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September 18, 2017 By Jack Griffin

Oracle’s Disastrous Gybe in Race 2 – America’s Cup 2017 Bermuda

What Happened??

At the beginning of the second upwind leg of Race 2, Oracle trailed New Zealand by over 500 meters. In the light air they seemed to be on the right side of all the shifts and closed the gap. A poor tack by the Kiwis let Oracle round the right gate mark on New Zealand's transom. But when both boats gybed together on Leg 6, Oracle fell off the foils and confusion seemed to reign on board.

In this ACTV video footage, it's hard to see who's doing what in the aerial and onboard shots, but if you look closely you can see...

  • While on port gybe, Tom Slingsby leads Kyle Langford to the starboard hull to prepare the gybe. Langford then grinds while Slingsby is on the helm. The wing has not yet gybed. The sheet is slack on starboard, and trimmed on port.
  • Number 1 Graham Spence is seen on his knees on the trampoline on the port side. He starts to cross, in front of the wing, hesitates, and takes a step back towards the port hull. In the next aerial shot you can see him cross in front of the wing, to the starboard hull.
  • Number 2 Kinley Fowler starts to step out of his cockpit on the port hull, then steps back.
  • Helmsman Jimmy Spithill is not in view. Normally he would be holding the wing sheet. I assume he releases the port wing sheet and we see the wing gybe. It's not clear why the wing gybes since there is no tension on the starboard wing sheet. Did Oracle have hydraulics to tack and gybe the wing?
  • Spithill crosses to the starboard hull.
  • Slingsby crosses back to the port hull, apparently to grind at pedestal 1.
  • Fowler is grinding on pedestal 2 in the port hull.
  • Number 3 Cooper Dressler is not grinding; he seems to be sitting at the wing trimmer's position, looking up at the wing.
  • In the starboard hull we see Spence, Langford and Spithill. Spence turns the handles a few times, stops and seems to be waiting for something. The onboard mics pick up someone (Slingsby?) saying, "Pressure's coming back." Spence says something including the words "oil build."

What was going on? Did they lose hydraulic pressure during the gybe? Their accumulators should have been fully charged - they had made their last tack, to starboard some time earlier, well before rounding the mark and bearing away. Had they bled off all their pressure with the board rake controls when they tried to engage New Zealand after the Kiwis tacked? It's a bit mysterious! It was certainly disastrous - the Kiwis won the race easily and put their first point on the scoreboard.

June 26, 2017 By Jack Griffin

Kiwis Dominate Oracle to Reclaim America’s Cup

Kiwis Celebrate Winning the 2017 America's Cup

Kiwis Celebrate Winning the 2017 America's Cup - Photo: Gregory Bull -AP

If the 2013 America's Cup seemed like "The Empire Strikes Back," 2017 gave us "Return of the Kiwis." Peter Burling's Luke Skywalker vanquished Larry Ellison's Darth Vader by racking up eight race wins while Oracle could manage only one. Jimmy Spithill and the Oracle crew seemed to succumb to Jedi mind tricks, losing seven of the nine starts, going OCS in two races, sailing out of bounds once, misjudging laylines both upwind and down and falling off their foils in several tacks and gybes.

Starts

The Match started out badly for Oracle when they were over the start line early in the first race.

America's Cup Match - USA OCS in Race 1 - Image: ACTV Video

America's Cup Match - USA OCS in Race 1 - Image: ACTV Video

The following Saturday, Oracle was again OCS, in Race 5.

Oracle is over early again, in Race 5 of the 2017 America's Cup Match

Oracle is over early again, in Race 5 of the 2017 America's Cup Match

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Oracle is over early again, in Race 5 of the 2017 America's Cup Match

Oracle is over early again, in Race 5 of the 2017 America's Cup Match

The Kiwis won the first five races. Oracle got their only win in the second race on Saturday 24 June.  

Errors 

On Sunday, in Race 7 Oracle had good speed to weather of the Kiwis, but after an inexplicable turn upwind by Spithill, they crossed the line over a boat length behind and slower than the Kiwis.

