The guys have done it again! -ripper! A few pics of the course and spectator fleet and just a fraction of the crowds on the wharves and waterfront areas (these near the Cup base in the viaduct harbour) Last pic is Te Rehutai (sea spray) crossing the finish (trial boat was Te Aihe (dolphin) Wonder what will happen next time, new boats, racing in the northern hemisphere perhaps, it will be interesting. Now the crew pilfering begins from other syndicates, we'll see who jumps ship for money this time.

For those into pilot boats, you can see in the distance in one pic, a number of ships waiting in the stream (about 15miles from the port). The pilots have to go out there in some pretty heavy weather at times, . Used to have pretty slow displacement launches years ago, then a fast tri-hull with surface drives, now have new big 40knt RIBs doing the job. Used to take around 50mins or more on a good day, now about 15. Boats have certainly advanced over the years, especially yachts.

JB

Who says Kiwi`s cant fly ! - Well done guys !😎👍⛵

Just a few boats out Tuesday around the course. Ain't sayin nuttin' Roy😁

JB

Sorry mate, forgot you guys are retar I mean behind😂 Still good to watch though👍

JB

Thanks for the 'spoiler' I have to wait 12 hours to watch the race and like to see it unfold as it goes;
R

But did you see todays effort by ETNZ Roy, came from 2km behind to win by a fair distance due to Prada touching down and not getting back up again,- same thing that happened to ETNZ not long before to make them 2km behind. ETNZ won both races today and if they win 2 tomorrow, the fat lady will have sung. BUT, we all know what can happen in the AC ! horrible things have happened before😐.

JB

Hi all again latest update.

AC75 Sunday was postponed for races 7 & 8 and I did not envy the commentators! They kept everything going though very well and discussed the previous starts and showed edited video to look at the finer points. Each team is allowed 6 jibs, you might surmise that in a high wind you use a smaller jib, Hmmm, not so sure now. The jib selection is the last chosen item per race, the crew sit there until 10 minutes before and then the jib is chosen to suit wind conditions.

The balance point of the yacht when foiling is at the centre of area of the leeward foil. So the pressure of wind on the sails has to balance this out as the effect of the smaller jib moves the centre of power of the sails further aft. But this movement also affects the speed that the yacht can turn on the balance point of the foils, the further back it is, the quicker the boat turns when tacking or gybeing. It is a formidable calculation!

This combined with a view of the discussion points on Mozzy Sails web site elicited just how critical the operation of these yachts is. As I said before each entry is allowed 6 foils (i.e. 3 sets) and the design of them is starting to become known. Viewed end on there are 3 types all within the 2 metre width allowance. They are an inverted T then there is the anhedral shape (an upside down shallow Y) and the W shape.

Early on in testing the NZ boat was seen to launch with one T and one inverted Y to check out the attributes of each type. The W shape seems to be the one in use. As most things are now set so to speak the flaps on the foils are becoming more obvious to see.

Some are a straight forward full length hinged flap but others show an extended right angle fin pointing downwards showing that the centre of radius of the foil movement is outside the foil and this leads to the possibility of the foil extending out and down and as it changes angle so increasing the surface area. (as per aircraft flaps on the wings to give a lower stall speed)

It may seem that the yachts all look the same but the parts that count are all under water and the NZ boat and the Itallian boat are very different.

Have a look next time you see a race and see how soon the boats can get up on the foils. A larger foil area should make this sooner for a given wind speed but does it? I find it difficult to reason out why the first boat across the start line wins even against a faster boat!

Maths has always been involved in creating the fastest boat within the given Americas Cup formula restrictions but never more so than now.

Without the 'game boy' screens on-board they could not operate the yacht or even stay within the course and also somewhere along the line the overall goal of match racing has been lost, but why? Probably need a computer and a new App to find out!

regards

Roy

I too watched it this morning live and the first race was not very exciting with NZ out in front and extending their lead from the off. A little odd inasmuch that there was not a lot in it with regard boatspeed of both but possibly NZ were heading to wind a bit higher. 2nd Race a lot better with Italy in the lead from the off but covering every tack made by NZ. Not a lot in it at the finish but showed NZ what Italy can do.
Interesting to see that with these foiling yachts a breeze of 14 kts can be turned into a boat speed of 40 its or more, even touching 50 Kts at times. What a great venue to sail in.

