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How to Win the America’s Cup

Update 2 May 2016  by Jack Griffin
America’s Cup Competition Format Bermuda 2017       Click to download.

2017 America’s Cup competition format 

Sorry for the long text – but this is complicated. You may want to skip to the Summary.

The America’s Cup Match – first to seven points

This is not the same as “best of 13.” Remember that the 2013 America’s Cup Match was “first to nine points.” We needed 19 races, since Oracle Team USA started with a score of -2 because of their penalty. For the 2017 America’s Cup there could be penalties and also a bonus point – the winner of the “America’s Cup Qualifiers” will start one point ahead if they are in the Match. Curiously the one point advantage comes from having the other team start with a score of minus one point. And, that point could be influenced by the America’s Cup World Series – read on…

Selecting the Challenger starts with the America’s Cup World Series

Challenger selection begins next year – 2015. The America’s Cup World Series – fleet racing in AC45s – counts.  The series runs over two years 2015 and 2016 with the defender and all challengers racing. The winner of the ACWS begins the “America’s Cup Qualifiers” (details below) with two points. The ACWS runner up starts with one point. And – important detail – if there is a tie in the AC Qualifiers, the ACWS results will be used to break the tie.

“America’s Cup Qualifiers” – round robin in AC62’s (now AC Class)

The first match racing and the first racing in the America’s Cup Class yachts. All 2017 racing will be in Bermuda) beginning with the round robin “America’s Cup Qualifiers.”  The AC Qualifiers will be a double round robin. If the defender wins this series, they start the America’s Cup Match one point ahead of the other team. If this series is won by a challenger and they make it to the AC Match, they will have the one point advantage. Remember that the winner and runner-up in the ACWS started this series with points earned in AC45 fleet racing and that ACWS results will be used to break ties. The venue for this racing is to be announced by 15 February 2015. (Update 17 April 2015: America’s Cup Event Authoritiy announced Bermuda as the venue for the America’s Cup Qualifiers.)

“America’s Cup Challenger Playoffs” – semi-finals and finals

The top four challengers move to the venue of the AC Match. Both semi-finals and finals will be “first to five points.” Racing is likely to be in late May / early June 2017

Got all that? In summary, to win the 2017 America’s Cup:

  1. Win the AC World Series in foiling AC45s to carry two points into the round robin AC Qualifiers. You will need to decide to race one or two AC45’s – if you race two, their results are averaged. Even if you don’t win, fight for every race – if you tie someone in the AC Qualifiers, your ACWS results will break the tie.
  2. Launch your AC62 (changed to “America’s Cup Class”) as early as allowed: 150 days before the start of the AC Qualifiers. This probably means September 2016.
  3. Decide where to launch your AC62 (changed to “America’s Cup Class”). You only have five months for training and development. Maybe you want to assemble it at the venue of the AC Qualifiers and then to launch it there. That way you don’t lose time shipping it.
  4. Win the round robin AC Qualifiers! This will give you one point going into the AC Match. Remember – your result from the ACWS will be used as a tie breaker.
  5. Ship your boat to the AC Match venue. Try not to get too frustrated while your boat is in transit and the defender is sailing their second boat at the venue.
  6. Move your team to the venue. You have about two months to prepare your AC62 for the conditions at the venue before the start of the AC Challenger Playoffs.
  7. In the “playoffs,” win five races to win the semi-finals.
  8. Win five races to win the finals and become the Challenger in the AC Match.
  9. Did you get the bonus point in the AC Qualifiers? Then win six races to take the America’s Cup! If you don’t have the bonus point, win seven races!
  10. Now, choose your Challenger of Record for the 36th America’s Cup very carefully!

2017 America’s Cup Background

The rules have changed several times since they were first announced in June 2014. Here’s a quick summary of the major changes. Read the details on the competition format below the photo.

