BMW ORACLE RACING: “We Want To Win This Cup”

BMW ORACLE Racing: Man in Motion

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16:21
Alinghi have been given a penalty, we believe, for not being outside the start box when the signal went.
16:16
In fact USA have not yet rolled out a headsail but were doing over 20 knots for a few seconds. Alinghi have starboard entry and so have the rights of way, may try to pin a penalty on USA but appear to be late setting up correctly on entry and if fact get a penalty themselves.

Congratulations USA!!

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America’s Cup Defender BMW Oracle won the first race of the 33nd America’s Cup Match on Friday afternoon in the waters off Valencia. In perfect conditions for racing, with a stable knot sea breeze.

Match 1 – BMW Oracle beat Alinghi – DELTA 15 minutes and 28 seconds.

Timeline

17:22
Alinghi appear not to have completed their penalty properly and so the final delta is 15 minutes and 28 seconds.

17:08
And BMW ORACLE cross the finish line to provisionally win Race 1 of the 33rd America’s Cup. Delight for the American team and certain vindication in these conditions for the concept of the solid wing sail and the trimaran platform.

16:53
Alinghi shedding some water ballast again trying to keep the power on in the lighter conditions. Something like 10 minutes to the finish line.

16:46
Hard to judge what the delta will be, but the biggest recent Cup Match margins were in the 27th America’s Cup in 1988, the Deed of Gift ‘mis-match’, when USA’s Stars and Stripes consecutively defeated New Zealand’s KZ1 by 18 minutes and 15 seconds and then 21 minutes and 10 seconds.

16:43
Over half way down the downwind leg now.

16:37
USA extending all the time, sailing deeper and faster all the time than Alinghi who are now 3440 metres behind. Certainly the consensus at the moment is that the power and efficiency of the BMW ORACLE Racing Team wing is actually more telling downwind.

16:26
So USA is making 26 knots downwind and seem to consistently be able to fly their windward hulls for longer, peaking now at 28.5 knots of boat speed. Wind speed at the finish is eight knots at 160 degrees. And great work from Harold Bennett and his crew getting this race away, a great spectacle.

16:24
Alinghi gybe first, USA respond almost immediately. USA leading by 2980 metres or so.

16:13
And USA peak speed there is around 25 knots as they spear deeper and faster ‘downind’ than Alinghi in a puff, and as soon as they get their bow lower and sail faster than Alinghi for any length of time then their gains multiply. Now over 2000 metres of lead to USA. Big changes in course as the apparent wind builds and the leader powers up, Jimmy Spithill USA helmsman bringing the bow down and sailing deep and fast. Alinghi pressing well too.

16:11
So net on that upwind leg BMW Oracle pulled back something around 5 minutes on Alinghi, including that initial deficit.

16:06
Wind looks a little lighter but Alinghi marginal for flying a hull on approach to the turning mark, they go around 3 minutes 21 seconds – we believe – behind USA

16:04
And at an hour and a half after the start USA bear away at the windward mark first, unrolling their huge downwind headsail, breeze is about seven knots.

15:58
Alinghi tacking now on to port for their approach to mark 1, navigator Juan Vila (ESP) calling the time to the top mark to helm Bertarelli, tactician Brad Butterworth, strategist Murray Jones, all, of course, America’s Cup winners. Bow and mast crew are preparing the downwind headsail, as they are on USA. Advantage to USA about 1400 metres or so.

15:55
USA now approaching the port tack layline, an hour and 21 minutes after the start, their speed dropping to 6.5 knots as they tack. Speed building on port tack now. Alinghi still to tack. Will they take their penalty before the turn, or hang on?

15:50
Still Ernesto Bertarelli steering Alinghi, just getting a little marginal to keep the weather hull flying on Alinghi. USA have unrolled an upwind headsail to apply a little more power, anticipating the softening of the breeze as they approach the windward mark.

15:46
So downwind there is very little difference between the apparent wind angle generated to that upwind, only five or six degrees. Breeze has dropped a little for both as they approach the port lay line. The wind is between 160 degrees at 10 knots at the windward mark.

15:41
The question is when Alinghi will do their penalty, they must do a gybe if they are going upwind or a tack if they are going downwind. Breeze has picked up to around 10 knots at the windward mark. USA are setting up their giant gennaker for the downwind leg.

15:35
Around six miles to the windward mark, one hour and two minutes into the whole 40 miles race. BMW ORACLE Racing leading by something like 1260 metres.

15:31
So USA lead now by 730 metres and as the breeze decreases we see Alinghi shedding some water ballast. Breeze at the weather mark is around seven knots at 165 degrees.

15:24
Alinghi tack but so far no response from USA. Alinghi’s speed only dropped to 10 knots through the tack and they looked pretty slick. USA tacks now.

