America’s Cup: the surprising speed gains of the new AC75 boats

New Zealand team ace Glenn Ashby has provided some surprising numbers to illustrate the speed gains the new America’s Cup boats are achieving as the races approach.

Ashby, who controls the giant wing sail that powers the 75-foot monohull, has been with Team New Zealand since the start of the frustrated Cup revolution in San Francisco 2013 that continued the successful campaign in Bermuda 2017.

If America’s Cup fans thought the Kiwis’ bike-powered 50-foot catamaran was fast last time, think again in Auckland.

In a massive understatement, Ashby called the AC75’s closing speeds, particularly upwind, “quite impressive” and felt the boats’ performance levels had gone beyond what the designers believed they could.

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“We’re sometimes 6-10 knots faster upwind than AC50 (from Bermuda) with a similar breeze,” Ashby said. Yacht racing life on a special America’s Cup podcast in numbers that translate to 11-18.5km / h gains.

“The boats absolutely break down. They are extremely maneuverable. From a design concept perspective, we have exceeded our expectations.

“It’s a fun boat to sail, quite daunting at times with some of the loads … you have to rely on your tools and your teammates.”

In trying to convey the sensations of speed involved to a non-navigator, Ashby used an analogy with the car.

“If you want to know what it’s like to sail at 15-20 knots upwind at 35-40 knots, you can stand in the car seat and stick your head out of the sunroof going up the highway at 100 or 120km / h,” he said. Yacht racing life.

“That’s more or less the feeling of what you have on your face when you go against the wind.”

Ships now exceed 50 knots in the right conditions. Fundamentally, at the lower end of the scale, they are now capable of traveling three to four times the speed of the wind, making them exciting at light-air racing.

With official training on the Auckland courses taking place this week under the supervision of regatta director Iain Murray, Ashby said rumor was building to test racing on these radical boats for the first time in the world series. and the Christmas Cup regatta that will be sailed on December 17. -twenty.

The New Zealand team has only had a little over two weeks on the new Te Rehutai boat, but the performance gains over their original AC75 have been considerable and Ashby says that is a great motivator as they move into the match of the Copa América in March, when they will defend the Auld. Cup against the main challenger.

“It is such an exciting time to see the progress you can make. It really encourages you to get up in the morning and go to work when there are so many benefits on the table, ”she said.

“It’s great working together as a group and how you work your way through that path with so many different options to keep narrowing things down so it all fits together like a big puzzle.”

With the better part of three years of research and development, testing and training, the sailors’ instincts are now picking up speed.

“Knowing that the races are coming up very soon is even more exciting because you can put all the work that you’ve done as a whole team to the test,” said Ashby. Yacht racing life.

“This is an exciting period, but it is quite overwhelming given our limited time (in Te Rehutai).

“We are going to have the eyes of the world on us. It is a great test and, although (the world series regatta) will have nothing to do with the Copa América match in three months, it is an event in which you want to start racing and give your best ”.