Teams will need confident, precise boathandling to pull off maneuvers like this one from Race 13 of the 2013 America’s Cup in San Francisco. At the leeward (downwind) gate, Oracle Team USA waited until the last possible moment to decide which mark to round. After seeing which mark Team New Zealand wanted, they executed a perfect gybe, right in front of the Kiwis, leaving the New Zealanders two bad choices: either follow Oracle around the left hand mark or gybe a second time to split to the other side of the course.
Rather than continuing straight to the right hand mark Oracle has gybed in front of New Zealand to take the left hand mark.
The LiveLine augmented reality graphics show white dots marking Oracle’s single gybe and the red dots of the Kiwis’ track through two gybes. The clock shows Oracle rounded the mark 12 seconds earlier. The Kiwis are sailing slow and have yet to reach the right hand mark.
In this video, you can hear Oracle skipper Jimmy Spithill suddenly call, “Gybing – right turn, right turn, right turn!” when he sees the opportunity to gybe in front of New Zealand.
In Bermuda in 2017, the smaller race courses and shiftier conditions will make it even more important to execute last second maneuvers at the gates. The trailing boat usually wants to split away from the leader, but both teams will want the favored side of the course. The ability to make a quick maneuver or to react to one from your competitor will be essential to winning in Bermuda.
Images courtesy of ACTV.