Hi all well we have got through day 1 of the races. The first race was a walk over by New Zealand leading all the way. Their boat was 2 knots faster over the entire race.
The course is 6 legs of a 3.6 Km course, total race time is 23 -24 minutes.

The start can be a bit cut throat and on the second race it would seem that the Kiwis decided who needs to worry, when we are faster so they did not engage. The Italian boat was on time with the Kiwis 5 seconds behind and from then on for the Kiwis it got worse and worse!

The second race was won by the Italian yacht by 7 seconds for a slightly longer race of 24 minutes. Analysis shows that the Italians travelled 200 metres further overall and there was nothing in it with boat speed.

Greater minds than mine are working out what this all means at this moment. The Kiwi boat was getting round the corners in an upright position and doing a 180 degree turn at 50 mph better than we do in our cars!

No one came off the foils and there was only an umpire boat following the race. The chase boats with on-board rescue were not there. There were some small errors but not enough to change the result.

Looks like we may have a race right down to the line!!!!!

Next 2 races are Friday 12th. March.

Regards

Roy

Hi Nerys thanks for your kind remarks. Though I have to differ about atitudes of the parties concerned at the time.

Although we look back on 1851 with a soft eye, it was the time of the Great Exposition, GB was showing the world how modern they were and the products being sold would bring other countries into this new world.

You can see from the quote that the round the Isle of Wight 'race' was already part of the 1851 festivities. There were many GB entries but the America won with a big margin of victory that belied any agreement on the size of yacht taking part.

To quote-:

The history of the yacht America began with five members of the New York Yacht Club, who decided to build a state-of-the-art schooner to compete against British ships in conjunction with England’s Great Exposition of 1851. Designed by George Steers, the 100-foot, black-hulled America had a sharp bow, a V bottom, and tall masts, making it strikingly different from the traditional yachts of the day.

Hmm! 'State of the art schooner' and 'strikingly different' that is hardly the nice cuddly friendly view we might have in looking back. For all concerned in 1851 these were modern times! It was also cut throat trade as well.

I can imagine the USA thinking perhaps 'we will go and show them what we can do'! And who can blame them! The world was getting very trade conscious and that meant money.

The second outing to compete for the Americas Cup, as it was now known, was in 1870 and a lone GB entry competed against 14 other yachts, the yacht America came 4th. by the way. The history is all there on the Internet.

Another point from Nerys's post. Although we all accept countries putting on trade fairs now, the 1851 Exposition was the first and biggest ever seen in the world, and the world came to see it.

Many nations brought out their biggest and best to show off, it was a monumental sales drive. Nations were forced into realising that they did not want to be the only ones left out.

Also we must not miss the point that if it had just been Queen Vic it would never have happened! It was the German Prince Albert, and Henry Cole, who thought of it and promoted it.

Just like to say Nerys always enjoy your posts and builds, 'long may your chimney blow smoke!

Best regards

Roy

I read Roy's excellent write up on the latest 'America's Cup' with interest and it just made me think of the original race in 1851. A group of American businessmen sailed to the UK to the 1851 Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace. Whilst here, they took part in a race around the Isle of Wight for a cup called 'The Royal Yacht Squadron Trophy'valued at 100 guineas. Not racing yachts, just the normal cruising yachts of their day. The Yankee yacht won. Some say they did not do it fairly as they missed out one of the buoys denoting the course but the RYS committee wanted to be nice to them and gave them the pot anyway. And people have been racing for it ever since. Now wasn't that lovely and friendly? compare to the complexities mentioned by Roy. Can't really can we?

Cheers, Nerys

The Prada Cup to decide who races against the defending champions is over. Were we robbed? Our boat favoured the stronger breezes but it was not to be. So the Red Moon is triumphant and probably deservedly so..

The New Zealand team although lacking match race time have been watching carefully. They have been racing when ever possible. As ever, exploitation of the rules can lead a design idea down a nearly parallel path but....
In the case of the NZ boat if you look at the deck it is 18 inches lower than the other yachts. Beneath the deck below the mainsail the other yachts have put the mainsail hydraulics to clean up the design.