  • The Protocol was released in June 2014.
  • The original Challenger of Record, Australia’s Hamilton Island Yacht Club resigned in July 2014, shortly after agreeing to the Protocol and the AC62 Class design rule.
  • Their replacement, five time challenger from Italy, Luna Rossa, resigned in April 2015 when the other competitors voted to change from the eight man AC62 to the smaller, six man America’s Cup Class yachts.
  • The original plan to hold the round robin “AC Qualifiers” in a venue other than Bermuda was dropped in April 2015 and the AC Qualifiers were moved to Bermuda.
  • The deadline to announce the full schedule of AC World Series races was postponed and then ignored. As of 20 April 2016 the “Asian venue” (presumed to be Tokyo) has still not been confirmed.
  • ACEA announced that the AC World Series  would be extended into Q1 2017 and a group on Australia’s Gold Coast (near Brisbane) announced that they had strong support from AC Regatta Director Iain Murray to hold the event. Since then infrastructure issues at the Gold Coast venue mean that there will be no racing there in 2017.

Background – How the rules have been changing for the 2017 America’s Cup

Holding the AC Qualifiers in a different location from the AC Match was probably the most contentious issue between the challengers and the defender:

  • Added cost estimates are in millions of dollars.
  • Sailing conditions would have been different, requiring challengers to optimise their boats for two venues.
  • At least a month of training and development would be lost while the boats were in transit.
  • Since only the defender has two boats, they can train with one at the AC venue while their other boat is in transit.

No wonder the challengers were unhappy with this and got it changed!

Update, 17 April 2015:

  • The AC62 Class has been dropped in favor of the “America’s Cup Class,” a 50 foot, largely one design foiling wing sail catamaran with a crew of six.
  • ACEA has announced that all racing in 2017 will be in Bermuda, dropping plans for holding the America’s Cup Qualifiers in Auckland.

Update, 25 November 2014: The AC45s will be modified to foil. Four America’s Cup World Series regattas have been scheduled in 2015.

Winning the 35th America’s Cup in 2017 will require navigating a radically different format for the competition.

  • One team may start the America’s Cup Match with a score of minus one (-1) before the first race is sailed. Read more.
  • Fleet racing in AC45’s will count towards the score in the Match and towards challenger selection.
  • The defender will be racing in the challenger selection series and can influence which challenger goes through to the Match.
  • Challengers’ boats will need to be optimized for conditions in two different venues. (No longer true, as of 17 April 2015, when ACEA announced that all 2017 racing will be in Bermuda.)

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America’s Cup Wind Model for Bermuda’s Great Sound

America's Cup wind model for Bermuda
Airbus wind model of Great Sound.

Looking for every possible advantage in the America’s Cup, Oracle Team USA has a small scale wind model for Bermuda’s Great Sound. Technical partner Airbus built the model for them using large quantities of wind data the team has collected over the last two years from their test boats, chase boats and the crane at their base. Large scale models for the Atlantic cannot be scaled down into reliable models for the Great Sound, since it is enclosed and subject local effects unrelated to the rest of the Atlantic.

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America’s Cup Winner “USA 17” AC72 at Mariners’ Museum

Winner of the 2013 America’s Cup in San Francisco, USA 17 has become a permanent exhibit at Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Virginia. She will be the highlight of an America’s Cup exhibition, “Speed and Innovation,” which will open in May 2017. I got the chance to climb over and inside USA 17 during my recent meetings at the museum in my role as “guest curator” of the upcoming exhibit.

AC72 Winner America's Cup at Mariners' Museum
USA 17 – AC72 – Winner of the 2013 America’s Cup, at Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Virginia

 

Mariners' Museum, Newport News, Virginia, home of America's Cup winner USA17 AC72 wingsail hydrofoiling yacht

 

Mariners' Museum, Newport News, Virginia, home of America's Cup winner USA17 AC72 wingsail hydrofoiling yacht

 

AC72 Winner America's Cup - mast step on crossbeam
The view from near the middle of the forward crossbeam made me realize how BIG this yacht is! And, how much higher the top of the pod is compared to the hulls. In manoeuvres, the crew were scrambling up and down much greater heights than you think when you see the videos. Athletes? You bet!

America’s Cup Geek Warning!

If you read on, I’ll take you deep in the weeds with details only America’s Cup geeks like me enjoy. Proceed at your own risk.