Oracle Team USA faster and to windward in pre-start of Race 7 in the 2017 America's Cup Match

Oracle Team USA faster and to windward in pre-start of Race 7 in the 2017 America's Cup Match

Oracle helmsman Jimmy Spithill loses speed turning upwind in pre-start of Race 7 in the 2017 America's Cup Match

Oracle helmsman Jimmy Spithill loses speed turning upwind in pre-start of Race 7 in the 2017 America's Cup Match

Oracle is late and slow at the start of Race 7 in the 2017 America's Cup Match

Oracle is late and slow at the start of Race 7 in the 2017 America's Cup Match

In the pre-start of Race 8 New Zealand's Peter Burling manage "to hook" Jimmy Spithill and force Oracle almost head to wind. Burling's protest was green-flagged by the umpires, but Burling was able to speed off to lead at Mark 1.

New Zealand's Peter Burling hitting the

New Zealand's Peter Burling hitting the "protest" button in the pre-start of Race 8 of the 2017 America's Cup Match

ORACLE TEAM USA picks up a penalty with unforced error going out of bounds on leg 3 of Race 8 in the 2017 America's Cup Match

ORACLE TEAM USA picks up a penalty with unforced error going out of bounds on leg 3 of Race 8 in the 2017 America's Cup Match

Speed and Boat Handling

The Kiwis closed out the Match in Race 9 with a demonstration of the boat speed and good handling that had brought them to match point. Oracle managed to win the start and led at Mark 1. The first gybe on leg 2 spelled the end for Oracle. New Zealand's gybe was crisper and they edged ahead, gassing Oracle with turbulence off their wing. They extended their lead and were never threatened, speeding to win the race and claim the America's Cup.

USA leads NZL on leg 2 of Race 9 - 2017 America's Cup Match

USA leads NZL on leg 2 of Race 9 - 2017 America's Cup Match

NZL and USA gybe together on leg 2 of Race 9 - 2017 America's Cup Match

NZL and USA gybe together on leg 2 of Race 9 - 2017 America's Cup Match

NZL leads USA on leg 2 of Race 9 - 2017 America's Cup Match

NZL leads USA on leg 2 of Race 9 - 2017 America's Cup Match

June 3, 2017 By Jack Griffin

America’s Cup Qualifiers Results

America's Cup Qualifiers results

America's Cup Qualifiers results

Oracle won the round robin America's Cup Qualifiers and earned a bonus point for the America's Cup Match. With eight wins, two losses and one bonus point from coming second in the America's Cup World Series, Oracle finished the Qualifiers with nine points. Team New Zealand also finished the Qualifiers 8-2. 

As the top challenger, New Zealand got to choose their opponent in the Challenger Selection semi-finals. They picked Land Rover BAR, leaving Artemis Racing to face SoftBank Team Japan in the other semi-final.

BAR finished the round robin with four wins - two against Team France and, surprisingly, two against Artemis. With two bonus points for winning the America's Cup World Series, BAR finished with six points.

Groupama Team France finished last and was eliminated. With the smallest budget and the least amount of time to train, the French nevertheless had a good run, taking wins from Artemis and BAR. 

May 23, 2017 By Jack Griffin

2017 America’s Cup Guide

31 March 2018  JUST RELEASED: AC GUIDE for the 36th America's Cup in Auckland

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THE CUP EXPERIENCE SHOW - DAILY WEBCAST
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Spectator Boats & On-the-Water Guide
Visiting Yachts Guide
Endeavour Program
Endeavour Race Program 
Superyacht Racing
J Class Racing
Race Areas - J Class & Superyachts
Tall Ships - May 26 to June 5
Parties, Concerts, Events

Update - 26 May'17  See "Calendar" /  "Info for Visiting Yachts" /  "Spectator Boats & On-the-Water" Guide"


THE CUP EXPERIENCE SHOW - DAILY WEBCAST

Update Sunday 28 May:  Daily webcast at 18:30 Bermuda summer time (UTC-3)

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Calendar

Note: Racing on Friday 26 May postponed because of high wind.  
Six races are now scheduled on both weekend days.
Saturday:  Races 1-6            Highlight:  Race 5  USA vs NZL
Sunday:  Races 7-12            Highlight: Race 10 USA vs SWE

2017 America's Cup Calendar
Download the Calendar

Teams

Scoreboard & Race Results

  • Standings
  • Race Results
  • Tie Break

STANDINGS

America's Cup Qualifiers

All six teams competing, including the defender, Oracle Team USA​


Current Standings - based on America's Cup World Series results​

America's Cup World Series Final Standings

America's Cup World Series Final Standings

Challenger Playoff Semi-Finals


  • Top scoring challenger in the Qualifiers chooses their opponent
  • The other two challengers go to the other semi-final​

Challenger Playoff Finals


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America's Cup Match


Defender - Oracle Team USA vs Challenger - to be decided 10-12 June​

RACE RESULTS

Round Robin 1

  • R1: USA vs FRA
  • R2: SWE vs JPN
  • R3: FRA vs NZL
  • R4: GBR vs SWE

TIE BREAK SYSTEM

The final standings of the America's Cup World Series determine bonus points carried into the round robin AC Qualifiers. Any ties at the end of the Qualifiers will be broken based on these final standings. This could determine... which challenger is eliminated, the pairings for the Challenger Playoff semi-finals and, which team can carry a bonus point into the main event, the America's Cup Match.