NZ have not done this, they have put all the mainsail hydraulics in the mainsail boom, looks a bit ugly having the bits on show but it was done with a reason. As this space under the deck is now redundant the deck has been lowered and this means the sail continues down to deck level giving an extra 18 inches of sail depth and when multiplied by the sail length is a considerable area, but legal!

It has another advantage as well, as it lowers the centre of effort of the sail and so for the same wind pressure she can stay upright for longer.

Another thing team NZ have done is that they do not lower the leeward foil quite as much, pushing the balancing point of the foil just 4 inches further out from the centre of the yacht. N.B. the fulcrum of the foil mechanism is not on the centre line of the boat.

The effect of this is a bit like lowering the lead further down on a keel yacht so making it stay more upright and stable. Now 4 inches about 20 feet out, is not a lot, but the weight of the boat acts upon this point so it has to be multiplied by the 7 1/2 tons of boat!

These two innovations for a given wind speeds give a 7 1/2 % advantage in speed. Back in the day of the big monohull yachts half of 1% would give you victory!

The rounding of the gates is getting more sophisticated for all. There are trim tabs on the rudder foil acting a bit like the elevators on an aircraft. There are similar tabs on the main foils a bit like the ailerons etc. However on an aircraft they bank into a turn, this would be disasterous on the AC 75 yachts.


They need to stay flat, so the foil 'ailerons' are used in the opposite way, this keeps the hull level. The elevator on the rudder is used to slightly dip the bow and lower the hull when rounding the gates this is to ensure when turning that the bow does not rise should the wind speed suddenly increase. Well that is what we are told! Just watch what they do!

So this maybe a one horse race but Luna Rossa will be well aware of the NZ boat and its capabilities and probably has a few tricks left yet to play.

I watched a practice start and 4 lap race and Team NZ just sailed away from them. Or did they? Tactics are very much the name of the game in match racing.

Should the Team NZ win the Americas Cup it is almost certain that the races for 2025 will be held elsewhere. This leads on to thinking where this might be? As for example should it be in European waters then the North Sea presents a far different environment with short steep seas against sailing off the Americas.

Aukland has relatively sheltered waters and there are 8 race areas, chosen partly depending on the wind direction, basically it has to blow down the course forcing tacking manoeuvres. One Prada race was called off as the wind veered 90 degrees and then it becomes a straight speed test on a beam reach.

Designs would be different, this current design was a logical development of the AC72's of 2017. They were catamarans with foils but one hull was always redundant as they changed tack, and the crew moved across the hull, but it still took a genius to work this out and come up with the AC75's.


If you want to see for yourself, the above is an evenings You Tube watching. Try, americacup.com, Planetsail (v.g.) Mozzy Sails, very technical.

The Americas Cup starts on the 10th. March a delay due to some local covid infections and may still need special government permission to commence the racing.

regards

Roy

Hi all a bit of background info.

You may well hear the expression Challenger of Record mentioned during the races.

This goes back to 1983, before then it was just the UK and the USA. It was agreed to include other challengers to agree on a yacht description, not a one design but these are my words, to race the holder of the Americas Cup.

Luis Vuitton put up the money for the Cup and a single Country was the official Challenger (of Record). Other countries could then compete with the C of R and so the winner got the Luis Vuitton Cup and then went on to challenge the holder for the Americas Cup which would be sailed in the holder's nominated water. This time it is Prada who put up the Cup etc.

The last time I saw money mentioned it was said that the race was worth 1 Billion £'s to the local economy and also the exposure of the area attracted visitors as well as a future holiday destination.

As an aside many years ago Australia was just somewhere a long way away. Then the film Crocodile Dundee came out and Oz shot up from number 22 on the holiday destination list to either 1 or 2 can't remember.

This film is the most successful non-Hollywood film ever made and later Paul Hogan had a National Award for the achievement. (He also married the girl and they stayed together for 20 years). Then as he says himself he screwed it all up!

So when asked what's the point in spending 100 M $ on a boat it does bring in lots of money to the countries involved.

Also had you ever heard of INEOS before a very large global company in the chemical industry. Well their name was blazened all over our yacht when it had its time in the sun. The advertising and exposure must be worth all they spent (£110M).

regards

Roy

Hi all, the races just finished were for the Prada Cup which is an elimination race to decide who will challenge the holder New Zealand.

