Jack Griffin, Author at Cup Experience

April 25, 2016 By Jack Griffin

Franck Cammas to Helm Groupama Team France in NYC

Groupama Team France - 35th America's Cup — Franck Cammas training for New York. Notice the carbon fiber custom leg brace on his right leg. Image: Groupama Team France

Only five months after almost losing his right foot in a training accident, Franck Cammas will be back on the helm of the French boat for the America’s Cup World Series in New York on May 7-8. Rehab has been fast but painful: “Racing in New York will punctuate five extremely intense months and a rehabilitation programme, which I’ve tried my best to control. I focused on the positives the minute I learnt that my foot had been saved. From that point, I gave my all to my rehabilitation and the other team-related activities. I think this approach got me into a virtuous circle, which favoured my recuperation. However, it’s important not to lose sight of the tough times where the pain really called for me to grit my teeth. I put myself in the red in a bid to recover as quickly as possible. When you’re aware that the group is in training and progressing and you can’t be part of all that it’s frustrating and inevitably led to tension at times. I had to get back to the top of my game, which took a great deal of effort and self-sacrifice. Today, I’m still cautious when it comes to jumping on the trampoline, but I’m more motivated than ever and I’m happy to be in a position to face up to the competition with a talented crew. I’ve missed the competition environment. I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank Adam Minoprio, who fulfilled his role as replacement to perfection in Oman. It was a very positive experience for the whole team.”

As for the conditions in New York, Cammas said, “In New York, in May, there can be a little thermal breeze, but above all there will be a lot of current off the Statue of Liberty. The East River and the Hudson River converge here so there can be as much as three knots of current. We’ll have to know how to play that to our advantage.”

The crew of Groupama Team France in New York from 5 to 8 May 2016
Helmsman / skipper : Franck Cammas
Wing trimmer : Thierry Fouchier
Tactics : Thomas Le Breton
Headsail trimmer : Hervé Cunningham
Bowman : Devan Le Bihan
Replacement : Olivier Herledant

April 25, 2016 By Jack Griffin

Was This the World’s First AC Grind-off?

At Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute’s Fund Raising Gala, Saturday 23 April 2016.

Graeme Spence of ORACLE TEAM USA powers through a 60 second all out burst while BUEI’s Executive Director Mel Ferson counts down the time.

Each of the Bermuda-based teams competed in the charity grind-off. From left to right, Graeme Spence, OTUSA, Luke Parkinson, Artemis Racing, Simeon Tienpont (with daughter Sara) from SoftBank Team Japan. Graeme won the competition but everyone was a winner as the gala brought in over $100,000, including a hefty live auction bid for a ride on Artemis Racing’s turbo boat! A big THANK YOU to all three teams for their support.

April 25, 2016 By Jack Griffin

A Day on the Water with SoftBank Team Japan…and others

Friday 22 April 2016 All three Bermuda-based teams training off the North Shore
Photo: Jack Griffin

I visited SoftBank Team Japan last Friday and got to spend the afternoon on their chase boat. The team has a real depth of experience from AC34: Dean Barker, Derek Saward, Jero Lomas and Winston MacFarlane were all onboard Team New Zealand’s AC72 in San Francisco. Wing trimmer and sailing manager Chris Draper helmed Luna Rossa. Grinder Simeon Tienpont was grinder and boat captain for Oracle’s AC72. General manager Kasuhiko Sofuku sailed on Nippon Challenge in 2000. The team is developing younger sailors including Japanese team members Yugo Yoshida and Yuki Kasitani and Australian multihull specialist Jason Waterhouse.

Although the team has purchased a design package from Oracle, Nick Holroyd, formerly head of design at Team New Zealand, is making his presence felt, especially with work on board design. Nick was at the cutting edge of the foiling breakthrough during the last campaign.

The team base at Dockyard is growing, with office space and a lounge and kitchen popping up quickly with modular construction.

On the water I saw all three Bermuda based teams out on the water – SoftBank Team Japan, Artemis Racing and, with two boats, Oracle. Looking for long stretches of open water, all four boats headed out of the Great Sound and did several straightline speed runs off Bermuda’s beautiful north shore. No one looked noticeably faster than the others. AC35 will be hard fought and every team is likely to be strong and competitive. SoftBank Team Japan did a few well-executed foiling gybes, but that is to be expected, given that Dean mastered that maneuver long before any of the other helmsmen. Of course, the other teams were also smooth in their maneuvers, but no one should think of SoftBank Team Japan as a “new crew.” A new team, yes, but one with lots of experience and strength.

April 18, 2016 By Jack Griffin

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

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.

April 18, 2016 By Jack Griffin

Land Rover BAR Launches Third Experimental Boat

A close look at the three experimental boats launched by Land Rover BAR lets us see how the evolution in their test program.

Notice the rudders hung off the stern on Land Rover BAR’s new “T3” test boat. Image: Land Rover BAR

Land Rover BAR’s “T2” – notice how the rudders are mounted. You can see the cable and kingpost understructure. The crew are in cockpits with grinding pedestals and the boat has wheel steering. The crossbeams were wider, approximating the dimensions of the AC Class yachts that will race in 2017. Image: Land Rover BAR.

“T1” had no cockpits, no grinding pedestals and tiller steering. The understructure was cables, like on a standard AC45, but had no forward kingpost, since the boat was not intended to sail with a gennaker. The crossbeams were the standard AC45 beams, so the boat had the same dimensions as an AC45 rather than the wider AC Class that will be raced in 2017

Ben Ainslie’s first test boat was a slightly modified AC45: tiller steering, no grinding pedestals, no cockpits and the original crossbeams and understructure. T2 had wheel steering, cockpits and pedestals but surprisingly stayed with cables for the understructure and did not have a pod under the wing. Now they have launched their third experimental boat. The new “T3” AC45X boat has a pod under the wing. The clearly visible differences are the pod and the rudders hung well off the stern of the boat. Hanging the rudders off the stern allows the designers to get closer to the dimensions between the rudders and the foils that the 50 foot long AC Class race yacht will have. The test boat must respect the rule that the its hulls must have the same lower shape as an AC45, but the new rudder mounts give the effect of a longer hull.

T3’s wing appears to have a shape similar to Oracle’s latest wing. Both of them are probably the dimensions of an AC Class wing, but they will certainly have very different control systems. Image: Land Rover BAR