DOUBLE TAKE
By any measure, what Emirates Team New Zealand are doing in their quest to retain the America’s Cup, is impressive. Today the team had their two AC40s, one in pure one-design set-up whilst the other was in LEQ12 development mode, lined up for the first time that this has happened in the short history of this most exciting of new classes.
For the other America’s Cup teams watching on, it’s a terrifying sight. The capacity that the Kiwi shore crew are operating at is extraordinary and with the comms and data links nailed, seeing two AC40s at full tilt, lining up against each other at race pace was a sight to behold. The vision for the Youth & Women’s America’s Cup just came thundering to fruition at 40+ knots and with no quarter given between the established senior helms of Nathan Outteridge and Pete Burling, and the next gen helms of Leo Takahashi and Liv Mackay, who gave more than a good account of themselves.
Just how quickly Leo and Liv have got up to speed on the AC40, admittedly with some of the best tutors in the world whispering through their headsets, shows just how exciting the AC40 class is going to be. Straight out of the box it has been a sensation and with the full one-design package on display today, the differences between that and the LEQ12 with its adaptations was hard to quantify until right at the end of the session on a blast run home. Around the racecourse that Ray Davies had set up, and through the manoeuvres, both boats looked remarkably equal but what the Recon Unit picked up most prominently was that in a straight line, the LEQ12 looked to: “have another gear, low and fast and high with turbo pace.” Over a short course the effect of the beautiful anhedral span foil is perhaps, and it’s a big ‘perhaps’, less pronounced but on a longer run, it really starts to work. Interesting.
After some pretty horrendous, almost biblical, weather in Auckland over the weekend that made national news around the world, thankfully the rains passed and what was left over was a near-perfect 10-12 knot breeze in the ‘Back Paddock’ that had both boats at 40+ knots at times and within a few laps, the natural Kiwi tendency to race and throw tactics at each other was too tempting for the helms. Lee-bow tacks, VMG gybing downwind, rapier-fast roundings and bear-aways – it was as though the America’s Cup had started already.
Speaking afterwards, Pete Burling was blown away by the effort the whole team has made to get to this point saying: “It was an awesome day for the team to get two AC40s out on the water, one’s obviously in our development configuration and the other ones in the one design configuration, so it's been great to them relatively close to each other and that's been a big effort for the group over the last three months to get both ready and to try and get the team in a state where we can sail both boats competitively against each other.”
And Pete went on: “I think this team does an amazing job of managing the workload and to have both boats on the water and to be able to go out and sail around some marks and in pretty close configuration just shows you how deep the sailing group is that we’ve got. It’s also amazing to have a few new people with us in Leonard and Liv who help top up the numbers…but to be able to get them up to speed and to be contributing the way they are is really cool for the Group and I think it’s going to be an amazing platform to continue to learn through.”
This is an America’s Cup team at the very pinnacle. Goodness knows what’s coming next but bet on brilliance. It’s the Kiwi way.
On-Water Recon Unit Notes: First the AC40 rolled out of the shed, 7.30 on the dot. She was rigged and lifted into the pen in approximately 30 minutes. The LEQ12 got towed out of the shed by the Toyota forklift at 8am and was floating next to her stablemate at 8.23 am. The AC40 left the dock first followed closely by the LEQ12. Main and J2s were set, taking about 20 minutes. The Recon boat departed the yachts and chase boats to pick them up again at the end of the speed restriction zone off Mechanics Bay.
Epic to see two boats charging towards us in 10-12 knots as they sailed a one-sided beat transiting to the "Back Paddock" area. With each race yacht having a dedicated chase boat, a mark set/media boat, the VIP Chase Zero and us it made for a very busy 3 hours 25 minutes. Once on the paddock a two nautical mile windward leeward course was set, both yachts shadowed each other around the course with one run having no less than 9 quality gybes from the LEQ12. Not known if the AC40 was in auto pilot but from the small amount of attention paid to her, I felt the new crew on the AC40 are still coming up to speed a bit. A couple of poorly executed/rushed? lee bow tacks were observed, then 2 successive lee bow tacks were observed. Several small stops were recorded, one at least to check/adjust the clew on the new J2.
The reach home was a spectacle, the 2 boats being driven hard with the AC40 just ahead and to leeward with the LEQ12 2-3 boat lengths to windward and one or two aft of the AC40's breeze. Both boats over 40 knots at times. The LEQ12 on her anhedral foil looks to have another gear, low and fast and high with turbo pace.
Dock out: 0920 Dock-in: 1255
Onboard Today
Helms/Crews: Nathan Outteridge / Pete Burling / Liv Mackay / Leo Takahashi / Sam Meech / Marcus Hansen / Josh Junior / Blair Tuke
Sail Used:
M1: 3 hours 25 minutes
J3: 3 hours 25 minutes
Recon Notes: Main looked to be inverted up range up wind at times
Total Tacks: 37 – 32 foil-to-foil, 4 touch & go, 1 touchdown
Total Gybes: 29 – 27 foil-to-foil, 2 touch & go
Recon Notes: Rapid and easy. From dead in water to fully foiling in less than 50 seconds
Wind Strength: 7-15 knots NE going N. (PM) Sunny, 50% cloud cover. (AM) 60% cloud, passing showers.
Take off speed: 13 knots at 75 degrees TWA (True Wind Angle)