AC40

[Swanno]

The AC75 Class is too expensive. That is becoming clearer by the Day.

As far as the AC40 is concerned @Chobani Sailor is right. Safety not a priority. I am not sure people under the age of 25 should be sailing these boats. They are a handful even for people like Burling, Tuke, Outteridge, Ashby or Davies.

Pete Burtling is 31 so would have been sailing the AC50 at 25. James Spithill was 21 when he first sailed in the Amercia's Cup (well LV Cup) in 2000. Admittedly the IACC boats were not fast, but still, high load and high pressure. There would be thousands of kids sailing high performance foiling boats that could sail circles around most people on this forum.

If there is an age limit, it should be focused around the upper age limit and specifically related to Crash Bash Ben Ainsely. He seems to lack the reaction speed to handle fast boats safely.

 

[Forourselves]

The AC75 Class is too expensive. That is becoming clearer by the Day.

As far as the AC40 is concerned @Chobani Sailor is right. Safety not a priority. I am not sure people under the age of 25 should be sailing these boats. They are a handful even for people like Burling, Tuke, Outteridge, Ashby or Davies.

The AC75 is as expensive as any other Americas Cup yacht.
Are they all expensive? Yes.
Boats aren't the most expensive part of the campaign. People are.

 

[Forourselves]

The same people who moan on and on about costs and the event being expensive are the same who also moan about restricting the class rule and restricting the freedom of teams to explore any and all avenues.
You can't have both. You can't have freedom of design, and less restriction while at the same time reducing costs. The two don't work together.

 

[Sailbydate]

"Returning to New Zealand from the European summer circuits, Pete Burling and Blair Tuke wasted no time in re-joining the extensive Kiwi testing programme, stepping aboard Emirates Team New Zealand’s AC40 for a blustery first taste of the most sensational boat of 2022. Nathan Outteridge who’s been steering one pod during the initial outings alongside Olympic bronze medallist Sam Meech were again onboard for an intense afternoon session having craned in at 11.30am and docked-out just an hour later with the rig set for the tow to the sailing area."

https://www.livesaildie.com/burling-and-tuke-take-ac40-for-a-ride/

 

[Boybland]

The AC75 Class is too expensive. That is becoming clearer by the Day.

No America's Cup team ever spends less than all the money they can conceviably pull together.
No America's Cup team without an absolute truckload of cash has ever been competitive.

The cost of the boat has always been pretty much irrelevant as a barrier to being competitive.
It might be a barrier to earning participation trophies I guess...

But for the main event, big varied boats definitely look better than little one design toys.

 

[fish7yu]

Cup Spy: Cup champions test out the AC40 performance edges at 45kts - Day 5

by Richard Gladwell/Sail-World.com/nz 30 Sep 17:55 HKT30 September 2022

Emirates Team New Zealand's champion America's Cup crew found the limits of the AC40, the hard way, triggering the first serious capsize and setting a new top speed mark of 45kts.

Five of ETNZ's sailing team were aboard - Nathan Outteridge, Andy Maloney and Josh Junior - all driving and with Peter Burling and Blair Tuke listed sail trimmers.

"For me, it was my first day on the boat, and it was great to be to be able to hop on the wheel and drive it," said double America's Cup winner and Finn Gold Cup champion Josh Junior interviewed ashore.

"Just to feel the speed and how easy everything's working is really cool," he added.

"Now it's all about pushing harder and finding where the limits are. It's been a been really cool day."

Today was the end of the second week of sailing in the AC40, in which two different crews have sailed. Today's crew Burling, Tuke, Junior and Maloney were on SailGP duties last week in Cadiz.

"It's an amazing boat. The team has done a great job putting the boat together and getting it on the water. We've now done three or four days of pushing the boat really hard," Josh Junior explained. They were joined by Nathan Outteridge.

"Unfortunately, we did have a capsize today," he confessed.

"We started to push the boat a little bit harder. We've started to jack it up or get higher on those foils. And, by doing that, when you do a bear away, the rudder gets much closer to the surface. And if you don't quite get it perfectly right, it cavitates, and you're into a bit of trouble."

"So that happened to us today. It's about finding that edge and continuing to learn the boat, as it's the one design class, we need to find out where those limits are, and how hard you can push them."

"It's good for us to learn those limits."

The critical point on any America's Cup foiler comes when the rudder unloads if it breaks the surface by lifting too high on the main foils, or by breaking out while sailing through a wave, or ventilating in some way.

Whatever the reason, the outcome is the same - a full face-plant which is sudden and spectacular, as the boat 'trips' over the main foil arms and nosedives.

It is not known if the crew were flying on automated flight control, or were running it on manual to force the AC40 to foil high. On previous test days the crew have been testing the automated flight control, trying to "break" it while sailing in waves.

Unfortunately for Cup fans, the Recon team were changing storage cards in their camera and missed the nosedive sequence.

The rest of Day 5's test sail was routine if that term can ever be used in the AC40 context. A couple of jibs were tried.

"We had the #3 out for most today. It was pretty windy out there, and the boat was really ripping around," Josh Junior said.

"Then we checked in on the #2 jib.

"We haven't hoisted many of these sails that often, so we're just checking the geometry and ensuring everything's in the proper position.

"It's been a really good day just of ticking things off and learning the limits," he added.

The other significant achievement was hitting 44-45kts of boat speed - which is quite remarkable given that 45kts was the top-end speed predicted by the design engineers when the AC40 concept was first announced.

