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February 18, 2017 By Jack Griffin 12 Comments

Kiwi Surprises – America’s Cup Class Race Yacht with Bike Grinders and More!

Emirates Team New Zealand took the America’s Cup world by surprise when they launched their race boat on Valentine’s Day with bicycle grinding stations.

ETNZ's America's Cup Class yacht with bicycle grinders - Richard Gladwell
ETNZ’s America’s Cup Class yacht with bicycle grinders.   Photo: Hamish Hooper

Why is wing trimmer Glenn Ashby looking at the wing? You can see him doing the same thing in the videos. In 2009, Oracle Racing’s wing designer Scott Ferguson had to convince the sailors to trim by the numbers, not the shape of the wing. He made his point by asking them if they had ever seen a pilot looking out the window to adjust the flaps on an airplane. So what is Glenn looking at?

 

ETNZ’s design coordinator Dan Bernasconi explains how they developed their design. Video includes a clip showing tests they did between arm and leg grinding.

Back to 1851?

If she is right, then we are all wrong.

All the other teams evaluated using bicycle grinding stations but rejected the idea. The others decided that the improved power output was not worth the problems with crew mobility. It’s harder to get off and on bike grinders during manoeuvres. In 1851, Lord Uxbridge, 1st Marquess of Anglesey and a founding member of the Royal Yacht Squadron, on seeing “America’s” design, remarked, “If she is right, then we are all wrong.” We may be hearing those words again in 2017!

Bicycle grinders have been tried before in the America’s Cup. In 1977, Pelle Petterson’s  12 meter “Sverige” had bicycle grinding stations below deck. They did not work out well, since the crew had a wider range of tasks than today’s America’s Cup Class grinders. And offshore single-handed sailors have used bicycle grinders, especially when shaking out a reef in the mainsail.

America's Cup skipper Franck Cammas using bicycle grinder on offshsore singlehanded multihull.
America’s Cup skipper Franck Cammas using bicycle grinder offshore.

More Surprises

The bicycle grinders are not the only surprise. We’ll have to investigate how Glenn Ashby trims the wing, but there is no winch on the deck.

America's Cup Class yacht - no wing trim winch.
America’s Cup Class yacht – no wing trim winch. Photo: Richard Gladwell

And, this is a pretty extreme shape for the daggerboard wing. Richard Gladwell reported that the Kiwis were foiling smoothly in as little as four knots of wind.

Inverted gull wing board on NZL's America's Cup Class yacht.
Inverted gull wing board on NZL’s America’s Cup Class yacht.

 

Inverted gull wing
Similar to wing shape on WWII Junkers Ju-87 Stuka diver bomber.

More about aircraft wing shapes and configurations in a good Wikipedia article here.

Comments

  1. Bruce Lloyd-Jones says

    February 18, 2017 at 16:21

    Jack
    If I wanted to travel to Bermuda during the AC cup or during the other events What travel agency or contact would you recomende ?
    Love you Cup Experience
    Thanks
    Bruce Lloyd-Jones

    Reply
    • Jack Griffin says

      February 19, 2017 at 01:52

      Hello Bruce, Glad you like the newsletter! I will put info about travel and about viewing options in the next issue.

      Reply
  2. Christof says

    February 18, 2017 at 19:29

    For the wing winch look close above the “r” of torpedo close to the guy sitting there.

    Reply
    • Jack Griffin says

      February 19, 2017 at 01:56

      Hi Christof – I don’t see any winch… Need some better pics!

      Reply
  3. Tadahiko Ikami says

    February 19, 2017 at 00:56

    Hi Jack.
    Im now in theHospital due to accident in snow ground for 2 month
    but Im enjoying your new letter evry time , I expect to go out the Hospital befire April .
    Thanks very much for your news every time, I have forward your news to
    my friends.
    I hope for your success.
    best regards,
    tad Ikami
    Harken Japan.

    Reply
    • Jack Griffin says

      February 26, 2017 at 18:29

      Hello Tad-san! Thanks for your message. Looks like Harken’s very cool, white, ceramic “air winch” won’t be used by ETNZ or by Oracle on their race boats. But I bet there is some Harken gear that we can’t see in the control systems!

      Reply
  4. اجاره آپارتمان مبله در تهران says

    February 19, 2017 at 09:25

    hi
    this is very useful
    good luck

    Reply
    • Jack Griffin says

      February 19, 2017 at 16:10

      Glad you like it! Stay in touch. You could also join the CupExperience Facebook group and join the conversation there. https://www.facebook.com/groups/cupexperience/

      Reply
  5. Sony says

    February 23, 2017 at 20:45

    Dear Jack
    The day Emirates Team New Zealand went to the water several pictures were released to the media showing the boat sailing on foils (all of the pictures, like the thierd from the top of this column) on an attitude slightly “nose down”.
    Could you tell me what is the reason?
    Is it to preserve the horizontal fin at the botton of the rudder from the foil’s turbulence?
    Thank you a lot for your answer, Master!!!!
    Cheers
    Sony
    jcsoneyra@yahoo.com

    Reply
    • Jack Griffin says

      February 25, 2017 at 05:21

      Hello Sony, All of the teams spend a fair amount of time sailing bow down. The Kiwis say it gives them better balance. They hope to get the windward rudder out of the water to reduce drag. I’m working on an article with more of the science behind the bow down attitude.

      Reply
  6. Jay in the USA says

    February 27, 2017 at 03:44

    Hi Jack,

    The Deed of Gift for the America’s Cup says

    Any organized Yacht Club of a foreign country, incorporated, patented, or

    licensed by the legislature, admiralty, or other executive department, having for

    its annual regatta an ocean water course on the sea, or on an arm of the sea, or

    one which combines both, shall always be entitled to the right of sailing a match

    of this Cup, with a yacht or vessel propelled by sails only and constructed in the

    country to which the Challenging Club belongs, against any one yacht or vessel

    constructed in the country of the Club holding the Cup.

    That part about “against any one yacht or vessel

    constructed in the country of the Club holding the Cup.” does not seem to fall into the mutual consent clause that follows.

    Is the definition of “constructed in the country of the Club holding the Cup” subject to legal argument, given that OTUSA’s boat had only the bows constructed in the USA?

    By strict definition could only ETNZ’s boat be Deed compliant?

    If the defender, the Golden Gate Yacht Club, were to be found wrong on this point, would the Cup Trustee revert to the previous Trustee, the Swiss Yacht Club that Ernesto Bertelli represented?

    Reply
    • Jack Griffin says

      February 27, 2017 at 09:00

      Hi Jay, Great questions. I’ll start with my final point: I think there are a number of things that could have been taken to court over the years and the current definition of “constructed in country” is one of them. Of course, as long as no one brings suit, then we won’t know how the court would rule. And, who wants to spend tens of millions of dollars litigating, with no assurance of winning?

      Whether “constructed in country” can be part of mutual consent is an open question.
      Even so, I think Artemis, Team France and BAR have all built enough of their yachts in their home countries (far more than the skin of the forward 2.7 meters of the hulls).
      And, in the exceedingly unlikely case that someone were to bring suit about Oracle’s AC Class yacht this year and their AC72 that won in 2013 (both built mainly in New Zealand) the Cup would certainly NOT go back to Société Nautique de Genève, since Oracle’s 90 foot trimaran that won in 2010 was built in the USA. If anything, the court could award the Cup to New Zealand for the 2013 Match, based on a claim that Oracle’s AC72 was not “constructed in the country…”

      Reply

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