SAFETY-FIRST FOR ALINGHI RED BULL RACING

Docking out at 1pm, it was all business from the outset with the smaller M2-1 mainsail set and paired with a workhorse J3 jib. The team appear to be keen to really find out the range and cross-over with the M2 mainsail as it could be the key come September to faster top speeds with its lower drag profile than the bigger M1. Take-off, particularly after a splashdown upwind or in a pre-start is the issue, especially on days like today where the easterly breeze meaned at around 7 knots but built and faded around that barometric point relentlessly.

Interesting to watch the trim in these light conditions with the stern noticeably raised and the overall ride being higher than we are accustomed to seeing. The Swiss are definitely into the performance numbers now and clearly what they are seeing in terms of trim favour this quite angular approach both upwind and downwind. Heel to windward is back in vogue for the team after a period of ‘standing’ on the immersed foil and over the two observed upwind and downwind training legs, it was clear that the team were playing with a complex scenario on ride height and pitch angles. In the light breeze, touchdown tacks were commonplace but impressive speed builds afterwards will give the coaches and performance analysts some comfort.

After just over 90 minutes of sailing, the team went down to the racecourse area but almost immediately the helms felt something on the rudder and called in the Chase Boat. The boat captain (possibly Jack Taylor) was quickly overboard in a wetsuit, mask and blue flippers to check it out and as a safety precaution, the team sensibly decided to call it a day just before 3pm. On the crane-out back at their Port Vell base, the extent of the rudder damage could be seen with a two-inch gash running vertically from about the immersion point down to the foil – thankfully it appears no damage to the sculptured elevator and foil wings but this is unconfirmed.

Speaking afterwards, Nicolas Charbonnier, a key member now of the Driving Group in his dual role as Trimmer and Flight Controller, commented on the day saying: “We set out up the harbour at one o'clock, sailed maybe for one hour 30 but unfortunately we hit something with the rudder when foiling so we had to stop sailing, but it’s part of the sailing here.” And he went on to talk about the damage (which he hadn’t seen at the time of interview), saying: “It's really hard for the moment to say, we'll get the boat out of the water and check, we assessed the damage (on the water) because we just sent the diver in and we decided to stop the boat for safety, but we’ll see.”

As an Olympic bronze medallist in the 470 class, Nico knows all too well about sail shape and cross-overs so his thoughts on the mainsail were interesting: “We are using the M1 which is made for really light breeze and the M2 is a more all-purpose sail, so of course when we are at the bottom of the range it's a bit trickier to sail with the M2 but it's just the shape of the sail that makes it harder.”

And talking about the cross-over, Nico added: “It’s what we’re trying to find out and is why we are sailing with the M2 in the light breeze so it's all about getting the best performances out of the boat and using the best set up we could...the top speed wouldn't change much, probably the M2 will be a little bit faster because it's smaller in size and less drag but it's harder to take-off, so it's just a balance between achieving fast performances and being able to foil early.”

Unfortunately one of those days for Alinghi Red Bull Racing and an occupational hazard in a wider area that has seen some tempestuous early summer storms that have brought wood and other debris into the water. INEOS Britannia may well have had a similar issue yesterday (unconfirmed) when towing in and the recon teams have reported sighting of log debris on several occasions recently. The Swiss shore team will be burning the midnight oil to have BoatOne back in action and are targetting tomorrow to sail again and continue their relentless training schedule ahead of the Louis Vuitton 37^th America’s Cup. Impressive all round. (Magnus Wheatley)

On-Water Recon Report – Alinghi Red Bull Racing: The Swiss rolled out their AC75 at 10:50. The boat was craned to the water at 11:14 and the team docked out at 13:00, as planned. The M2-1 was selected for the session, combined with the J2-1. Both sails were hoisted just before heading out of the port at 13:25.

Light easterly winds prevailed during the short session, combined with flat seas.

The first part of the training consisted of two upwind-downwind legs, in approximately seven knots of breeze, with a short break in between in which routine checks were carried out by the technicians. BoatOne sailed slightly heeled to windward, and with a more aggressive pitch angle than most other days, flying higher on the stern and with the bow pointing lower. In addition, a few tacks and gybes were executed, struggling to be able to fly consistently on most of the upwind manoeuvres.

At 14:20 BoatOne was back at the race-course area, where marks had been laid to practice some pre-starts. Unfortunately, when entering the box on starboard tack for the first sequence, the AC75 hit a non-identified semi-submerged object with the rudder that forced the boat to head into the wind and stop for precaution.

Immediately after, the diver jumped into the water to assess the situation and identified damage on the rudder blade. Once out, the team proceeded to lower both sails and then headed back to the base on the tow at low speeds on displacement mode.

BoatOne entered the harbour on the tow at 15:00 and docked at 15:08. The boat was craned out of the water and damage was identified on the starboard side of the rudder blade. The team plans to resume their sailing activities from tomorrow. Sebastian Peri Brusa – Recon on ARBR