Emirates Team New Zealand had previously said they would launch their race boat in late January and sail in Auckland during February before shipping the boat to Bermuda. That way their 28 day “blackout period” would be spent disassembling, shipping and re-assembling the boat. We have no news of the boat being launched yet. But we have heard that they were sailing very well in December, in their AC45X test boat. The rumor is that they laid out an AC race course and could sail an entire race without dropping off their foils – tacking upwind as well as downwind. We may get some more news when they launch in Auckland (soon?) and, of course, when they first sail on the Great Sound in late March.
Saw this post on line about Kiwis using leg grinders. What’s up with that. Jack’s talk this week inferred that was against the rules.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/sport/other/watch-exclusive-footage-shows-team-new-zealand-flying-across-auckland-waters-using-game-changing-leg-powered-grinders
I was wrong! I thought the rule specified upright grinding pedestals but it does not. The hull shape and cockpit locations are the same, but ETNZ managed to fit two cycling grinding stations in each cockpit. BTW, none of the other teams will have cycling grinding stations when they launch. It remains to be seen if anyone changes. Or if that is even possible in the time they have left…
For a while they were saying the Kiwis are behind now it appears they are actually ahead. Watching Oracle fall off its foil and then watching the Kiwis screaming through their gulf on one set of foils then watching them tack in 5 knots on their gull wing foils making it look easy, easy , easy, says they might be the team to beat. Again.
Oracle better be hoping they made the right choices on foils because NZ looks like they know exactly what they’re doing.
Steve, I agree with you! The Kiwis look like a real threat. There are three teams in this AC who have competed before and three that are first time teams. They all look very good!