Up until the finals we were doing well but then Italy found another gear and dominated the races not only with a slightly faster boat but also in tactics.

The UK trailed 0 - 5 to Italy and then Sir Ben made a good tactical start and commanded the race so it was 1 - 5. Then The UK were out-manoeuvred once again to lose the next 2 races and so Italy and Luna Rossa won 7 - 1.

All things being equal 6th. March sees the start of the actual mericas Cup between Italy and New Zealand.

Considering how the USA then UK and ending with Italy all had a turn at domineering the racing events I wonder if NZ have been left behind as it seems to come down to tactics 90% at the start and the first time they cross as they head upwind to the first gate.

The trailing boat travelling in dirty air so never seemingly able to make better the difference.

Casual watchers may wonder at the computer graphics giving actual boat speed and then looking below to see a different speed quoted.

The lower speeds are Velocity Made Good or VMG. This is a computer calculation showing how fast they are achieving getting to the next gate.

The sailors will know that speed is one thing but with a destination in sight it is how quickly you are getting there.

One surprising thing with these yachts is the way they can convert a wind speed into 4 or more times that speed as they travel through the water.

Another is how the crews have mastered keeping these boats up on a or both foils all the time and going round corners at 40 50 mph!

Remember these yachts weigh 8 tons and are travelling on foils with maybe 15 square feet actually in the water between the 2 foils to balance on.

I look forward to the AC in March, probably the most exciting ever.

Roy

Hi JB, thanks for clearing that up I was going by commentary after the event. That does show that the yachts are stressed to stand sudden stops.

I agree I would very much like to see the USA up and running, there was a comment from their team that it might not look pretty but they were intending to be there next weekend.

Whoever wins will have been involved in close racing if there are 3 boats involved, which is always enjoyable.

Can they theoretically get enough points though to be in contention with NZ?

regards
Roy

Just a small correction Roy, re the damage. The hole (about 4ft square,) was caused by compression as the hull came down slightly on its' side. The hull sides are thinner than the bottom, and the section was sort of guillotined between the frames at the point of greatest impact. People were saying a battery fell through but they were apparently all accounted for. A bit of a mission to replace the electrics, although they have spares and the other boat to rob bits from (including if necessary hull sections which can be cut out and used ) That's the easy part, the electronics is the difficult and time consuming bit. The hydraulics were apparently undamaged being a sealed system. Hope they get it all back together in time as we might see some close racing, given the pre crash performance.

Here is an item for the non sailors, which explains True wind and Apparent wind and how this works to make the boats go 'faster than the wind'. If your brain explodes while reading this, don't blame me😂 (Click the green buttons for an animation.)

JB

Hi all couple of items, why did the American Magic boat sink? It seems that going from 50 mph down to zero is just as bad in a yacht as it is in a car!

Something large inside the yacht broke free and went travelling right through the bow and made 'quote' a small car size hole in the hull. One of the crew members could not undo his harness and had to resort to the knife to free himself and help from rescuers.

The other is that the media is focussed on the foils much to the relief of 'some' crews!!! There are a few not quite secrets learnt by the Kiwis in the previous Americas Cup and that is sail control. It sounds possible that this was their advantage that brought the AC cup to New Zealand 4 years ago.

As you will know the yacht design and form eminated from NZ with the rest participating and agreeing and one of the innovations was the 2 surface mainsail.

To go off subject to illustrate the point we must all have flown in an aircraft and noted that at take-off and landing, alterations are made to the wings. The main one is the flaps at the rear of the wing, they do not just extend outwards, they also point downwards and this gives a general curve to the wing increasing the lift of the aircraft at low speed.

Back to the sails! It will not have escaped notice that the sail cambre does change during a race, and a curved sail in crossection gives more sideways lift or power to the yacht and so the yacht will go faster.

This enables the AC yachts to pick up speed prior to getting up on the foil. When they are on the foil they now have too much power and the sail is flattened.

It is thought that the Ineos UK yacht had a new sail system installed after the pre Christmas drubbing. Which seems to work, to say the least!

It is speculated that between the mainsail surfaces there are battens in the lower and upper parts of the sail that can alter the curve or flatten it very quickly. Each yacht has a flight controller with controls extending from trim tabs on the foils to the sail curvature.

