SWISS PROGRESS IN BARCELONA
The inherent value of sailing an AC75, albeit one from the 36th America’s Cup and designed for very different conditions, was proven on Wednesday as Alinghi Red Bull Racing posted noticeable boat handling progress in conditions that peaked at around 15 knots in the afternoon but sat at a median of 10-12 knots and flat water.
BoatZero, the heavily upgraded Te Aihe of Emirates Team New Zealand, has proven to be a difficult boat to master particularly since the re-profiling of the cockpit area and the introduction of the four-man cyclor system housed either side of the centreline. Since re-launch in the new configuration, the tendency for BoatZero to dig its bow in post manoeuvre has been much in evidence and it’s all on for the Flight Controllers to dance a fine line and keep the bow clear. The trade-off is high flight, not desired in the new world of the America’s Cup, but on a super flat-water day, the large majority of tacks and gybes were flat and clear of the bow-stuff.
The Swiss brought onboard the AC75, yet again, Julien Pilate and Yves Courvoisier who both have significant input on the simulator programme for Alinghi Red Bull Racing and it’s very clear that the team have put a lot of store in getting the simulator as accurately correlated as possible. Time on the water for Pilate and Courvoisier takes them into the real-world to feel the boat as Arthur Cevey, one of the key cyclors for the Swiss confirmed afterwards: “The goal is to have a simulator that is as close as the reality as possible so having the guys working onboard is super-important to get the reality feeling of the boat and try to transfer it as best as possible onto the machine.”
The transition from computer simulation to on-water correlation and then into the final raceboat design for the 37th America’s Cup has a very clear goal as Arthur confirmed: “It's quite interesting for us to have some engineers coming onboard to get the feeling of the boat - they can see how it reacts in real life and they can have a better feel than just simulation that they have in the office…so it was pretty good for us to start with towing and get the feeling to those engineers…so they can come back with a better idea to us later on in the project.”
The goal is to build the fastest boat capable of beating all the Challengers and go on to win the America’s Cup. It’s a tall ask but the Swiss persist in putting themselves in the best position to deliver on their promise. Training continues at pace in Barcelona with another long five hours on the water in shifty conditions as the summer in the Mediterranean stalls to start, covering some 75 nautical miles in total that combined straight-line testing with short-course racing around buoys - which was particularly impressive. Overall the recon team summed it up perfectly: “not the team’s most consistent day, but one of the most productive.”
More to come this week from Alinghi Red Bull Racing.
On-Water Recon Unit Notes: Alinghi Red Bull Racing rolled out their AC75 at 07:45, anticipating earlier winds, that did not fill until 12:00. The yacht was craned in and prepared for a day of sail and foil testing, with the M1-1R mainsail and J1-2R prepared on deck, and the J3-1R and J4-1R on the chase boat. The yacht was towed North, stopping 5 nautical miles off Masnou, as the first hints of wind came through. The ‘Garbi’ South thermal wind picked up through the session, peaking at 15 knots at the end of the day. An East ground swell from the Tramontana further away was present but did not cause much of a disrupting chop.
Sailing commenced at 12:15, with the AC75 just managing to get on foils at an estimated 19.5kn. Three stints were sailed, with the team gradually improving on their quality of manoeuvres. A few laps of the 2NM windward/leeward course were sailed. More focus was given to the jib sheet system, as sailors were observed adjusting it through the day, including while up on the foil.
Sails were dropped at 15:05, bringing an end to a long day on the water.
The team spent 5 hours on the water and covered over 75NM, from dock-out to dock-in, the second most of any day so far, and the most with the AC75. 57% of the 44 manoeuvres were fully foiling, not the team’s most consistent day, but one of the most productive.
A flight controller spotted on the previous day was seen again and is believed to be located in the middle seat, in front of the steering wheel. On the previous AC75 outing (12th June 2023), Jason Waterhouse was in this seat.
Dean Barker, Yves Courvoisier (Research & Development/Simulator) and Julien Pilate (Sail Designer/Aero Modeller for Simulator) were also onboard.
Onboard Today
Driving Group: Maxime Bachelin / Arnaud Psarofaghis
Flight Control: Bryan Mettraux / Nicolas Rolaz / Yves Detrey
Power Group: Arthur Cevey / Augustin Maillefer / Barnabé Delarze / Théry Schir
Notes: Dean Barker, Yves Courvoisier (Research & Development/Simulator) and Julien Pilate (Sail Designer/Aero Modeller for Simulator) onboard today.
Dock-Out: 1030 Dock-In: 1530
Conditions: 'Garbi' - Afternoon Thermal Wind - 1-2kn WSW @ 11:50, 7-9kn SSW @ 13:20, 10-12kn SSW @ 14:25, 11-13kn SSW @ 15:05
Weather AM: 22°C, Partly Cloudy.
Weather PM: 22°C, Intermittent Clouds.
Sea State PM: Beaufort 3 - 0.4m 0.3s E Ground Swell
Sails Used:
Mainsail M1 (M1-1R): 3 hours 35 minutes
Jib (J1-2R): 1 hour 50 minutes
Jib (J2-2L): 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Tacks: 29 – 17 foil-to-foil, 5 touch & go, 7 touchdowns.
Total Gybes: 15 – 8 foil-to-foil, 4 touch & go, 3 touchdowns.
Take-Off speed: 20 knots @ 70-90° TWA (True Wind Angle)
Recon Notes:
12:00 – 12:10 Tow to find wind.
12:15 – 13:15 Sailing (3 Tacks - Fully Foiling, 3 Tacks - Touch & Go, 4 Tacks - Touch Down, 1 Gybe - Fully Foiling, 2 Gybes - Touch & Go, 1 Gybe - Touch Down)
13:35 – 14:20 Sailing (8 Tacks - Fully Foiling, 2 Tacks - Touch & Go, 2 Tacks - Touch Down, 4 Gybes - Fully Foiling, 1 Gybe - Touch & Go, 1 Gybe - Touch Down)
14:30 – 14:55 Sailing (6 Tacks - Fully Foiling, 1 Tack - Touch Down, 3 Gybes - Fully Foiling, 1 Gybe - Touch & Go, 1 Gybe - Touch Down)