America's Cup World Series Final Standings

America's Cup World Series Final Standings

Race Course

America's Cup 2017 in Bermuda - Race Course

How to Watch

Bermuda Dockyard webcam here.

MyIslandHomeBDA YouTube channel here.

Television

Check here for the local broadcaster in your country. You will need to check your broadcaster's schedule to find out what coverage they offer: Live, Replays, Highlights.

USA:​

  • USA: NBC Sports Channel carries LIVE broadcasts of all races in the Qualifiers and Challenger Playoffs.
  • NBC carries LIVE broadcasts of the America's Cup Match.​

AC+ App

Download link for AC+ App here.

*PLEASE NOTE: For the following countries there will be no live video coverage on the AC App, but virtual graphics with commentary only:   United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Monaco, Australia, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela​

Red Bull Youth America's Cup

  • 12 teams - one for each pro team plus six teams selected by Regatta Managers
  • Regatta Managers - two time Olympic gold medalists in Tornado, Roman Hagara and Hans-Peter Steinacher
  • Two pools of six teams, top four from each pool qualify for Finals
  • Each pool has two days of qualifying, three fleet races per day
  • Top four from each pool advance to Finals
  • Finals: two days of fleet racing, three races per day.
  • Prize-giving: Wednesday 21 June after racing

Pool A

  • Artemis Youth Racing - SWE
  • Team France Jeune
  • Kaijin Team Japan
  • Youth Vikings Denmark
  • Team Tilt (SUI)
  • SVB Team Germany

Qualifiers 15-16 June

Time:  14:00 -16:00​

Reserve day 19 June

Pool B

  • Team BDA - Bermuda
  • NZL Sailing Team
  • Land Rover BAR Academy - GBR
  • Spanish Impulse Team
  • Next Generation USA
  • Candidate Sailing Team - AUT

Qualifiers 12-13 June

Time: 17:00 - 19:00  Note time!  

Reserve day 14 June

Finals

Time: 14:00 - 16:00        Place: Great Sound​

20-21 June, reserve day 22 June​

Spectator Boats & On-the-Water Guide

  • VIP Superyacht Race Day Experience with Club Team France - Reserve
  • ACEA Specator Boats - Reserve
  • On-the-Water Guide for Private Yachts - Download

Visiting Yachts Guide

​Last update: 26 May 2017

Downloard "Visiting Yachts Guide"

More info​

Endeavour Program

Endeavour Race Program 

  • 15-16 June:  O'Pen Bic and RS Feva fleet racing
  • 17 June: O'Pen Bic "half-time" regatta
  • 18 June: RS Feva "half-time" regatta​
  • 22-23 June: Hobie Wave fleet races
  • 24 June: Hobie Wave "half-time" regatta

​

​

Superyacht Racing

  • 13,14,15 June - South Shore
  • Watch from on board superyacht Arabella - reserve tickets here

J Class Racing

  • 16,19,20 June - Murray's Anchorage, North Shore
  • Watch from on board superyacht Arabella - reserve tickets here

Race Areas - J Class & Superyachts

America's Cup 2017 in Bermuda - Race Areas

Tall Ships - May 26 to June 5

  • In St. George's 26 May to 1 June
  • Parade to Hamilton on 1 June
  • ​Parties on Front Street: 1 June 19:00-23:00 / 4 June 14:00-21:00
  • Parade to depart Hamilton, sail along North Shore and on to Boston - 5 June

Parties, Concerts, Events

Superyacht "Arabella"

Full Program of Events on Arabella

  • Sunset Cruises
  • Cocktails & Dinner
  • J Class Race Viewing
  • Superyacht Race Viewing
  • Red Bull Youth America's Cup​

Book tickets here.

Parties, Concerts, Events - partial list, more info to come...