In the previous photo, did you notice those two circles on the centerline? The forward one is the mast step. The aft one was not used, but was prepared when the designers considered moving the wing aft to counter the lee helm problem. I wrote about this in my book “Turning the Tide” – so it was very cool to see it.

 

AC72 Winner 2013 America's Cup in San Francisco - starboard helm wheel. Oracle Team USA
Jimmy Spithill’s view. Notice the black buttons on the inside of the wheel – controls for daggerboard rake. Do you see the black button on top of the post for the wheel? Before a tack or gybe, Tom Slingsby would cross over to the leeward side to prepare the wing winch, and then hold down that button until the moment it was time to let the daggerboard come up.

Here’s a video that will show how important the button was. This is from Race 4, at Gate 2, the end of the first downwind leg. Ouch! In spite of the error, Oracle won this race, their first win. The error shows that early in the America’s Cup Match, they had still not mastered how to sail the boat. But by the finish of Race 8, their second win, they had improved dramatically, and were on their way to winning, even though at that point the score was 6-0 for the Kiwis.

 

Grinder Simeon Tienpont was called “Hydro” because he ran a lot of the hydraulic controls on the boat. Some of his controls are shown in the next two photos. Not shown are the controls to switch the flow of oil between hulls and the controls for daggerboard cant. A lot of hardware was stripped out of the hulls long before USA 17 was donated to the Mariners’ Museum.

AC72 Winner America's Cup - daggerboard control panel
AC72 Winner America’s Cup – daggerboard control panel connections in Simeon Tienpont’s cockpit

 

AC72 Winner 2013 America's Cup in San Francisco - daggerboard control buttons
AC72 Winner 2013 America’s Cup – daggerboard control buttons on the cockpit sole: F (forward rake) A (aft rake) UP, DN. The buttons still click when pushed, but of course the hydraulics have been stripped out of the hull and the grinding pedestal has been removed.

 

AC72 Winner America's Cup mast step - 2 positions
AC72 Winner America’s Cup mast step – two positions. To correct the lee helm problem, the designers considered moving the wing aft but decided against the move. Do you remember the story about the famous lay day, Monday 16 September, with the score 7-1?  ETNZ rejected Regatta Director Iain Murray’s suggestion to race, in order to get back on schedule. ETNZ did not sail that day, but Oracle did, testing a simpler solution than moving the mast step aft – they put an additional 1.5° of rake in the “mast.” They thought this might help reduce their lee helm problem, but it did not, so they went back to the previous rake setting, and they never changed the mast step position.

 

AC72 Winner America's Cup - mast step inside pod
AC72 Winner America’s Cup – mast step inside the central “pod.” That post is just below the forward circle in the previous photo. Presumably they would have needed another post like that, had they moved the wing aft.

 

AC72 Winner America's Cup - electrical panel inside pod
AC72 Winner America’s Cup – electrical panel and battery brackets, inside the central pod

 

AC72 Winner America's Cup - daggerboard seen from forward cockpit
AC72 Winner America’s Cup – daggerboard seen from forward cockpit. That’s the daggerboard you see through the circular hatch. This is the cockpit where Shannon Falcone and Joe Spooner worked the grinding pedestal. BTW, just to the right of that red arrow, you can see one of the scuppers.

 

AC72 Winner America's Cup - daggerboard & box inside hull
AC72 Winner America’s Cup – daggerboard & box inside the port hull. The daggerboard “cage” has been removed, with the mechanical feedback foil control system designed by Dmitri Despierres (still with Oracle) and Neil Wilkinson (now with ETNZ). This is where the imaginary “Little Herbie” would have been installed, had it existed. I’ve actually corresponded with the retired Kiwi 747 pilot who wrote the (unsigned) description of the mythical “computer controlled gyro-stabilized Stability Augmentation System” that got the Kiwi media all aflutter. He said the media blew his document all out of proportion. My conclusion: Little Herbie either did not exist or was the best coverup since NASA faked that landing on the moon.

 

Some Interesting America’s Cup Artefacts

The next three photos show polar info that was left in the hulls.

AC72 Winner America's Cup - polars wing trimmer
AC72 Winner America’s Cup – polars  pasted next to the wing trimmer’s position.