Hitting that target speed with the AC40 sailing in one-design mode is quite an achievement. It compares favourably with the 53.31kts set by American Magic's AC75 Patriot in the Semi-Finals of the 2021 Prada Cup and the 54kts set by the French SailGP team in Saint-Tropez in late July.

"The boat's really going really well," Josh Junior said in a concluding understatement.

Today's test was conducted in an NNE (onshore sea breeze), recorded by Predictwind's observation function as puffing to around 15kts.

It sent a clear message to the Youth and Womens crews wishing to compete in their two America's Cup regattas that the AC40 will certainly showcase their skills. But it will also punish their mistakes most spectacularly.

 

[fish7yu]

 

[fish7yu]

 

[Liquid]

Unfortunately for Cup fans, the Recon team were changing storage cards in their camera and missed the nosedive sequence.

YCMTSU...

So, 1 recon team, 1 boat, 1 camera and 2 SD cards?

Costs savings at work there!

 

[Forourselves]

YCMTSU...

So, 1 recon team, 1 boat, 1 camera and 2 SD cards?

Costs savings at work there!

The good old now generation. Must be a gen Z'er. What were expecting? A frikkin netflix documentary or something!? We're getting new boat footage almost daily. Quit acting like an entitled prick!

 

[Liquid]

Single source 'recon' team misses the only exciting footage because no SD cards in the camera! That makes me an entitled prick? EMF cunt.

I know this is rocket science to someone like you but maybe have 2 cameras and swap out the SD cards at different times, maybe...

Seriously, do they have 1 boat, 1 camera, 2 SD cards and no drone?

Or are they hiding something?

No one caught the crash - no one?

 

[ChairborneRanger]

ye

Single source 'recon' team misses the only exciting footage because no SD cards in the camera! That makes me an entitled prick? EMF cunt.

I know this is rocket science to someone like you but maybe have 2 cameras and swap out the SD cards at different times, maybe...

Seriously, do they have 1 boat, 1 camera, 2 SD cards and no drone?

Or are they hiding something?

No one caught the crash - no one?

yes it does.

 

[Forourselves]

Single source 'recon' team misses the only exciting footage because no SD cards in the camera! That makes me an entitled prick? EMF cunt.

I know this is rocket science to someone like you but maybe have 2 cameras and swap out the SD cards at different times, maybe...

Seriously, do they have 1 boat, 1 camera, 2 SD cards and no drone?

Or are they hiding something?

No one caught the crash - no one?

What makes you an entitled prick is complaining about something because you got your own expectations up.

Whats so important about a crash? You have all of this sailing footage, brought on an almost daily basis, yet you'd rather see a crash? Then complain when you don't?

Its a nose dive. Its not the first and won't be the last.

Enjoy what they are providing instead of moaning about what they aren't.

 

[smackdaddy]

I’m pretty sure I saw one for the first human lopping with the flying cleaver - but is there a betting pool yet on the timing of the first crew drowning? Over? Under? Youth or the ladies?

Unfortunately I feel an “I told you so” coming.

 

[Forourselves]

I’m pretty sure I saw one for the first human lopping with the flying cleaver - but is there a betting pool yet on the timing of the first crew drowning? Over? Under? Youth or the ladies?

View attachment 544000

Unfortunately I feel an “I told you so” coming.

Wow. Hoping for a drowning is a new low, even for you SD.

 

[smackdaddy]

Oh I’m not hoping. I’m saying it’s unfortunately inevitable. The real “low” is that an apparently professional design team/racing syndicate is going to be putting relative newbs in this death trap. Get the lawyers ready.

 

[Sailbydate]

Ha. They said that about the first automobiles.

But we've since learnt that a small number of injuries and fatalities is acceptable collateral damage, right?

 

[Forourselves]

Oh I’m not hoping. I’m saying it’s unfortunately inevitable. The real “low” is that an apparently professional design team/racing syndicate is going to be putting relative newbs in this death trap. Get the lawyers ready.

Inevitable? Didn't happen last time. Had 2 capsizes and one nose dive and so far the boats just get up and go again. so a little over dramatic on your part.

 

[smackdaddy]

Ha. They said that about the first automobiles.

But we've since learnt that a small number of injuries and fatalities is acceptable collateral damage, right?

Ford Pinto anyone?

The sunset of corporate ethics and the dawn of modern tort law. This 40 is the new Pinto.

And Four - you more than anyone should now humbly understand how often I’m right on this stuff - and how often you’re hopelessly wrong. Proof after proof after proof - for years.

I’ll start the doomsday timer.

 

[Forourselves]

Ford Pinto anyone?

View attachment 544043

The sunset of corporate ethics and the dawn of modern tort law. This 40 is the new Pinto.

And Four - you more than anyone should now humbly understand how often I’m right on this stuff - and how often you’re hopelessly wrong. Proof after proof after proof - for years.

I’ll start the doomsday timer.

Really? There is no proof of an AC40 being a "deathtrap". And if you're saying "boats are dangerous" then YES, they are if used incorrectly, just like planes, trains, cars, buses, walking, running, buildings, people, land, water, the sky, Space, hell, even oxygen is dangerous if used incorrectly. So Newsflash dickhead, saying "I think things are dangerous" isn't a prediction.
As for saying "I have proof but you have to find it" doesn't mean you actually have proof... smh