been dropped for now.
Its replacement on the starboard side is a gently curving anhedral with winglets both inboard and outboard that the on-site recon team immediately nicknamed the ‘banana foil’ that is covered in high mounted cameras – one on the upper inner foil arm, and two mounted above and below the centreline. Painted in high-vis orange and with plenty of immersion markers, the new foil complements the port side profil,e and it will be interesting to see the overall effect on T6’s performance going forward.
In the notes regarding the roll-out of T6, the Recon Unit made some interesting observations about the trailing edge control flap, with the team saying: “although the distinct shape of an aft flap and hinge could be seen on the underside of the foil, from our vantage points there did not appear to be any indication of this on the top surface.”
Clearly this is high engineering on display as we would expect to see from arguably the most technically focussed team in this America’s Cup cycle with the vast resources of Mercedes Applied Science behind them and will be an area that the recon team can push into when interviewing the sailors and shore team technicians in the coming days.
No sailing today (Tuesday), this was a roll-out to step the mast and calibrate settings, but it was very much a statement of intent and perhaps an indication of the future direction of the British team’s programme. How this foil performs and how it correlates with the port foil through transitions and manoeuvres as well as outright performance is going to be fascinating to see in the coming days. We could well see a very different performance profile now from ‘T6’ from here on in that allows the sailors to push ever closer with the end-plating and bustle-skimming techniques that they have been honing, in the past few weeks. Low flight could be key to Barcelona.
First day on the new set-up is scheduled for Wednesday.
All eyes in the America’s Cup world will be trained on INEOS Britannia and the Bay of Palma. Watch this space for updates.
On-Water Recon Notes: INEOS Britannia's T6 LEQ12 test and development boat re-emerged from the British team's hangar at their winter training base in Palma, Mallorca today after an upgrade period lasting a little over a week since its last on-the-water session on April 28.
Scheduled as a non-sailing day for the shore team to set up and recalibrate the mast and rigging after the upgrade, what was notable when the boat rolled out was a new starboard foil configuration with the previous inverted w-foil being replaced by a downward facing 'banana' foil. Terminating either end of this foil were upward angled winglets. Interestingly, although the distinct shape of an aft flap and hinge could be seen on the underside of the foil, from our vantage points there did not appear to be any indication of this on the top surface. Three sensors/cameras were mounted on this foil. Two were on the top surface – one on the inner wing section and one in the centre in line with the foil arm connection – with the third mounted underneath in the middle, mirroring the one on top.
The starboard foil arm looked to be new also as the widened section just above the join with the foil wing having what appeared to be a slightly larger and less curved shape. The port foil assembly appeared to be the same one as before but both foils were painted in hi-vis dayglo orange – presumably for better visibility on the water.
Other than the foils, no other changes to the boat were observed. After rolling out at 0930, the boat was levelled, the mast stepped, and the rig carefully calibrated, and load tested in the now familiar way – using precision equipment including a theodolite. With the rig setup completed by 1400, the mast was un-stepped by 1420, and the boat rolled back in the shed by 1500. A sailing session is scheduled for tomorrow.
Shoreside Recon Notes:
Conditions: AM: Sub 5 knots; PM: 5-8 knots
Weather AM: Suynny with high-level cloud. Hazy. 20-25°C.
Weather PM: Sunny with high-level cloud. 25-27°C.
Sea state PM: N/A
No Sailing Day Today