I suspect that even when the Americas Cup is decided that there will be some reticence to disclose all the 'secrets' of these boats. The cost of research needs to be paid for somehow.

As a small bit of info the American Magic boat at 8 tons, needed 4 tons of lifting bags to stay afloat, and she had to be towed in stern first.

All participating teams have rallied around the USA team to give any assistance they can, as was said. "We are all in it together".

Regards

Roy

Well done to the Brits - they deserve everything they get. Great race yesterday and actually being able to watch it live on youtube. Was disappointed in previous racing as we were unable to see live footage, looks like that is sorted out.

Looking forward to seeing a series with the 12 meters. Watched Bertrand win over Connors so long ago - even though it was 3am. Was worth it.

Absolutely fantastic racing with Ineos GB touching just over 50 Knts with a yacht that wasn't 100%. 9 passes over a 6 leg race with lead changes all the way. Well done Sir Ben and all your team. Luna Rossa did a great job except for their whinging protests from their helm. So look forward to see them up against the USA next Friday.👍

Team UK does it again, shuts out Luna Rossa to take 1st spot in the semis and into the Prada cup races !👍👍 Brilliant exciting final race . That's more like the close match racing we need!. That'll quieten Spithill down a bit, - wonder if he has anything smart to say now?😁 bound to whinge about something😁

JB

I think it will be too windy today unless it calms down later, gusts to 31kph on the harbour bridge, not sure what their cut-off is. Average predicted wind is around 26kph. Talk about a 2 horse race! Everyone is helping USA to try and get them back in at the moment as if they are not there it would just be a joke. Not really an Americas' cup, more just a tech display.

JB

Hi all, those who watched the racing last weekend will know that the yacht American Magic ended up in a capsize when travelling rather (too) fast coming out of a gate. The damage sustained has meant she has withdrawn until repairs can be completed. She hopes to be in the water again by 29th. January.

In the meantime there will be some 'racing' this weekend. The details are so obscure and you will be introduced to a 'ghost race'. I am just going to watch and see what happens as there are only 2 yachts left in the Prada Cup. (or are there)!!!!!

So next race is Saturday 23rd. January.

Cheers

Roy

Hi jbkiwi, my son said at the time it would only be if there was a 'travel bubble' between you and Oz. His partner is a Hospital doctor and she could not go otherwise.

I was thinking if the UK won it would be immediately seized on by our Boris as being the result of leaving the E.U. I am not sure he is even aware of it going on!

I do not agree about having 'big boats' the Oligarchs have adopted the lavish spending style which will soon create a backlash. Especially if covid-19 causes a general move to home working and a fall in big city house prices as the need for offices decreases. Their over exploited Town houses will drop in value.

It is amazing how so many things are integrated together these days, I expect they always were but we are more aware of it now.

There are a lot of Olympic classes of yacht racing maybe it needs a world cup between the Olympics to keep the interest up.

Best regards

Roy

Hi Roy, guess your son will have to quarantine for the 14 days?, that gets expensive! You are right about the lack of competitors, but I suppose cost is a big factor (especially if everyone has to come down here) and there is only so much money the big boys are prepared to spend on their toys. Connors sort of ruined the event with the cat, when Sir Michael Fay was trying to get back to the original big boat style, which would have been an impressive spectacle. Today it's pretty much the fastest boat which crosses the line without crashing.

Even though I'm a Kiwi, I wouldn't be too upset if the UK took it off us, as it's about your turn and would make history (imagine the pride, boost for the country at the moment, ). Perhaps a UK, Aust NZ collaboration next if the rules change again, - world AC domination,😂 Think it's about time to ditch the AC and start a new 'International racing cup' as it's getting too silly and too expensive for people to compete. 40 min races, that's a rugby game😂, used to be hours of cut and thrust.

JB

Hi jbkiwi, its a great pity the other national entries dropped out as a trophy like this with only 4 competitiors?

My son said he was going over to watch the Americas Cup race in March. He lives in Oz and sails his own yacht. It is really exciting stuff with lots of changes of fortune. But as they say the harder you work the luckier you get.

It is also great that the event is released for free on You Tube I recall the last AC videos suddenly went into copywrite. So good on the kiwis!

