American Magic – AC40 – Pensacola – March 13, 2023 – Day 44
From the AC37 Joint Recon Team:
America was craned in at 1000 and docked out at 1100.
Sailing began at 11:33 in some of the highest wind speeds to date since the arrival of the AC40.
America was on foils for 31 minutes before experiencing a nose dive.
The team worked in the hull for about an hour before taking down the sails and heading back to the dock.
The shore crew worked in the rudder area of the yacht for another two hours before calling an end to sailing at 15:21.
It was learned in the interview that the rudder rake was not adjusting properly causing the early end of sailing today.
While the shore crew were working on the rudder, two other team members were observed diving underneath the floating barge to recover an object that had presumably fallen overboard.
In all, America completed six manoeuvres, sailed five windward/leewards, sailed approximately 21nm, and had a flying time of 31min.
Top speeds were approximately 28k upwind and 42k downwind.
Session Statistics – Pensacola – March 13, 2023 – American Magic – AC40 – Day 44
Crew: Paul Goodison, Tom Slingsby, Lucas Calabrese, Michael Menninger
INEOS Britannia – AC40 – Mallorca – February 17, 2023 – Day 4
Top sailing journalist, Justin Chisholm was on the water and made various observations on the British boat:
After not sailing for 10 days the British Challenger of Record syndicate were back on the water for their tenth day of training aboard the team’s AC40 one design.
The forecast called for flat calm conditions inside Palma Bay for the entire day, so, after hoisting the mainsail and the J1 in front of the city’s waterfront cathedral, the crew (helmsmen Giles Scott and Dylan Fletcher with trimmers Leigh McMillan and Bleddyn Mon) were taken on a 14 nm foiling tow to the south west and out of the bay to the open waters off Il Toro.
Initial wind conditions out there were better but still on the lighter end of the scale, with winds of 7-8 knots from 090 with a 0.5 metre swell. Getting airborne unassisted was not easy even as the breeze slowly ratcheted up to 8-9 knots but the crew seemed content to invest time in learning valuable lessons about that challenge.
Over the afternoon there were numerous unassisted takeoffs and two or three tow ups. Once up in the air the crew engaged in a series of offshore windward/leeward laps with plenty of tacking and gybing as well as long straight line runs in what was becoming a moderately choppy training area (due in no small part to the three chase boats following the yacht).
The crew made the most of the best of the wind and were able to sail almost back into the bay before stopping short of the Cala Figuera lighthouse that stands atop the bay’s westernmost headland.
Sails were dropped at 1500 before a long foiling tow back to Palma for a dock in at 1700.
Strong winds are forecast for Palma tomorrow which will keep the team ashore.
Session Statistics – Mallorca – February 17, 2023 – INEOS Britannia – AC40 – Day 4
Two of the touchdown tacks were in full slow speed displacement mode. Self take offs were often with three sailors on the windward side of the boat for additional righting moment.
Crew:Giles Scott, Dylan Fletcher, Bleddyn Mon and Leigh McMillan
Alinghi Red Bull Racing – AC75 – Barcelona – March 13, 2023 – Day 49
From the AC37 Joint Recon team:
Alinghi Red Bull Racing rolled out their AC75 at 08:30, stepped the mast and craned in.
The M1 main was raised in the port, the J2 jib just outside the entrance. Sailing commenced at 11:20, with a downwind stint close to the shore where the wind was best. By midday, the wind filled in and the J2 jib was exchanged for the J4.
As the third sailing stint commenced at 13:10, the cowling on the recon vessel broke off the outboard. The recon unit slowly returned to the Alinghi Red Bull Racing base on one engine, moved onto a smaller support boat and headed back out by 14:10. It is not known what the team did during the hour that the recon unit was not observing.
By the time the recon unit reached the sailing area, a thick fog set on the sea outside Barcelona, with a visibility at times limited to 100m. At first, it was not possible to locate the team. At 14:20, the AC75 emerged from the fog, sailing upwind. The replaced recon vessel was not able to keep up, as the team disappeared back into the fog and their location was lost again for 15 minutes. The team re-emerged from the fog, sailing in displacement mode back towards the coast, where the fog had lifted. Sailing in such conditions unsafe.
A downwind stint was sailed, with one foiling gybe performed, before the jib was dropped and replaced with the J5. ARBR sailed their final stint upwind, put in two tacks and called it a day.
Once craned out, it was observed that the foil arm inspection hatch was removed for cleaning. ARBR spent almost six hours on the water, covering well over 50 Nautical Miles.
Session Statistics – Barcelona – March 13, 2023 – Alinghi Red Bull Racing – AC75 – Day 49
This commentary was written and compiled from video, still images and statistical content extracted from the AC37 Joint Recon program and other material available to Sail-World NZ including photo files, and other on the water coverage from the 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2021 America’s Cups.
by Richard Gladwell
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