15:06
So certainly much closer than most expected, really not much between them in terms of boat speed. Speculation had the crossover between the two around 8-9 knots wind speed perhaps and we are pretty close to that. At the top mark we hear the wind is lighter, maybe 5.5 to 6 knots. About half way up the 20 miles beat now. Really very close, despite the huge differences in design philosophy. Perhaps the design teams taking a quiet sigh of relief, but huge credit is due to both design and build teams…. and those who have put in the hundreds of thousands of man hours of labour to get here. Fantastic match so far…..

15:03
Alinghi catching, now 140 metres or so behind when they were 440 metres behind.

14:57
And USA sitting consistently higher and faster, wing only. Dirk De Ridder (NED) trimming the wing, very experienced sailor on his second America’s Cup, won the round the world race with USA tactician John Kostecki and trimmer Ross Halcrow.

14:55
USA have now rolled away their jib and are flying wing only, no jib and are expected to point a little higher, now making consistently 19 knots plus and hit 20 knots boat speed.

14:51
So at around 15 minutes after the start USA overhaul Alinghi and make good that initial deficit of around 650 metres when they got across the start line. Both making between 17 and 19 knots in 6-7 knots.

14:49
USA appear to have their weather hull flying higher consistently and are sailing at a very slightly higher angle to the breeze. 180 degrees at the windward mark, eight knots.

14:45
And USA are closing in to Alinghi now there is 235 metres between the two, but of course Alinghi have their penalty to unload. But there is really little difference in speed, USA maybe has the small edge.

14:40
At the Windward Mark we now have 8 knots of wind at 180°, Alinghi have changed now to an upwind jib from their bigger GZero. Alinghi’s lead has almost halved since the start, around 450 metres ahead.

14:38
Alinghi lead by about 650 metres, boat speeds are roughly even around 18 knots. USA are now catching a little less than five minutes into Race 1. USA look to be sailing a few degrees higher but they are in slightly different pressure.

14:36
USA have not yet started and it is about 1 minute 45 seconds after the gun that the challenger gets back to the start line.

14:33
USA to the right and both boats are above the start line, Alinghi have the penalty. USA have stalled, flat footed and are stuck, Alinghi win the start and USA are all but stopped on the wrong side of the line.

14:32
Both very slow with two minutes to go, Alinghi pinned to the left of the box a little and USA have the upper hand for sure.

14:30
Alinghi cannot cross and USA take the immediate advantage, USA force penalty on Alinghi for failing to keep clear.

14:29
Getting ready for entry to the start box at 5 mins, timing is crucial. Alinghi at 23 knots BMW Oracle making 17 knots as the gun.

Via: http://www.americascup.com/en/actualite/live-ticker/

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Mast
Height: Up to 185-feet/55 meters
Where Built: Hall Spars, Bristol, RI, USA; Core Builders, Anacortes, WA, USA

Wing
Height: 187 ft / 57 m (compared to 102 ft / 31 m length of a Boeing 747 wing and 143 ft / 43.5 m length of an Airbus 380 wing)
Chord: 8 to 30 ft / 2.5 to 9 m
Width: 2 to 6 ft / 0.5 to 2.0 m
Surface area: 6725 sq. ft / 625 sq. m
Weight: 7,700 lbs / 3 500 kg (approx)

Design and R&D
BMW ORACLE Racing Design Team
Mike Drummond, Director; 30 designers and scientists
Principal Naval Architects: VPLP (Van Peteghem and Lauriot Prévost)

Sails
Mainsail: 6800 square feet; (630m2)
Genoa: 6700 square feet; (620m2)
Gennaker: 8400 square feet; (780m2)

Equivalent Size
• The infield of a professional baseball diamond
• Two basketball courts

Sailing Team
BMW ORACLE Racing Sailing Team (20 sailors on BOR 90 testing team)
• Skipper Russell Coutts (NZL)
• Helmsman James Spithill (AUS)

• Tactician John Kostecki (USA)

Notes on the wing
The wing sail consists of two main components: the main element and the flap element. The main element is one single piece that rotates around the mast step. Eight individual flaps rotate around the trailing edge of the main element. Both elements are separated by a small gap and linked together by nine main hinges.

The wing is primarily constructed from carbon fibre and kevlar with a light, shrinkable aeronautical film material used as an overall skin over the frame. Nearly 40,000 man-hours of construction went into building it.

According to Joseph Ozanne, an aeronautical specialist with the BMW ORACLE Racing design team, the ability to trim the wing easily is one of its big advantages over a soft sail.

With a soft sail, it’s so big, it’s difficult to shape as you only have control over three points (head, tack, clew). You need massive tension to trim the soft sail,” he says. “With a wing sail, you can get the shape you want much more easily.”

