Unravelling the story of Aoteoroa's foils

[rh3000]

Now that the cup is over, and GD and crew have been talking more openly, the mystery around the foils is ready to be solved.

I'd like to build up a time-line of what happened, and I'm sure @weta27 and others can help with the detail.

In the final-dock side interview GD stated they they broke their (whomper?) foils pretty quickly during training. Which meant they needed to be repaired/rebuilt within the rules as they had got wet, and the second dry set (high-wind?) had to be scrapped and redesigned.

This must have been what RC and JS were on about in their dickhead facebook posts

So when they got to Bermuda what foils did they have? And what was the package came later? and did they wind up having to use 45T foils in BDA in the meantime?

 

[weta27]

I tried to do this a couple of months back, will go back and find the thread.

 

[floater]

They had a fragile set of light air foils that apparently just made it across the line. 

And a race against AR that was a nail biter because light air foils - their slowly failing set - but the breeze got big. Seems to have been a game of "win the race" but "save the foils". Like to watch that one again

 

[NSP]

They had a fragile set of light air foils that apparently just made it across the line. 

And a race against AR that was a nail biter because light air foils - their slowly failing set - but the breeze got big. Seems to have been a game of "win the race" but "save the foils". Like to watch that one again

I believe there was likely the additional complication - and hopefully Clean will ask this question when he speaks to Grant - of potentially shearing the rudders off due to how significantly out-of-range the package was.  I'll have to go back and re-watch to see how tentative they were on the reaching legs as that may provide a telltale.

 

[laser 173312]

Well as they say, if it doesn't fall apart 1m after the finish, it's to heavy. 

But, yer I heard the ultra sound showed the foils where slowly failing. 

Whilst we may learn more about the NZ foils, it's pretty useless without the same sort of info from OR, and I can't see us getting that.

 

[Xlot]

In the final-dock side interview GD stated they they broke their (whomper?) foils pretty quickly during training. Which meant they needed to be repaired/rebuilt within the rules as they had got wet, and the second dry set (high-wind?) had to be scrapped and redesigned.

This must have been what RC and JS were on about in their dickhead facebook posts

So when they got to Bermuda what foils did they have? And what was the package came later? and did they wind up having to use 45T foils in BDA in the meantime?

To me, the only possible explanation is that they did the entire sailing in AKL (minus the initial coupla days) with unmodified Turbo foils - the "Orcas". Likewise in BDA until first the AP set and finally the repaired batwings arrived

 

[weta27]

ETNZ AC50 foils from Auckland launch and workup.  This is an edited version of the posts I put up on 17 April.  Thanks to Richard Gladwell for information and photos.

DAY 1: Feb 14th, a sneaky sail in the rain in the morning, and then they sailed again in the afternoon.

Richard Gladwell wrote: “On her first sail today, Emirates Team NZ's AC50 looked very impressive - sailing in winds right on, or below the minimum wind limit of 6kts with the wind at times being only 4kts - and not suitable to race conventional boats.

She did one run up the harbour, seen by Sail-World, which after a few seconds to build speed, she lifted onto her foils effortlessly and stayed foil-borne for a kilometre or so, without touching the water. On the return run downwind, she again climbed slowly onto her foils over a period of 2-3 seconds and then stayed foiling without touch down.”
 
No decent board shots that I’m aware of, and only a few photos appear to have been published. Looks to me like the gull wings:
 

 
- Newshub / Photosport
 

 
- Richard Gladwell

 

[weta27]

DAY 2: Feb 15th was a solid sailing day – RG shot them going out but not coming back, his photos showing the stbd foil and port pole:

- Richard Gladwell

- Richard Gladwell

- Richard Gladwell.

OneNews video taken that day gives a view of both boards, which look to be the matched pair of gull wings (port, then stbd).

OneNews: https://tvnz-a.akamaihd.net/963482464001/201702/1546/963482464001_5323550886001_5323531396001.mp4

ACEA statement, March 30th:


"Ironically, it appears that on the second day of sailing with their new America's Cup Class boat this year, Emirates Team New Zealand significantly damaged one of their race boards and immediately also took the second board out of use which did not appear to be damaged.''
 
"Neither board has reappeared on their boat in Auckland. Rather, Emirates Team New Zealand has fitted two of their old boards built for their AC45 test boat into their race boat to continue training. It should be noted that the damage did not appear to be caused by a collision with any underwater object.''
 