  • Fri    26 May    20:30   Opening Ceremony - AC Village 
  • Sat   27 May   17:15 Wyclef Jean Concert - AC Village
  • Sun   28 May   Endeavour Day - AC Village
  • Wed   31 May   11:30   Ladies' Day - AC Village
  • Thu     1 June    Tall Ships Parade to Hamilton from St. George's
  • Thu    1 June    19:00  Tall Ships Street Party - Front Street
  • Thu     1 June   19:00   Race for Water Gala - Caroline Bay Marina - reserve tickets
  • ​Sun     4 June    14:00 Tall Ships Street Party, Front Street
  • Mon     5 June   Tall Ships Parade from Hamilton, Depart for Boston
  • Wed   14 June   Caroline Bay Golf Tournament
  • Wed   14 June   Endeavour Party
  • Fri    16 June    Louis Vuitton Gala - undisclosed location - ask
  • Wed  21 June  19:00  America's Cup Hall of Fame Reception - Caroline Bay Marina
  • Thu  22 June  19:00  Seakeepers Gala - Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute

​

May 20, 2017 By Jack Griffin 10 Comments

America’s Cup Videos – Tribute to MyIslandHomeBDA

​

Say "Thank You" to Jason, the man who makes MyIslandHomeBDA. DONATE.

And, thanks to AC Tragics Group for editing this video of a few of Jason's great shots!​

Thanks to MyislandhomeBDA from AC TRAGICS GROUP on Vimeo.

12 April TEAM ABBA vs TEAM SUSHI from AC TRAGICS GROUP on Vimeo.

April 14, 2017 By Jack Griffin Leave a Comment

America’s Cup Test Races – The Results and What They Mean

The five America’s Cup teams in Bermuda held the second series of test races in their America’s Cup Class race boats – 17 races in all. In windy conditions Artemis dominated, winning all nine races, including four against Oracle. Oracle beat everyone else, including three wins against stablemates SoftBank Team Japan. Team Japan lost five races but beat Land Rover BAR and Groupama Team France once each. BAR raced each team once, beating only the French. France raced each team once, losing to everyone.

America’s Cup Practice Racing – 6-12 April 2017

17 Races Were Run

America's Cup Practice Racing Results 6-12 April 2017

Head to Head Results

America's Cup Practice Racing Results 6-12 April 2017

But… All of the teams will continue improving!
France has good straightline speed but are still mastering their boat and the control systems.
BAR has great crew work on a slow boat that they will continue to develop.
Team Japan, like the French, has a fast boat and will continue to improve.
Oracle has heaps of resources and experience at making a comeback.
Artemis will keep getting faster.

And… then there is the mystery team – Emirates Team New Zealand.
We will find out how competitive the Kiwis are during the next training race series – five days beginning Monday 24 April. All reports say they are fast, smooth and confident, as we heard in this interview.

Comments From the The Teams

Oracle Team USA Skipper Jimmy Spithill

Nathan Outteridge and Iain Percy – Artemis Racing

 

April 12, 2017 By Jack Griffin Leave a Comment

America’s Cup Sailor Washed Overboard! Oracle Wing Trimmer Kyle Langford

America’s Cup defender Oracle Team USA lost Kyle Langford overboard last week. Kyle had crossed the boat to prepare for a manoeuvre. He was washed right out of his cockpit when the leeward hull dug in.

Thanks to Oracle coach Philippe Presti for posting this to his Instagram feed!

April 12, 2017 By Jack Griffin Leave a Comment

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.

April 9, 2017 By Jack Griffin 4 Comments

Oracle Has a Scare on Thursday, Capsizes on Saturday

Thursday 6 April 2017 – On an official practice race day, Oracle had a scare, nearly capsizing their America’s Cup Race Boat.

Two days later they did capsize. The boat was righted within 10 minutes. After tests and repairs, they were back out sailing the next morning. In the video, Oracle has blurred out the foils but you can see their shape in the video from MyislandhomeBDA, below.

MyislandhomeBDA also captured the incident. In this video it looks like the boat was righted by pulling it up from the side rather than by “flying it up” – towing the boat forward into the wind with the wing trimmed down. There may have been too little wind for that technique. Note that you get a good look at the foils when the boat is on its side – very long with high aspect ratio.


