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AGI – The vagaries of Auckland’s weather added spectacularity to the already extraordinary acrobatics of the boats competing in the America’s Cup Challenger series. One of the favorite ships, the American Magic, capsized just a stone’s throw away from its first victory.
The wind continued to challenge the sailors and it took the undefeated British Ineos team two attempts to beat Luna Rossa, while American Magic were less lucky as they were clearly leading Luna Rossa when they capsized at the final mark. .
No one on board was injured, but the expensive yacht was severely damaged by the spectacular somersault and only floatation devices prevented it from sinking.
It is one of the strange effects of the winds on these futuristic boats, which with strong winds literally fly over the sea in balance thanks to the high-tech structures, but with light winds – as happened on Saturday – they struggle to advance with the keel in Water.
Ineos has won all four races, Luna Rossa has won two and American Magic so far has not won in the series to determine which of the 23-meter yachts will challenge the reigning New Zealand team champion for the America’s Cup.
“It is difficult from the outside to understand the true dynamics of such a spectacular accident, surely we are in the presence of extreme boats where everything points to performance in terms of wind angle and above all speed”, Massimo Schina, director of Central Italy told AGI . Navigation
To the expert, it would appear to be “human error”. The incident occurred during the challenge with the Italians of Luna Rossa with the Americans already looking forward to their first victory. At least until the vagaries of the windy Pacific Ocean weather manifest. “The American boat was clearly ahead and yet at the last gate with a strong wind something went wrong, scrapping a race that could have been wisely managed in a more conservative way. Communication, preparation and timing: this is the ‘secret ‘of the success of each maneuver “, explains Schina, who then going into the specifics emphasizes that” more than hydrodynamics, although at this point we should talk more about aerodynamics, it would seem that the accident could be due to a steering wheel not coming loose at the point means, medium “.
Something that depends more on the maneuvers performed than on a mechanical problem. “The tense wind and incorrect timing have turned the error into a real disaster. The maneuver of a steering wheel serves to keep the mast to windward when sailing against the wind, with the pressure in the stern that they release … something, I think, it prevented the release at the right time, causing the helmsman to lose control with the consequence of seeing the boat first on a horse and then thrown into the wind lying on its side. It is certainly a competitive boat, but the error seems human, “he concludes.
