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Gift as the default rules,” says Drummond, ing six feet or more from the force; the “and the Deed of Gift says to build the fastest equivalent deflection in the front beam boat you can.” from the loaded hull is massive. In this regulatory vacuum, the techno- You don’t normally think of carbon as logical innovation has exploded. being a ductile material, as it’s a structural material that remains nearly rigid to the erhaps the biggest difference is that point of failure. The two large curving, the funding levels are of staggering sculpted carbon-fiber beams which Russell proportion versus 1988, and the inno- connect the three hulls are pushing the Coutts P vation has more in common with the Cold structural envelope; for comparison, War space race of the 1960s than anything carbon tubs in Formula 1 typically have a recently seen in sailboat racing. Longtime life measured in hours before fatigue begins sailing enthusiast Ellison, a co-founder of to reduce their ability to adequately with- software company Oracle, is considered stand torsion. So on USA, every imaginable the fourth-richest person in the world by parameter is carefully monitored with sensor Forbes. Bertarelli is an Italian-born phar- arrays, providing real-time information to maceutical and biotechnology billionaire, the chase boat, where the design team #59 on Forbes’ list. The 2010 America’s monitors hundreds of pressure sensors. Cup is a clash of financial titans. The curved daggerboards at each out- , skipper of the 1995 Team rigger hull can be retracted to any position New Zealand challenge boat, returned to San from their eight-foot maximum deployment. Diego as CEO of BMW Oracle racing. The Typically, the loaded leeward hull has the winds make for a perfect testing location for daggerboard fully deployed. Straight fore light-air setups, as it was recently announced and aft, they are curved inward across the in the Notice of Race that the upper limit for beam of the boat, a high-lift design. Earlier “We’ve gone wind in the 2010 America’s Cup will be fif- versions had a daggerboard and rudder back to the Deed of teen knots. Given that both teams will field extending from the central hull; these were boats that can sail at 2.5 times wind speed, removed, as the additional weight and drag Gift as the default rules,” this will be a high-speed contest unlike any offset advantages in stability or response. says Drummond, “and the in the history of the Cup. The rudders at the stern of each outrigger Deed of Gift says to build In early testing with a new hard-wing hull are about six feet long. the fastest boat mainsail design, Roundel was invited along you can.” for a test session and given access to the team. week after the catastrophic failure of For this test session, Alinghi’s spy boats their conventional carbon-fiber mast weren’t deployed, espionage being very Ain testing, the team unveiled a new much a part of this game. BMW Oracle’s hard-wing mainsail design of carbon and trimaran challenger is 100 feet long and Kevlar, with a shrinkable aeronautical film 90 feet wide—with a mast height of a stag- material for skin. Starting with the 1992 gering 190 feet. “The boat is 99% carbon- Cup, International America’s Cup Class his year—perhaps even by the time dominated by the Stars & Stripes catama- fiber,” says Drummond, “and the rest is (IACC) rules had precluded the use of hard- you read this—the 33rd America’s ran, innovative sails a non-factor. Mike titanium. We used VPLP, a French naval wing sails; this year’s race sees a return of TCup will be fought on the waters near Drummond, BMW Oracle’s director of architect firm who have a lot of experience technology which has been absent for a Valencia, Spain, with innovative high-tech design, calls it “a total mismatch; the cata- with trimarans. In their experience, a generation. With two major vertical ele- machines quite unlike anything previously maran could probably have won using a trimaran is faster than a catamaran; there are ments, the hard-wing design has more in seen in the event. The America’s Cup has shower curtain.” fundamental advantages, but as with any- common with an airplane wing in a high- long been not only a sporting challenge, Things went from bad to worse as Con- thing, there are disadvantages as well. At lift configuration than with a sail. Between but a battleground for both national pride nor taunted and insulted the Kiwis during some low-wind strength they will fly a hull the vertical elements is a slot approximately and bragging rights among the über-rich. post-race interviews. Adding a dose of before we will, so in some small wind range eight inches wide where the air can again Back in 1988, the America’s Cup had irony, , with they will have a substantial advantage.” accelerate along the face and stay attached become both a legal and technical battle- and Russell Coutts, returned to San Diego This race may hinge upon how large a to an area that is typically a high-drag prob- the mainsheet loads have been reduced by to-side, typically with a great deal of rake ground when banker of New and swept the races in 1995 against Team wind range allows Alinghi to fly a hull first. lem area for single-mainsail construction. a factor of ten. toward the stern. “We expect it to be a little Zealand individually challenged the Amer- Dennis Connor. Helmsman Jimmy Spithill adds, “Exactly, “An airplane wing, when it comes in to The front element is fixed and cannot bit faster most of the time,” says Drummond. ican defender with his innovative J-class Echoes of the acrimonious 1988 event that is certainly going to be a pretty impor- land, you see parts drop out the back with be adjusted except for the angle of attack, “In some conditions it won’t be faster, but sloop KZ-1. Sail America, the American were everywhere in 2009 and 2010 as well, tant point. There is no doubt that each boat multiple slots,” says Drummond. “If the a rotating airfoil. The rear element is an we think those are somewhat limited. It is corporation with Dennis Connor at the as the America’s Cup became an individual will have its strengths and weaknesses.” flow gets lazy, then it