The main trim parameters are: master wing rotation (similar to mast rotation on a conventional rig); master camber control (general rotation of the flap element); flap twist control (each flap can have a specific angle of rotation).

“On paper, it’s a clear advantage over the soft sail,” Ozanne says. “It’s on such a different scale to what has been done before, it’s hard not to have some uncertainty. But we are more and more confident… I think it’s going to be a strong addition for us.”

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The BOR 90 was launched in Valencia on Saturday morning, lifted by crane and placed in Mediterranean waters for the first time.

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The Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court today upheld Justice Kornreich’s decision of 30 October 2009 that disqualified the America’s Cup Defender Société Nautique de Genève’s choice of Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates as venue for the 33rd America’s Cup. The four-judge panel also upheld Kornreich’s decision to exclude rudders from the measurement of the load waterline length of the race yacht.

“Once again BMW Oracle‘s strategy to try to win the America’s Cup in court instead of on the water has been successful. For the first time in the history of the America’s Cup the Defender has been stripped of its fundamental right to select the venue. Société Nautique de Genève accepts this decision and Alinghi is looking forward to racing for the America’s Cup on the water in Valencia, Spain, in February 2010,” said Fred Meyer, SNG vice-commodore.

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An agreement in principle in this sense was reached at a meeting in the city on Thursday between representatives of the two sides, Valencia mayor Rita Barbera said.

The two sides were meeting to prepare the next edition of the sailing race in the case the New York Supreme Court cofirms next week Valencia as the location for the event as desired by Oracle of the United States.

Defending Swiss champions Alinghi want the race to take place in the port of Ras al-Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates but Oracle has contested its choice in court.

Oracle, owned by American computer billionaire Larry Ellison, launched a legal challenge in 2007 that accused Alinghi, which as defending champion is charged with organising the next event, of bending the rules to give it an unfair advantage.

The New York Supreme Court ruled in April that the Cup should be settled by a one-on-one multihull duel between the two sides next February instead of the traditional fully-fledged regatta with several teams involving seven legs.

Via (AFP) & Yahoo News:  http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091211/sp_wl_afp/yachtingamcup_20091211171613

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Valencia mayoress, Rita Barberá, announced today that Alinghi and BMW-Oracle had agreed to increase the number of America’s Cup regattas to either five or seven and that both teams had agreed to more their boats on the marina’s inner dock.

After three hours of “intensive, but productive” discussions, Barberá made the decisions public and reiterated that “with only two months to go until the competition, there was a lot of work still to be done” and also pointed out that it was still not 100% certain that Valencia would be hosting the regatta since both teams were still awaiting the outcome of Alinghi‘s latest appeal.

The meeting included Tom Ehman, spokesman for BMW-Oracle; Lucien Masmejan, Alinghi‘s lawyer; Gerardo Camps, vice president of Valencia city Council and Ricardo Peralta, the government’s delegate in the Comunidad Valenciana; team representatives and members of the regatta’s international jury amongst others.

It was also agreed today that a ‘reserve base’ would be negotiated in the Valencia’s commercial port, to be used if sea and weather conditions make it too dangerous to bring the boats into the marina.  This means that the American team will no longer have to consider mooring its boat in Sagunto, which had been suggested.

Both teams were in agreement that the match should be disputed over more than the minimum of three races stipulated in the America’s Cup rules, but have yet to decide whether there will be five or seven in total.

The spokesman for BMW-Oracle said that the meeting had shown the “good intentions” of the part of the authorities and both teams “to ensure a fantastic 33rd America’s Cup” and confirmed that today’s meeting had been “a good launchpad”.

Via: http://www.thinkspain.com/news-spain/17403/americas-cup-preparations-back-on-track

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Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), the 33rd America’s Cup defending yacht club, has proposed an alternative venue to the American challenger in a bid to end their continued litigation and return the Cup to the water

Ahead of tomorrow’s hearing at the New York Supreme Court, the Swiss Defender has proposed a solution to the legal impasse brought about by the Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC). While the Defender‘s first choice for the Deed of Gift Match is Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates, in order to achieve a Match in February SNG proposes to stage the 33rd America’s Cup on the east coast of Australia, in the Southern Hemisphere, in compliance with the Deed of Gift. This is a venue that should be acceptable to both teams if, as expressed publicly, the true intention of BMW Oracle is to race for the America’s Cup on the water.

A specific race course in the Pacific Ocean off the east coast of Australia, with weather conditions suitable for racing in February, will be announced promptly should GGYC accept this offer and cease their legal strategy. The east coast of Australia offers several locations with ideal sailing conditions for the best-of-three match. A venue in this region would be approximately two and a half weeks away by ship from BMW Oracle’s base in San Diego, while Alinghi’s voyage from Ras Al Khaimah would take approximately three weeks.

SNG is hopeful that this offer will be accepted and that the competition will resume on the water rather than in court.

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