April 6, 2017 By Jack Griffin 1 Comment

Youth America’s Cup Chase Boat Nearly Hits Artemis – Minor Damage

Youth America's Cup chase boat cuts in front of Artemis during practice race, 6 April 2017 - MyislandhomeBDA
Youth America’s Cup chase boat cuts in front of Artemis during practice race, 6 April 2017 – MyislandhomeBDA

On Thursday 6 April, Artemis Racing won their pre-start against Oracle Team USA, putting a penalty on Oracle. Artemis led going into the first mark doing close to 40 knots, when an errant chase boat from a Red Bull Youth America’s Cup team crossed in front of them. The chase boat did a quick 180. Nathan Outteridge did an emergency bearaway and Artemis planted the bows, damaging the fairing on the forward crossbeam. Regatta Director Iain Murray abandoned the race and cleared the course. Artemis went to their base to inspect the structures and to patch up the damage. They returned for a second race against Oracle. Artemis lost the start and followed Oracle around the first mark but found better pressure later in the race and passed Oracle for the win.

Artemis Helmsman Nathan Outteridge Describes the Incident

At 1:00 into this video by Jason Smith of MyislandhomeBDA, Artemis and Oracle cross the start line. At 1:45 Artemis leads around Mark 1. You can see the Youth America’s Cup chase boat’s emergency turn on the right edge of the screen. About 15 seconds later, at 2:00 in the video we can see the damaged fairing hanging from the forward starboard crossbeam. At 2:17 a crewman leaves his cockpit and lies down on the crossbeam to pull off the damaged piece. At 2:33 he throws it overboard and at 2:50 the Artemis chase boat stops to pick it up.

Jason Smith’s “MyislandhomeBDA” YouTube channel provides regular video updates on the teams training in Bermuda. You can thank Jason by subscribing to his YouTube channel and by making a donation. 

March 23, 2017 By Jack Griffin 9 Comments

Video – First Racing in America’s Cup Class Catamarans

America’s Cup Class catamarans racing for the first time! Watch the pre-start between Oracle’s Jimmy Spithill and Land Rover BAR’s Ben Ainslie. With port tack entry, Oracle is allowed to enter the starting box 10 seconds ahead of starboard tack, right of way Land Rover BAR. But they are late and cannot cross in front of BAR. Both boats go into a dial up.

March 3, 2017 By Jack Griffin 19 Comments

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.

February 23, 2017 By Jack Griffin Leave a Comment

Man Overboard – Close Call for America’s Cup Sailor Graeme Spence

America's Cup sailor Graeme Spence of Oracle Team USA went overboard
Graeme Spence overboard in America’s Cup training

Sailor Graeme Spence went overboard when Oracle Team USA’s America’s Cup Class yacht dropped off the foils in training on Wednesday 22 February 2017. Graeme was lucky not to be hit by the daggerboard or rudder. Remember that Franck Cammas of Groupama Team France almost lost his right foot when he was hit by the rudder after going overboard in training in France in November 2015. Read about Franck’s ordeal here, here and here.

February 18, 2017 By Jack Griffin Leave a Comment

Where is the AC72 That Won in 2013?

Oracle’s winning AC72 in the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Virginia.

I’m on my way today to Newport News to help plan the “Speed and Innovation in the America’s Cup” exhibit that will open in May. I’ve been asked to be “guest curator” – an honor and a lot of fun, working with a great team.

February 17, 2017 By Jack Griffin Leave a Comment

America’s Cup Defender Unveils and Christens Race Boat

Oracle unveiled their America’s Cup Class race boat on Valentine’s day at an evening party for team members and families and a few Bermudian dignitaries. The boat was illuminated in its hangar. The aerodynamic fairings were the only “proprietary” parts on display – no sign of the daggerboards or rudders, and no opportunity to look into the cockpits at control panels.

The next day the team christened the boat and put her in the water for the first time.

Luciana Corral christens Oracle Team USA America's Cup Class race boat on 15Feb'17
Luciana Corral christens Oracle Team USA America’s Cup Class race boat on 15 February 2017

 

America's Cup Class race boat. Note the long winglet on the daggerboard .
America’s Cup Class race boat. Note the long winglet on the daggerboard .

January 30, 2017 By Jack Griffin Leave a Comment

FLASH: 5 Teams Announce AC 2019 and 2021

The heads of five of the six teams met in London last week to announce that their yacht clubs have signed a Framework Agreement outlining the next two editions of the America’s Cup, to be held in 2019 and 2021.