will separate and cre- eight-panel design with a mechanical cable heavier [7,700 pounds] than the soft sail.” helm, answered the challenge with a cata- challenge of varied designs between rival USA’s carbon outrigger hulls are splayed ate drag. With this rigid structure, we think array, which permits individual trim of each There are complexities in such solutions; for maran, both boats found to be in accor- syndicates. Larry Ellison’s BMW Oracle outward from their beam attachments, it’s more controllable than a membrane panel. When asked why individual panels example, the hard sail cannot be lowered dance with the America’s Cup Deed of Gift USA trimaran is the challenger, versus having a negative camber stance. When with twenty tons of load at the corners to don’t have multiple electrical servos for when not in use; the team always has crew on after seemingly endless litigation. Ernesto Bertarelli’s defender, Alinghi, of flying the windward and center hulls, the keep it in the right shape. Tiny amounts of optimal control, Drummond—tongue board to make sure the boat is always headed The relationship between the two teams Switzerland—and the Swiss have chosen to leeward hull is camber-neutral in the water. stretch make a big difference in sail shape.” firmly in cheek—says, “That’s the second to the wind, due to the potential to capsize was venomous—and it went downhill from defend with a catamaran. Again there is vari- The forces are extreme, and the front The slot with the two vertical elements generation—for next time, when we get or of damage from a wind shift. there. A hard-sail development program ety in design solutions, again little love lost portion of the loaded hull is pushed up, resolved this laminar flow problem, while our own satellites.” For going to weather, the jib attaches by aviation pioneer Burt Rutan pushed the between the teams, with every detail being which puts extreme twist into the entire eliminating issues with membrane sails The entire mast/hard-wing assembly is to the very front of the center hull; it’s a technology into new, previously unex- fought out to the point of exhaustion before structure. At times the forward end of the being forced into the shape of a wing. With mounted onto a titanium ball joint, allowing masthead rig versus the more common plored directions. The races were utterly the courts. “We’ve gone back to the Deed of flying windward hull appears to be droop- sail shape now controlled by other means, movement of the mast fore-and-aft and side- fractional rig of the IACC boats. In wind-

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a power-operated system; BMW Oracle responded by installing a BMW diesel engine to power the hydraulic system that distributes the power to the winches. The traditional seventeen crew members from past Cup races have been reduced to perhaps half that with the elimination of the grinding stations. Such traditions die hard. “It operates like a TV remote,” says Drummond. “Press a but- ton—a regrettable step to take. Sailing has Mike always been a very pure sport; it is traditional Drummond for yachts to be manually sailed. Alinghi built their boat with an engine to replace the grinders so you can do maneuvers much faster. If we hadn’t matched them, they would have had a significant advantage.” The majority of the crew climbs out to windward on netting which extends about ten feet out from the center hull, to help keep the boat at the desired degree of heel. The “sweet spot” probably keeps the center hull just above the water, providing the dual effect of reducing hydrodynamic drag while keep- ing the sail plan as vertical as possible. The usual arrangement of having the “brain trust” of helmsman and tactician—the experienced John Kostecki—together has been revised; as a result of the distances involved and noise generated at such speeds, the crew wears earpieces to hear the commands or discus- sion onboard. Only a few have the ability to speak over the system. Jimmy Spithill steers from a precarious perch cantilevered off the rear beam, twenty feet above the water. Moving at 40 knots, he is closer to the outrigger than center hull; those looking for lifelines need not apply. “It’s incredibly dangerous,” laughs Drummond, “but we can always get another helmsman! They’re young, they’re foolish, they’re cheap.” Spithill wears a backpack; could it con- tain a parachute? “I could fit one in there every now and then,” he laughs, “but it has the laptop with batteries to run the head- up display.” Yes: Spithill’s sunglasses display the data he needs to maximize per- formance. And maximize it he will; the 2005 World Match Race champion is an inspired choice. However, with his expe- rience in monohulls, does all that match- racing knowledge cross over? “It’s quite a bit different,” Spithill concedes. “The ward performance, the trimaran sails sur- bowsprit, so the sail is kept beyond the mas- biggest thing is probably the speed. You prisingly close to the wind—about 90 sive mainsail when sailing off the wind. are pushing on the limits all the time.” degrees between tacks—allowing the max- Indeed: These boats will enter the pre-start imum “velocity made good,” in sailing par- raditionally, America’s Cup racers had area with closing rates previously unheard lance. For downwind sailing, there is a car- human-powered grinding stations, the of in sailing history, potential catastrophe bon bowsprit pole that extends twelve feet Tforce directed to whichever line needs awaiting any misjudgment. While sailing for from the bow, a truss design with rods and tension (halyards, sheets, etc.), with the the Luna Rossa Prada team, Spithill’s spreaders arranged in three axes for rigid- trimmer operating massive winches domination of BMW Oracle’s ity, along with an angled brace to the bow. (three-speed, typically) at whichever in the 2007 trials is the stuff of legend. The gennaker—or code zero asymmetri- speed was best for a given point in the tack No doubt Valencia’s space race on the water cal spinnaker—is attached to the end of the or jibe. That changed when Alinghi adopted will bring moments equally memorable. 

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