LOWER AND FASTER ON FINAL DAY IN AUCKLAND
Emirates Team New Zealand may well be back to a one-boat programme for now but on a big breeze day in Auckland, the last of their sailing block, the Defenders of the America’s Cup showed real class and commitment as they pushed the new starboard foil to its very limit. Pete Burling and Nathan Outteridge were at their very best, sailing with astonishing accuracy in a shifting breeze whilst Blair Tuke and Andy Maloney were on another level with sail trim and Flight Control.
What we’re seeing with the Kiwis, similar to all the teams in this Cup cycle, is the relentless drive lower on the foils with the hull just skimming off the surface. In chop, the technique appears to slightly alter with the bow raised and the aft run off of the AC40 in LEQ12 mode almost immersed and with the new bird-like, graceful long-span foil, the Kiwis look like they’re hitting on some serious gains. Noticeable when measured against the flat one-design foil on the port foil arm, they are sunk lower both upwind and downwind and have the ability to absolutely send it.
On a day where a pressure ‘cell’ came thundering down the Hauraki Gulf delivering winds in excess of 25 knots, it was all on for this stellar test team and with the smaller M2 mainsail set and the trusty J3 flying on a short afternoon blast, the sailors put down a serious marker to bring to a close their on-water training in Auckland.
Speaking afterwards, Blair Tuke, Emirates Team New Zealand’s Flight Controller gave a good summary of the day saying: “Quite a windy day here…when we got out it was only about 15 knots but pretty quickly the cell came through so we ended up on the front side of it running down past Maraetai and sort of the far end of Waiheke and then when we saw we had a runway back, we went back upwind when it got pretty windy over 25 knots there for a little bit but yeah we had a few more objectives to tick off on the foil but…just the one boat today so it brings to a close our block now and yeah so it's been good really, really, good learnings.”
For sure today was a day for really digging into the data around this new foil with its riblets on the trailing edge of the foil arm at just below the surface that would appear to be angled to shift the water upwards at the leading edge, and the fully asymmetric foil arms that are mildly anhedral on the inside foil and curve upwards on the outside. The bulb itself is beefed up around the core with effective sidewalls to stop the effects of leeway and keep all the wight low whilst the connection to the foils themselves is an angular approach that forces water sharply over the inside of the foils and captured by the neatest camera mount about 50 centimetres above on the outside of the foil arm itself.
Interestingly, when asked about the first Preliminary Regatta in Vilanova i La Geltrú, a venue that he, and many other pro-sailors, haven’t sailed at before, commented: “No I haven't sailed in Vilanova so you know it's going to be really good, obviously just down the road from Barcelona, so yeah we're looking forward to that but got quite a lot of work to do on the development programme between now and then.”
Quite what route the Kiwi ‘development programme’ takes from here is the big question. The new foil has certainly caught the eye of the America’s Cup community and the team looked incredibly stable on it today, able to rifle through various modes whilst keeping the LEQ12 super low to the surface. That, it would appear, is the only game in town. All eyes now on the team’s arrival in Barcelona in a few weeks’ time.
On-Water Recon Unit Notes: It felt a lot less busy today with only the LEQ12 being rigged and launched, in the pen at 10.52. Bow towed from her berth she was taken down to Bean Rock to bend on sails, What looked like the M2 was hoisted along with the now familiar J3. Both sails on their respective locks about 11.56.
The tech team and boat captain transferred to the Chase Boat at 12.03 and she was sailing at 12.04. Off on a reach East down the Motukorea channel and out into the Tamaki straight. She left us for dead with the recon boat foot to the floor we were doing 46 knots in a sea state that kept growing in size. The LEQ12 just kept on charging.
Giving us some respite when she occasionally came up on the breeze allowing us to cut the corner to stay in touch. Not gybing or tacking often but going between upwind and down while being chased by a big rain cell down the Tamaki straight, turning up wind again after the worst had passed over just before the marine reserve at the bottom end of Waiheke.
Upwind she went with us trying to keep close into 20-25 knots with a good bumpy wind chopped sea state of up to .7m. She tacked up into Eastern Beach and then ran down towards the Southern end of Motuihe where she came to a stop at 13.11.
Hatches were seen being removed and boxes removed and replaced (batteries?) In boxes though. The LEQ 12 was up and sailing again at 13.18 beating back up into Eastern beach, short tacking towards the end of the beat and then bearing away and sending it back towards the Motukorea channel and then up the harbour to come to a stop off Orakei at 13.46, dropping sails at 13.50.
A short sharp session with some incredible speeds observed with the yacht looking in control for over 95% of its sailing time. Although at times she was up to 4 miles distant from us
Dock out: 1134 Dock-in: 1410
Onboard the Boats Today
Helms LEQ12: Pete Burling / Nathan Outteridge
Crews LEQ12: Blair Tuke / Andy Maloney
Wind Strength:
Weather PM: 14-25 knots SW going SSW. Showers with big puffs. 16°C
Sea State AM-PM: Moderate
Sail Used onboard LEQ12:
M2 Mainsail: 2 hours 05 minutes
J3 Jib: 2 hours 05 minutes
Total Tacks: 27 – 26 foil-to-foil, 1 touch & go.
Total Gybes: 10 – 10 foil-to-foil, 0 touch & go.