 

AC72 Winner America's Cup - polars deltas
AC72 Winner America’s Cup – polars deltas.

 

AC72 Winner America's Cup - polars & daggerboard settings
AC72 Winner America’s Cup – polars & daggerboard settings. A couple of things to notice… The table is dated 8th September 2013 – the second day of racing. It has data for boards Nr 9 and Nr 10. On the first layday, Monday 9 September, they tested an asymmetric setup, with boards Nr 5 and Nr 10, but they chose not to race with that configuration. Oracle used the symmetric setup with boards Nr 9 and Nr 10 in all 19 races.

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SoftBank Team Japan Breaks Their Wing

On 26 October the wing on Team Japan’s AC45x test boat broke apart while training in over 20 knots of wind. The lower forward corner of the trailing element – the flap of the wing – gave way and then the entire lower flap segment tore loose. Click the photo to watch the short video. If you stop the video at about four seconds, you can see where the breakage occurs. The wing trim line was holding the lower trailing corner of the wing (equivalent to the clew on a soft mainsail) and the rest of the flap simply blew apart. No one was injured and the team was back out sailing a few days later using their “AC45x” wing, which has a different shape. The wing that broke was their “AC50” wing, which meets the design rule to be used on their race boat next year. I pointed out the difference in shape with photos in this earlier article.

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Wing Breakage Almost Lost the Cup in 2013

Oracle wing technician Jeff Causey with glue gun 40 minutes before Race 19 of the 2013 America’s Cup. Click photo to watch video.

Less than an hour before the start of the deciding race, a bracket broke inside Oracle’s AC72 wing. Oracle and Team New Zealand were tied 8-8. This race would decide the 2013 America’s Cup. The breakage needed to be stabilized or else the control arm for the wing’s flap would be jammed and Oracle would be unable to race. This video shows what happened.

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Artemis Wins in Toulon, Oracle Struggles

(c)Ricardo PintolAll rights reserved

The Côte d’Azur lived up to its name with warm sunshine for the racing just off Toulon’s beaches.

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All teams had their Olympians back for the America’s Cup World Series in Toulon. 2016 Finn gold medalist Giles Scott, tactician on Land Rover BAR, got a podium finish after coming last in the first two races. Rio 49er gold medalist Peter Burling was back on the helm at Emirates Team New Zealand but finished the event next to last, their worst finish in the series. The Kiwis were outdone by Oracle, who finished dead last, with Tom Slingsby on the helm, replacing injured Jimmy Spithill. Not exactly the result Slingsby, the London 2012 Laser gold medalist, was hoping for. London gold and Rio silver 49er medalist Nathan Outteridge came out on top in Toulon, winning the light air regatta, thanks in large part to tactician Iain Percy finding pressure up and down the flukey course on both days. Percy has two Olympic golds and a silver in the Finn and Star. The fates were not kind to the home team. Franck Cammas and Groupama Team France were in second place for the regatta at the end of the first day and at the beginning of the final downwind leg of the regatta. The patchy conditions did them in as the Kiwis slipped past and bumped the French off the podium.

(c)Ricardo PintolAll rights reserved

Bowmen? On an AC45?? Team Japan’s tactician Chris Draper, standing on the bowsprit in the light conditions, looked like the bowman on a big monohull. Artemis Racing’s Iain Percy spent most of the regatta straddling the bowsprit and looking for patches of pressure in the light conditions.

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Land Rover BAR Wins in Portsmouth and Takes Series Lead

America’s Cup World Series Leaderboard After 7 Events

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America’s Cup competition format and scoring explained here.

Ben Ainslie and his all British crew had three firsts, two seconds and a fifth place to win the Portsmouth America’s Cup World Series. Again. They also won the event here in 2015. The win puts them at the top of the overall series leaderboard. Oracle Team USA got back on the podium, one point behind the Brits for the Portsmouth event.

