TAKAPUNA PRE-START TESTING

Entering an imaginary starting ‘box’ from opposite ends of the line, various tactics were deployed by both crews – on occasion it was ‘run and hide’ with a timed run back to the line and on others it was full-on boat-on-boat action with the highly manoeuvrable AC40s being perfect match-race craft. The game in town was to get the other off the foils as the speed differential is simply massive and Josh Junior and Leo Takahashi were asking serious questions of Pete and Nathan all afternoon in a dying light and a north-easterly that barely broke double digits.

The fascinating part of the pre-start is the final lead back into the line with the inevitable jockeying for position and the need to kill speed by executing huge scallops, bearing away for speed and heading up for position. With the seconds counting down, the finals 45 seconds is all-on. And it’s in the crucial moments of the head-up, where the danger lies for the boat coming off the foils and requires huge accuracy to get right – go just too high and the windward heel comes on and in the light the AC40s can drop like a stone (relatively) to displacement.

Positioning is also highly interesting and both boats were almost desperate to hold the lee position at the pin end of the line on starboard tack and force the other away quickly after the gun. Over eight observed pre-starts, the recon team of Alistair Moore and Adam Mustill recorded no less than six wins for the AC40 team with just one success for the LEQ12 and one even start. Big marker for Josh and Leo who had Sam Meech and Marcus Hansen supporting them on trim today.

Emirates Team New Zealand bosses will be watching the training with much interest and in this ultimate ‘team’ where everyone is continually under pressure to perform, the success of the AC40 crew will certainly be noted. What was also interesting to observe was the sheer lack of speed differential between the two boats, especially over short courses. The LEQ12 is a much-upgraded boat with its new long-span port anhedral foil and plenty of systems upgrades to the latest Kiwi specification. However, height and leeway upwind were so similar to be almost unmeasurable with position on the racetrack off the start ultimately defining the winner, such is the dirty air that these boats send down to the other when ahead - as we saw in AC36 with the big boats.

Fascinating day. Emirates Team New Zealand are scheduled for more two-boat testing on Saturday with a favourable weather forecast as the light air that stopped them sailing on Thursday shifts away.

More to come and no doubt, plenty to talk about in the de-brief afterwards. It will have been a long night for the LEQ12 team.

On-Water Recon Unit Notes: The Leq12 was rigged and launched with the longer narrow anhedral foil on the port side. After going in the water all the pre-sail checks were run through and jibs loaded onto chase boats. A two boat day with the AC 40 being towed down the harbour with her stablemate in company. At 13.22 both yachts dropped their tows and bent on sails around Rough Rock. At 13.32 both M2 and J2 on the LEQ12 were set and at 13.47 she was off chase and sailing, firstly in a beat out of Rangitoto channel in 6-7 knots of soft NE breeze. After a little beat out into the Gulf she ran back in towards Takapuna where she came to a stop at 14.20 in the area, about 3 miles NE of Takapuna boat ramp where the chase boats set up a start line with a 1.5 mile beat to a top gate.

The first pre-start was at 14.43 with them not really coming together until the last 30 seconds where on the gun, the AC40 was tight to leeward with pace at the pin forcing the LEQ12 into an early tack. At the first cross the AC40 had a 3-4 boat length advantage. Both yachts stopped now for what looked like a snack break.

At 15.08 we watched the second pre-start drill with the AC40 having port entry. Here The AC40 managed to get the LEQ12 to come off her foils with about 30 seconds to go after a very tight tack and bear away. The AC40 was 15 seconds late but the LEQ 12 was still dead in the water.

The 3rd and 4th pre-start drills went back-to-back with the 3rd at 15.14 entry and the 4th at 15.20. In the 4th the LEQ12 managed to have a small advantage off the line after reaching over both the AC40 and the committee boat and scalloping through the line to start tight to leeward and ahead of the AC40 forcing her off into a quick tack on the line.

The 5th 6th and 7th pre-starts all did one lap after the start with the Leq12 starting behind but managing to pass the AC40 each time before the first bottom mark. In the 8th pre-start drill which entered the box at 16.15 with the AC40 having port entry, the AC40 looked to be in control, got the LEQ off her foils and ran away with the race. I scored the starts 1 even, 1 LEQ12 and 6 won by the AC40.

Dock out: 1300 Dock-in: 1705

Onboard the Boats Today

Helms LEQ12: Nathan Outteridge / Pete Burling

Crews LEQ12: Blair Tuke / Louis Sinclair

Helms AC40: Leo Takahashi / Josh Junior

Crews AC40: Sam Meech / Marcus Hansen

Wind Strength:

Weather PM: VAR 0-5 knots becoming NE 5-8 Knots Fine, 18°

Sea State PM: Moderate

Sail Used onboard LEQ12:

M2 Mainsail: 4 hours 05 minutes

J1 Jib: 4 hours 05 minutes

Total Tacks: 38 – 36 foil-to-foil, 2 touch & go, 0 touchdowns.

Total Gybes: 36 – 34 foil-to-foil, 2 touch & go, 0 touchdowns.