Regards

Roy

Don't worry Roy, we'll be ok, (as long as we don't tip over again)- also Dean's helping eliminate the opposition for us. Funny how out of 4 boats, 3 have skippers from down this way. The problem with US is that they tried to do a fancy tack bear away at high speed instead of taking it steady, (they were well ahead) got a bit high, caught a gust, and it was all over. Looks like they may have a lot of work to do, as that flight would have put a huge strain on everything on the boat, let alone the electrics being underwater. May have been better to keep the windward foil down till they were stable, especially in that breeze (the Brits have been doing this with success) Hope they can get it back and running again.

JB

Absolutely excellent and exciting racing today. Couldn't beleive that American Magic went for that particular maouevre when rounding the mark - I could see something was going to go wrong from the angle they approached it but if it had come off would have been a win for them over Italy.
I love my sailing however, now confined to sailing my model yachs - IOM, DF95 and DF65.

Next rounds a week away - bring it on. ⛵⛵⛵
Alan

Hi can I correct my last text, I intended to say best of the 4 rounds not 4 points takes on NZ. Day3 is looking good for us but bad for USA. American Magic is almost American Tragic!

USA has zero points going into the last race of this round and were against the Italians in Luna Rossa. Then they came good increasing their lead on each progressive leg of the match. Then rounding the last gate and a little way on they were caught in a sudden squall while travelling at nearly 50 mph and within a few seconds they capsized. There was just no-where to go, it looked like he tried to head into wind but it was over so quickly he did not stand much of a chance.
All the crew were safe and a while later the yacht was righted and towed in. However it was very low in the water and I wonder how the on board computers have faired and also the controls for the foils?
The next round starts this Friday, so they have some time to resolve the many issues.
Scores are UK 4 points. Italy 2 points and USA nil points including two DNF's.
The UK has suddenly arisen thanks to Mercedes helping with the water dynamics of their foils, angles and drag. We had gone from nil points in the races pre-Christmas to looking really good. The race with the Italians was the most telling, as Luna Rossa had the speed and often was travelling faster than Ineos UK but Sir Ben got his tactics right and it made all the difference.
No time to feel smug though as each week all three teams will have learnt something new about their boat and handling and only too keen to exploit it.
In the old monohull races which were way off shore there was much tacking and putting your opponent at a disadvantage. But in 2021 we have speed and boat handling to the fore. If you drop off your foils you can give away 300 metres to your opponent.
The data shown on screen is frequent and complex and to be honest you need the cgi to see what is happening.
The fastest boat speed I have noted was American Magic at 45 knots which is almost 52 mph!
Again on the I wonder side all these teams are gaining race time and developing handling techniques. Does this leave the defending team NZ, who only race the winner rather less experienced?
regards
Roy

More good news on the Americas' Cup. Team UK, now 4 from 4👍👍👍👍😊

JB

Hi Nerys, we are actually watching the races live here in Auckland as they are in the inner harbour,- pretty amazing to watch.

JB

Hi all, just watched it on youtube. So now UK has 2 points and it is first to 4 points wins the Prada Cup.
I was thinking with all this match racing going on New Zealand are missing out on match fitness.
UK enlisted Mercedes to get the ride angles right on the foils and reduce drag as well, they also seem to have the foils with the least surface area. UK has used up their entitlement to 6 foils maybe another team is just waiting but I picked up somewhere that these foils take a long while to produce.
USA v Italy tomorrow and followed by the 2nd. leg of the round robin with UK v USA again. Then we have to wait until next weekend for racing to start again.
regards
Roy

Plenty of information this morning on BBC News plus if you want to see the races proper, go to the Americas Cup website. Great exciting racing by GB Ineos at phenomenal speeds with going into tacks at plus 40 knots and completing the tack at about 24 knots - the ultimate racing machine. Tactics were spot on especially on the 2 minute ccoutdown to the start to gain the best position across the start line. You can see the races on the A C Website as they have uploaded them to Youtube and with on board cameras and microphones you see and hear how it all pans out. A fantastic improvement on their early races pre-Christmas.
Alan

Thanks for the info jb. Best news about Americas Cup in years. You are obviously hearing about it on the news there, whereas it's not talked about much here. So please, keep us informed.

Cheers, Nerys