Oracle takes over second place overall, pushing the Kiwis into third. New Zealand had big gaps on board in the two most important positions: Ray Davies handled wing trim for the first time since wing trimmer Glenn Ashby was on the helm replacing Peter Burling, off in Rio to prepare for the Olympics. Like Team New Zealand, Artemis was without their regular helmsman. Nathan Outteridge is also in Rio, hoping to defend his 2012 gold medal against silver medalist Burling. Francesco Bruni stepped in as helmsman – his first time ever to sail an AC45F. The rules prevent sailing the AC45F’s between events. The conditions were different each day, so there was no chance for Bruni to learn the boat. Artemis finished last in Portsmouth – a frustrating result after their win in Chicago last month.

Dean Barker and his men on SoftBank Team Japan confirmed their performance in Chicago with their second podium finish. Groupama Team France shared the lead after the first day of racing but fared less well in the stronger conditions on Sunday.

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(c)Ricardo PintolAll rights reserved

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Big Enthusiastic Crowds in Spite of Gray Skies and No Wind on Saturday

Light and shifty winds combined with the Hudson River’s current to challenge both the Race Committee and the teams. On Saturday only a provisional race was held, after the TV window had passed. It was the third time in five regattas that a full day of racing was lost. The crowds in the AC Village and lining the river edge were excited just to see the AC45F’s even if they had to be towed to show off their foiling.

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The crowd loved seeing the race boats foiling, even when they had to be towed on Saturday in order to put on a show.

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Video: Emirates Team New Zealand Wins in New York and Stays Atop the Leaderboard

 

America's Cup World Series Leaderboard - May'16
America’s Cup World Series Leaderboard – May’16

Going into the last race, all six teams had a chance to win the regatta. With four of the teams bunched on the downstream side of the course, struggling to avoid being carried outside the course limits by the current, the Kiwis found a gust and roared off to win the race and the regatta.

Team New Zealand in trouble at start of America's Cup World Series in New York
Race 3: Team New Zealand in trouble at start of America’s Cup World Series in New York.
Race 3. ETNZ is hooked on the mark and they have picked up a penalty for being OCS (On the Course Side of the line) at the starting signal. Notice, too, that Artemis is off to a poor start, sailing behind the line. On Leg 1 they will be out of position to round Mark1 and be forced to sail back to round it properly.
Race 3. ETNZ is hooked on the mark and they have picked up a penalty for being OCS (On the Course Side of the line) at the starting signal. Notice, too, that Artemis is off to a poor start, sailing behind the line. On Leg 1 they will be out of position to round Mark1 and be forced to sail back to round it properly.
Race 3: Blair Tuke and Guy Endean try to get ETNZ free from the starting mark.
Race 3: Blair Tuke and Guy Endean try to get ETNZ free from the starting mark.

 

 

(missing photo – 1Feb’17)

Race 3 Leg 4: The current, flowing from top to bottom of the image, has carried Land Rover BAR and SoftBank Team Japan outside the course limit, giving them penalties. Meanwhile you can see the ripples on the water where the gust has launched Team New Zealand into the lead and on their way to winning the race and the regatta.

All three lights flashing on BAR. The green light means he is within five boatlengths of the course limit. Ainslie felt Japan did not give him enough room at the course limit. The red light means Ainslie has protested Japan. The blue light means he has a penalty - for going outside the course limits. The umpires ruled that Japan gave him enough room but Japan picked up a penalty of their own when the current took them outside the boundary.
All three lights flashing on BAR. The green light means he is within five boatlengths of the course limit. Ainslie felt Japan did not give him enough room at the course limit. The red light means Ainslie has protested Japan. The blue light means he has a penalty – for going outside the course limits. The umpires ruled that Japan gave him enough room but Japan picked up a penalty of their own when the current took them outside the boundary.
Race 3 Finish: Team New Zealand and Oracle have crossed the checkered finish line. Team Japan, Team France and BAR follow.
Race 3 Finish: Team New Zealand and Oracle have crossed the checkered finish line. Team Japan, Team France and BAR follow.

 

 

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Yet Again! Burling and Tuke Win their 25th 49er Regatta in a Row

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Peter Burling and Blair Tuke continue their unprecedented run of 25 consecutive regatta wins after winning their 4th straight 49er European Championship in Barcelona, Spain. They have not “lost” since they took the silver medal at the 2012 Olympics.

