Fuente info IAC 37 Recon
AC40 AND ‘T6’ GO TO HEAD-TO-HEAD IN PALMA
A simply terrific day for INEOS Britannia on Wednesday as the British team, at full strength with Sir Ben Ainslie in town, lined up T6, their LEQ12 prototype, with the team’s AC40 in the first encounter we’ve seen of these similar but oh so very different boats. Speed differences are perhaps better judged by the Mercedes Applied Science team back in Brackley, Northamptonshire, but as a spectator it was hard to take your eye off the low-riding T6, bristling with power and electric downwind on its anhedral starboard foil.
Very much looking the real deal, the British are more than on to something with the development of T6, the bustle-skimming, end-plating technique that at first looked odd, now is the firm direction of every team in this America’s Cup cycle and their control on the sails is looking masterful. The Flight Controllers are now so comfortable with the array of technology onboard that they are willing and able to throw the boat about with ease. In the pre-starts they looked very controlled against the presumably lighter and, you would expect, nimbler AC40 but in reality T6 looked more than a match. Considering the light conditions, it was a devastating performance – imagine anything above 10 knots.
Ben Ainslie gives a superb interview to Justin Chisholm of the recon unit after sailing, running through the day where he made the point that there were ‘no surprises…which was good’ and also hinted at the development pathway that is about to kick off in the coming weeks and months with T6. That will prick the ears and senses of the other America’s Cup teams – the British are on a charge now to Barcelona and look better and better with every day on the water.
On-Water Recon Notes: It was an early start for the British America’s Cup team in Mallorca on Wednesday as they tried to squeeze their first ever two-boat sailing session into a narrow weather window ahead of a forecast of thundery conditions in the afternoon.
The team’s AC40 was rolled out before sunrise and rigged and in the water on time at 0700. Meanwhile, the British syndicate’s LEQ12 came out of the boat shed at 0730 and was rigged and afloat by 0745. A communications issue between the yachts and support boats resulted in a delay after T6 had docked out at 1020 but by 1130 both yachts were out of the harbour and with sails up (M1-2 mainsail and J2-1 headsail). By this stage the breeze had trickled up to 5-6 knots from 180 and with predominantly clear skies over the land there was the prospect of further increases in velocity.
By 1220 T6 was airborne in 7-8 knots of breeze and the crew – helmsmen Giles Scott and Ben Cornish with flight controllers/trimmers Leigh McMillan and Luke Parkinson – quickly looped back to line up next to the also airborne AC40 – helmed by Ben Ainslie and Dylan Fletcher-Scott with Bleddyn Mon and Iain Jensen.
The two boats set off on a long upwind boat-on-boat session that saw them tack twice in synch and swap windward/leeward positions a couple of times. From our point of view behind the boats there did not appear to be a significant difference in terms of speed over the water or angle to the breeze. When the boats turned downwind it seemed like T6 had a speed advantage on port when using the latest ‘banana’ foil.
After a 10-minute stop at 1255 the two crews repeated the windward/leeward lap with a slightly stronger (estimated 8-10 knots) breeze which saw the two boats powering downwind at around 34 knots at times. Following this second lap of tacking and gybing in synch – which yielded similar performances from the two boats – the focus changed to race practice around a windward/leeward course with a two-mark gate at either end.
Race one saw T6 enter on port and after some tacks and gybes Scott/Cornish led Ainslie/Fletcher back to the line with the two even at the start with T6 to leeward. At this point dark rain clouds were starting to form over the land causing the southerly sea breeze to begin to fade a little. In these lighter winds – 7-9 knots estimated – the AC40 was able to sail slightly faster higher angles and rounded the windward gate 20 seconds ahead. However, a fumbled gybe saw the AC40 crew unable to immediately take off again. This handed the race to the T6 crew.
The second race was over almost before it began after T6 dropped off the foils on the first tack after the start and was unable to get back up. With thunder rumbling over the land and the sky turning blacker by the minute time was called at shortly after 1430 with sails down by 1450 and T6 back on the dock by 1505 – shortly before the torrential rain began.
Another two-boat day has been scheduled for tomorrow (Thursday).
Recon Notes:
Dock-out: 1020 Dock-in: 1505
Conditions: 1230: 200 6.5 knots; 1245 200 7.5; 1300 160 9 knots; 1330: 160 8-9 knots; 1530 200 9-12 knots; 1600: 13-16 180.
Weather AM: Clear skies early, sunny around midday, cloud cover later 15-20°C.
Weather PM: Sunny but turning hazy and cloudy by 1430 20-25C°C.
Sea state PM: Flat early with light chop later
Onboard Today:
Helms LEQ12: Giles Scott / Ben Cornish
Helms AC40: Ben Ainslie / Dylan Fletcher-Scott
Crew LEQ12: Luke Parkinson / Leigh McMillan
Crew AC40: Bleddyn Mon / Iain Jensen
Sails Used:
Mainsail M1-2: 3 hours
Jib (J2-1): 2 hours 40 minutes
Total Tacks: 22 – 18 foil-to-foil, 2 touch & go, 2 touchdowns.
Total Gybes: 16 – 14 foil-to-foil, 2 touch & go, 0 touchdowns.
Take off Speed: 19 knots at 60-80° TWA. Take-offs were all ‘self’ today.
