America’s Cup - ETNZ launches 1st AC75 (new)

[Jamme]

And the Prada Cup goes to LRPP[emoji634]

[dfelsent]

March 6

[cj88]

It's all over. Roll on LRPP vs ETNZ.

[jmh2002]

Congratulations to Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli and all my Italian friends

Yes they looked dominant, but to be fair they were racing against the supposed 'slowest' boat, so they now have a lot of work to do order to be ready to race against the supposed 'fastest' boat.

It's pretty openly discussed, even most recently by Max Sirena, that ETNZ is knots faster at the moment in a certain wind range...

[fxykty]

Absolutely, congratulations to Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli!!

Now it all goes quiet for a couple of weeks. Can’t wait!

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by jmh2002

.

It's pretty openly discussed, even most recently by Max Sirena, that ETNZ is knots faster at the moment in a certain wind range...

If that's true an NZ wins easy without a loss, it will hurt future AC marketing.

You need to make it more th an just the hardware, you've got to include a test of sailing skilks

[MicHughV]

ah well, sorry to see the Brits go.....

let's get this over with now.....the final is reportedly just going to be a formality..

[boatman61]

Disappointing... the pre final clean sweep collapses into a rout..

[MicHughV]

I have to say, while I marvel at the technological advancement of these boats, what with foils, double skinned mainsails, etc......I find these short windward/leeward courses to be a bit boring...

I hope the next AC races will return to some sense of normalcy.....might even attract more challengers

[fxykty]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

I have to say, while I marvel at the technological advancement of these boats, what with foils, double skinned mainsails, etc......I find these short windward/leeward courses to be a bit boring...

I hope the next AC races will return to some sense of normalcy.....might even attract more challengers

I imagine that you think the races are boring because of the procession, not because of the course shape. Imagine yesterday’s racing taking 2 hours each on a longer course - IUK would have been 20 minutes behind instead.

The AC has always been a lawyered-up technology race with fast boats and dismal slow boats, even during the 12m era. It’s thanks to the AC that we have woven sails and geared winches, among other technologies. You could even argue that AC is following with foiling, not leading.

What do you mean by normalcy? Do you want to go back to the first race course, around an island? The J boat era? Slow boats that aren’t much fun to sail going around triangle courses far out to sea?

SBA said a few days ago that he would trade all 5 of his Olympic medals for one AC cup. He obviously feels the AC is relevant and a worthy goal.

[carlosproa]

Ma Che Diche Dottore?

Forza Italia [emoji634]!

There is a reason beautiful fast things mainly comes from Italy, whether they are reliable...well that is another story.

I am excited some of this new technology will come down to cruising, while maybe some of the old technology like double skin main ( Ljungström rig ) may have a come back

[CassidyNZ]

In the parts of the Prada Cup where tacking duels took place, the racing was every bit exciting as any AC I have watched. It’s just a pity that one boat continuously ran away from the other but that’s not a new phenomenon. Many AC’s are a case of 5-0 or similar results.

If the boats/crews are matched a little better, the windward/leeward course is good spectator value, more so if your chosen team is in front . And as fxykty alluded to, watching displacement sailing boats blundering around a triangle/sausage/triangle for hours on end when one boat is markedly quicker than the other is like watching paint dry.

It’s also significant to note that in the singular event that Ineos were leading LRPP around the course, the often-relaxed atmosphere on board the latter was noticeably different. They will not be very relaxed whilst looking at a red/white/black transom

The present racing is like watching a Grand Prix as opposed to a Le Mans 24hr. No comparison.

[jmh2002]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

...I find these short windward/leeward courses to be a bit boring...

I hope the next AC races will return to some sense of normalcy...

The AC has already returned to normalcy.

Windward/Leeward courses are the normal match racing courses.

And the Cup is being raced in the most advanced yachts in the world.

[MicHughV]

I hear ya....these AC 75's are without a doubt, a marvel, would love to take a spin in one, but not likely to ever happen.

I'd love to see some spinnakers flying again...but that's me...

And the coverage has been excellent. Kudo's to NZ for putting on a terrific show.

Yes, I've seen bits and pieces of the design rule book, it was clearly written by a lawyer.

The cost, about $100 mil, to field a boat like the AC 75, makes this a sport of the very wealthy, which has always been the case. But that is a lot of $$ to just send a boat up and back down a course again. This is where I think some thought may be required. Make the possibility of fielding an AC boat by others more feasible.

Nonetheless, would like to see LRPP make a go of it against ETNZ and not have to watch another whitewash as is being predicted.

[jmh2002]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

I'd love to see some spinnakers flying again...but that's me...

To be honest, so would I. I do miss seeing the sail handling.

When the AC75 Class was originally proposed it was suggested that we would see a return to sail handling (and I initially envisioned crew work on the bow too) because the Code Zero would be used but so far that hasn't been the case except during practice, and even then it's hoisted and set before sailing.

Additionally the rules specify that the jib needs to go to a winch and be manually controlled, but I'm not sure that was worth the effort as far as us spectators are concerned. For us it appears as though the Jib is self tacking (even if technically it's not) and the winch and it's operation is mostly hidden from view anyway. So if the rules/cost/weight can be reduced I'd be in support of removing the need for a winch there.

The other three teams have written off using the Code Zero although ETNZ continues to toy with it (note: we may see a surprise during racing if ETNZ have figured out how to use this sail in a practical and useful way).

This is because it's mostly agreed that even if the Code Zero could help get up and flying in light air, once foiling and going fast it is actually a hinderance because that very big sail creates a lot of aerodynamic drag.

I do think that something should be done in this combined area for the next Cup. Nobody wants to see the boats wallowing around in displacement mode unable to foil.

So either change the wind limits?
Or allow different size foil wings for different race days (as with the AC50s).
Or enforce that a Code Zero must be used under a certain wind strength?
And also maybe a rule that says all boats must fly a Code Zero downwind?

Then any aerodynamic penalty applies evenly across all competitors.

But here we have some problems, and this doesn't only apply to AC75s. Modern high performance boats are becoming so fast, and are bringing the apparent wind so far forward, that 'spinnakers' simply don't / can't work on such boats. The boats are just too fast.

Also there remain significant practical limitations to doing old school style sail handling, ie: a classic 'hoist' of another sail (even if it's a Code Zero) while rounding the top mark - but at 45-50kn+

I'm not yet sure if that can be solved, simply from a practical / achievable point of view.

Except artifically making the boats go much slower - and I don't think anyone wants that to happen at the pinnacle of sailing events.

I guess with a rule change it could be enforced that a Code Zero must always be carried, furled and hoisted on the bow sprit in a similar manner to an IMOCA 60, so that as spectators we would at least see the jib get furled, and the Code Zero unfurled at the top mark.

But all that extra weight and windage would also be a significant performance hit upwind. Can some type of retractable system be invented, similar to some other performance classes, but with a stiff Code Zero type sail? I just don't know.

That type of additional sail handling may have been unthinkable a few months ago, in terms of the crew managing to handle the complexities of the boats, but as racing has progressed we are starting to see the crews pull off more and more complex maneuvers, back to what would be expected during racing at such a high level.

It was fantastic to see the Ineos and Luna Rossa 'barging' incident at the start line - real close quarters jockeying to win the start, but at 30kn+ WOW.

Just imagine if all of the World Series regattas had not been cancelled by covid? The teams would be super confident by now, and would be throwing the boats all over the place with ease and looking to raise the racing to the next level.

It would appear that whoever wins, the AC75 class will be retained, no doubt with some further tweaks to the class rules.

So I certainly await the future development of these boats with keen interest.