Cup Experience

Many America's Cup fans say this is their best source of information.

By

What Do You Notice About the Way These Boats Sail?

Oracle Team USA in their AC45X test boat.

Oracle and Team Japan training in Bermuda.

Land Rover BAR training in their AC45X.

Have you noticed that the AC45X test boats often sail bow down when foiling? One of my best sources helped me understand this. Lift increases with speed and with angle of attack. The rudder elevators generate more lift at higher speed, pitching the boat into the bow down attitude. This reduces the angle of attack of the rudder elevators, providing pitch stability. The longer answer gets into the load per unit area on the rudder elevators compared to the daggerboard wings, and the way pitch – heave coupling can produce either stable (good) or unstable (bad) ride height and and pitch. I’m working on a detailed article about this. Watch for it in a future issue.

By

Hurricane Nicole Makes Direct Hit on Bermuda – Video

On Friday 14 October, the eye of Force 4 Hurricane Nicole passed directly over Bermuda. Winds hit 114 mph before and after the eye. Ninety percent of Bermudian households lost electric power but only seven minor injuries were reported.

All three America’s Cup teams were well prepared and came through the storm unscathed. Oracle Team USA posted this video showing the storm at its peak, with before and after images from their base. Click the image to watch the video.

By

Moving to Fukuoka

The final stop for the AC World Series is Fukuoka, Japan. Fifty containers are on their way from Toulon.

Image: ACEA Video

Racing is scheduled for 19-20 November. From the leaderboard below, you can see that Land Rover BAR’s 14 point lead will make them hard to catch. Winning the AC World Series would give them two bonus points in next year’s round robin America’s Cup Qualifiers. Oracle Team USA and Emirates Team New Zealand will be fighting for the bonus point that goes to the runner up. Oracle has yet to win a World Series regatta; this is their last chance. SoftBank Team Japan and Artemis Racing will be battling for fourth place. Since the AC World Series results will be used to break ties in the Qualifiers, every place counts, and these teams will be fighting hard. Groupama Team France looks unlikely to escape the cellar – they will have to count on a good performance in the Qualifiers to avoid elimination.

By

Oracle’s Race Boat Arrives in Bermuda

The America’s Cup Class yacht that Oracle will race in the America’s Cup Match next year has arrived in Bermuda. The team will now assemble the hulls, crossbeams and pod, which were built in New Zealand. Electronics, hydraulics, winch systems and other equipment will be installed. The boat may not be launched before 27 December, 150 days before the first race of the America’s Cup Qualifiers. Click the photo to see the boat being constructed and to hear General Manager Grant Simmer talk about the process.

Image: OTUSA Video

By

Athlete Monitoring and Measuring

Click image to play video.

Head Athletic Trainer Craig “Oscar” McFarlane explains in this video how he manages individualized training programs for Oracle’s grinders. When the athlete goes into his anaerobic zone or when his core temperature rises above a certain level, his power output goes down.

% of
Max Heart Rate
Zone 1 Recovery Very Low 60-70%
Zone 2 Endurance Moderate 71-75%
Zone 3 Intensive Endurance Moderate Plus 76-80%
Zone 4 Anaerobic Threshold Race / Pace 81-90%
Zone 5 Threshold Endurance Super Threshold 91-93%
Zone 5a Anaerobic Endurance Speed/End Power 94-100%

Oracle uses a system called Zephyr from Medtronic to monitor and track each athlete’s performance both in the gym and on the boat.