Burling and Tuke had the fleet on the back foot from the start, winning six of the first nine races. Going into the double points medal race, they were 44 points ahead of Australians Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen of Artemis Racing, and had an unassailable lead. The margins by which Burling and Tuke have been winning regattas have their competition scratching their heads and wondering what it will take to beat them in Rio this Summer.

The duo have a few days off before traveling to France to make preparations for their next 49er event, the ISAF Sailing World Cup Hyeres, France from 22-26 April. They then jump on a plane direct to New York to rejoin Emirates Team New Zealand for the next event of the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series where they currently lead the overall standings.

Outteridge and Jensen sailed strongly and locked up second place before the medal race but still finished 60 points behind Burling and Tuke. Spaniards Diego Botin and Iago Lopez Marra took third.

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Beast Mode – How to Trim the Wing

AC34 Race 14 Spithill using buttons to control board rake. Leg 3 upwind. Right hand hidden.

All four AC72’s that raced in San Francisco in 2013 used a mechanical linkage from the grinding pedestals to the wing winch. The grinding pedestals can be switched between pumping hydraulic oil and mechanically driving a winch. The mechanical linkage is more efficient than hydraulics for driving a winch. On upwind legs, three of the four pedestals on Oracle’s boat were dedicated to powering the wing winch, allowing trimmer Kyle Langford to trim the wing constantly, enabling stable upwind foiling. But this was a lot of work for the grinders, who called it “Beast Mode.” Here’s a video that shows how it was done.

Recently, a poorly informed journalist wondered in print if this constant trimming was legal. It was. The umpires in San Francisco were well aware of it. Oracle’s opponent, Emirates Team New Zealand did not protest. And, the umpires for the 2017 America’s Cup have issued a ruling to clarify that Beast Mode is legal. You can download that ruling here. Did you watch SoftBank Team Japan’s video in last week’s Cup Experience Monday News? You could see them training in Beast Mode on their experimental boat in Bermuda. As I mentioned in my article, you could see all four grinders turning the handles while wing trimmer Chris Draper constantly trimmed the wing.

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Oracle’s New Wing

Oracle Team USA has been testing a wing built to the America’s Cup Class Rule. Remember that this rule defines the boats that will race in Bermuda in 2017. Up to now, Oracle had been sailing with wings that appeared to be modified AC45 wings.

OraclesNewWing1

Boat 3 with the AC Class wing, on the left. Notice that the trailing edge is curved while the trailing edge of the AC45x wing in Boat 2 has straighter segments.   Photographer unknown.

15/02/16 - Hamilton (BDA) - 35th America's Cup Bermuda 2017 - ORACLE TEAM USA - AC45T training
Sailing with the AC Class wing. Notice that they had not yet covered with tape the gaps between the segments of the flap element.     Image: OTUSA Sam Greenfield

Some details

Below is Oracle’s AC45x wing before they added the panel of readouts below the wing.

OraclesNewWing3

And below is the same wing with the readouts added. Notice the gap between the wing and the readouts, where the camber control arm can be seen.

OraclesNewWing4

The next photo shows the new “AC Class” wing. Notice that the camber control arm setup is different, and there is no gap between the bottom of the wing and the readouts.

OraclesNewWing5

When I call this an “AC Class” wing, I mean its shape appears to comply with the AC Class Rule. Once the AC Class boats are launched, beginning 27 December 2016, the teams can only use two wings in them. Although there is this two-wing-limit for the race boats, the richer teams can build as many wings as they want for their test boats. Realistically, they will probably only build two.

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Groupama Team France denies Oracle the win

28/02/16 - Muscat (OMN) - 35th America's Cup Bermuda 2017 - Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series Oman - Racing Day 2 - Racing Day 2

Watch the video of incidents between Oracle and Team France at the windward gate in Races 4 and 6 in Oman. In each case they lost one place.

Oracle Team USA finished two points behind Land Rover BAR. Did this incident at the windward mark in Race 4 cost them the regatta? If they had come in fourth instead of fifth in Race 4, they would have had equal points to BAR and would have won on the count back.

In Race 6 Team France passed Oracle to take the lead at Gate 3. France went on to win – their first race win in the ACWS.