On March 31st, Sail-World.com reported:
 
“(ETNZ) responded to Sail-World saying they damaged two of their race daggerboards on their second and third days of sailing, and are sailing with earlier generation development boards whilst the damaged boards are being repaired. There was no externally visible damage to the boat or daggerboards.”
Sail-World.com, April 2nd:

"(ETNZ) commented on Sir Russell's Facebook page immediately below his publication of the ACEA media release:

Just to clarify a few things which appear to be muddied here:
- The Protocol amendment, which we voted for that allows teams to use test boards while they repair race boards that have been damaged was made all the way back in December 2015 – 15 months ago.
- The post above is misleading in implying that it is ironic that we voted against the very separate and very recent rule change allowing teams to build spare replacement race boards.
- Two very separate issues, which shouldn't be mixed up"

http://www.sail-world.com/NZ/Americas-Cup---Team-NZ-return-fire-at-Coutts-social-media-bullets/152777

. Conditions weren't heavy and ETNZ said at the time that the damage incurred was not visible. An eye witness verifies no apparent damage to foils on lift-out on 15 Feb.

 

[weta27]

Feb 16th was the official launch and christening - in the afternoon in pouring rain - no sailing.

 

[weta27]

DAY 3: 23rd Feb, after a week in the shed, light wind, only just enough to get up on foils as they came past Devonport Wharf. Port foil (Gull wing)  visible during the pass:
 

 

 

 

[weta27]

From then on, the photos I have suggest they were using the 45T boards, "Orcas" or others. Next I have is Feb 27:

Video of lift-out posted on Feb 28th, looks like the Orcas: https://scontent-syd2-1.cdninstagram.com/t50.2886-16/17068030_1658840047745828_5656148148427423744_n.mp4

- Lynn Clayton www.kiwigrannz.wordpress.com

My photos from March 14, 15 and 17 show the Orcas. March 18 and 23, probably Orcas.

 

[weta27]

On 28 March there was an unusual long, narrow, parallel-edged starboard foil (the markings got me excited at the time!): 

 

[vij]

On 28 March there was an unusual long, narrow, parallel-edged starboard foil (the markings got me excited at the time!): 

Is this the famous magic "P" thing foil thing or was that some thing different?

 

[weta27]

Yep, that was part of it. I had video footage of them dropping the board as they came in close to Torpedo Bay wharf and tacked right in front of me.

It was only after I looked at it on the computer and slowed it down to frame-by-frame that I realised the foil was so different to anything I'd seen at that point.The markings gave the illusion of slots, and lining the sequence of frames up, the spray lines and light/shade seemed to reinforce the impression that you could see through the slots:

I shared these with a couple of Anarchists, and although there was the exciting prospect of slots performing some ventilation and/or cavitation function, we eventually concluded they were probably just markings, but just in case, decided not to post on here.

 

[trig42]

Yep, that was part of it. I had video footage of them dropping the board as they came in close to Torpedo Bay wharf and tacked right in front of me.

It was only after I looked at it on the computer and slowed it down to frame-by-frame that I realised the foil was so different to anything I'd seen at that point.The markings gave the illusion of slots, and lining the sequence of frames up, the spray lines and light/shade seemed to reinforce the impression that you could see through the slots:



I shared these with a couple of Anarchists, and although there was the exciting prospect of slots performing some ventilation and/or cavitation function, we eventually concluded they were probably just markings, but just in case, decided not to post on here.

I wonder if those markings have anything to do with the analysis they were doing with the drones: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sailing/news/article.cfm?c_id=106&objectid=11882559

 

[rh3000]

I tried to do this a couple of months back, will go back and find the thread.

Cheers! So they fixed the batwing foils in 14 days? Feb 15th damaged, back on boat on 23rd?

And at that stage still no high-speed foils, those where yet to be made, and now were being redesigned from scratch to be stronger?

 

[hoom]

Great Posts @weta27 its interesting that they've come out publicly admitting they were indeed broken.

I'd pretty much convinced myself that it was some kind of 'NZL32 is so slow they're thinking of using NZL20' headfake &/or a leak-test to see where the info about their 'broken' boards would come out & it came out right at the top.

Really hope they do display those foils publicly so I can go and gape at them.

 

[hoom]

Also: which race vs Artemis was it?