Photo: ACEA

Racing will be held in a modified version of the AC Class yachts being used in 2017 (more details below). No surrogate test boats will be allowed. AC45F’s will be raced in the AC World Series until August 2018. From September 2018 onwards the new version AC Class yachts will race in the ACWS. The ACWS will include fleet racing and match racing. The final ACWS event will be held in the venue of the America’s Cup Match and the Challenger Playoffs will start right afterwards, followed by the Match.

The AC Class rule will be modified to allow racing in a wider wind range – 4 to 26 knots. This probably means adding a gennaker for light conditions and having a smaller wing for heavy air days. Remember that the original version of the AC72 Class Rule included a heavy air wing. The smaller wing was dropped from the rule, a move later regarded as a mistake, given the number of races cancelled due to wind above the limit in San Francisco in 2013.

The yacht clubs represented by Oracle Racing, Land Rover BAR, Groupama Team France, Artemis Racing and SoftBank Team Japan have agreed that if one of them wins the America’s Cup Match in Bermuda this June, they will only accept a challenge from a yacht club that has agreed to these terms. That could be one of them, a new team, or Emirates Team New Zealand, should the Kiwis change their minds and agree to these terms. The fly in the ointment is that if the Kiwis don’t agree to these terms and then go on to win the America’s Cup, this framework goes out the window. Such is the America’s Cup.

January 30, 2017 By Jack Griffin 2 Comments

Video: Practice Racing in Bermuda

Update 6 February 2017    I have added more video to the end of this post. Enjoy!


As I reported last week (23 January 2017), the four Bermuda-based teams have been holding practice races. No “won-lost” results are being reported but we are getting some video to enjoy. Oracle has put out a polished and edited clip. Friends of Cup Experience in Bermuda have provided videos that are a bit raw but more interesting…

America's Cup Class catamarans test racing in Bermuda Jan'17
America’s Cup Class catamarans – Bermuda Jan’17   Image: Somers Kempe

From Somers Kempe – Facebook

From Oracle Racing


6 February 2017 I will keep adding to this page as more video becomes available. -Jack

Oracle’s coach, Philippe Presti, talks about the practice racing and Oracle’s strengths and areas to improve.


Missing in Bermuda…   ETNZ shows off foiling tack in last 10 seconds of this video.


This is not from the practice racing – in fact the foiling tack footage was shot in May 2016.


 

January 16, 2017 By Jack Griffin Leave a Comment

Closeup Photos – Details of Test Boats

WARNING: This article gets a little “geeky.” But ergonomics will be critical to helping the crew, and the helmsman in particular, operate the complex control systems for the daggerboards, wing and rudders. When you see the iterations of Oracle’s steering wheel, you’ll appreciate that the solution is not obvious!


Last week I showed you this photo of Land Rover BAR’s “T3” test boat.

Did you notice that they are testing two different shape daggerboards?

If we take a closer look we can see they have a unique steering linkage, unlike the the other teams’ steering. It will be interesting to see if they have the same setup on their race boat – the rudders on the race boat will be mounted inside the hulls, not hung off the stern.

Zooming in a little more, we can see a series of yellow and blue buttons around the rim of the wheel. These may control the rake of the daggerboards. The helmsman adjusts the rake to control angle of attack of the underwater wing on the daggerboard. This varies the lift, to control ride height. If you look closely, you will also see a red and a green button on the hub of the wheel and a rotary switch right in the center of the wheel.


At the Detroit Motor Show, BMW Management Board member Ian Robertson presented a steering wheel, designed by the BMW Motorsport group, to Jimmy Spithill. This wheel has twist grip controls, like on a motorcycle (or, in Bermuda, on a scooter).

Oracle has tested a number of configurations of controls on their steering wheels.

Here is a variation with pushbuttons mounted in the rim, what looks like a toggle switch on one spoke, two buttons near the center of the wheel and a couple of black rotary switches. You can also see two controls at six o’clock and eight o’clock – could they be pressure sensitive? This wheel looks like they tried out a lot of ideas at once!

Here’s another Oracle wheel, with what looks like an early version of the twist grip that’s on the BMW wheel.

And this version has a twist grip mounted separate from the rim of the wheel, plus plenty of buttons on the hub of the wheel.

As I said earlier – finding the right ergonomics for controlling an AC Class yacht is not obvious.


Softbank Team Japan has also experimented with some original ideas. Here they tested a paddle-type control just forward of the wheel. You can also see that the wing trimmer has an impressive control panel to master.

 

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