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Land Rover BAR Wins in Oman

28/02/16 - Muscat (OMN) - 35th America's Cup Bermuda 2017 - Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series Oman - Racing Day 2 - Racing Day 2

Ben Ainslie and his team showed grit and tenacity to win the Oman stop on the America’s Cup World Series. After getting a third and two firsts in Saturday’s races, they had poor starts in all three double points races on Sunday, including two OCS* penalties. On Sunday they were in last place at the first mark in each race but clawed their way back to finish those races 2-4-3 to win the regatta. With this win they become the first team to win two ACWS events.

*OCS = on course side, meaning they crossed the starting line before the starting signal. The penalty is to drop two boat lengths behind all the boats that started correctly.

AC World Series Oman

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Land Rover BAR wins America’s Cup World Series Oman

Groupama Team France Denies Oracle the Win

BAR at America's Cup World Series Oman
Land Rover BAR at America’s Cup World Series Oman

Ben Ainslie and his team showed grit and tenacity to win the Oman stop on the America’s Cup World Series. After getting a third and two firsts in Saturday’s races, they had poor starts in all three double points races on Sunday, including two OCS* penalties. On Sunday they were in last place at the first mark in each race but clawed their way back to finish those races 2-4-3 to win the regatta.

*OCS = on course side, meaning they crossed the starting line before the starting signal. The penalty is to drop two boat lengths behind all the boats that started correctly.

Groupama Team France Denies Oracle the Win

Watch the video of incidents between Oracle and Team France at the windward gate in Races 4 and 6 in Oman. In each case Oracle lost one place. Since the Sunday races score double points, finishing one place higher either in race would have given Oracle two more points, equal to BAR.

Oracle Team USA finished two points behind Land Rover BAR. Did this incident at the windward mark in Race 4 cost them the regatta? If they had come in fourth instead of fifth in Race 4, they would have had equal points to BAR and would have won on the count back.

In Race 6 France passed Oracle at the last gate, and Artemis snagged the anchor line on a mark, dropping them to last place in the race and in the regatta. Watch the action in this video.


Oracle finished only two points behind Land Rover BAR. If they had finished fourth instead of fifth in the first race on Sunday, or if they had hung on to the lead in the last race, they would have won the regatta.

America's Cup World Series Oman results
America’s Cup World Series Oman results

Emirates Team New Zealand still leads the overall America’s Cup World Series

Uncharacteristically last in one race and next to last in another, ETNZ still managed to be on the podium for the event and to maintain their overall lead in the America’s Cup World Series. Winning the first race of each day pushed them into third place in Oman. They maintain a six point lead over Oracle in the series.

America's Cup World Series Leaderboard after Oman
America’s Cup World Series Leaderboard after Oman

 

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Artemis Racing Wins America’s Cup World Series Bermuda

Umpire Crashes into Artemis at America's Cup World Series Bermuda
Umpire Crashes into Artemis at America’s Cup World Series Bermuda

Artemis Racing won the Bermuda America’s Cup World Series in dramatic fashion, winning Race 2 after a pre-start collision with an umpire boat. In the third race they executed a perfect foiling gybe to pass Oracle just before the finish to seal the regatta win.

Crash, seen from onboard SoftBank Team Japan

Repairing Artemis After Umpire Crash at America's Cup World Series Bermuda
Repairing Artemis After Umpire Crash

AC45F Foil Controls

The foil rake controls on the AC45F one design cats are relatively primitive, making the boats hard to sail. All of the teams are still doing “wheelies.”

Oracle Racing in Bermuda America's Cup World Series
Oracle Racing in Bermuda America’s Cup World Series Race 2
Team France in Bermuda America's Cup World Series
Team France in Bermuda America’s Cup World Series
Artemis & BAR in America's Cup World Series Bermuda
Artemis and Land Rover BAR at America’s Cup World Series Bermuda – Racing Day 2

 

Emirates Team New Zealand took second in the regatta and leads the America’s Cup World Series. No wind on Saturday caused a reshuffle of the schedule and three races were run on Sunday, all worth double points in the America’s Cup World Series.

America's Cup World Series Standings after Bermuda - October 2015
America’s Cup World Series Standings after Bermuda – October 2015

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