SIGHTINGS a spinnaker for you
america's cup 36 preview It's finally that time again for all of us America's Cup aficionados! The fun starts in Auckland, New Zealand, this month with the AC World Series, followed by the Prada Cup in January and February. The actual finals commence on March 6, 2021. Probably more than at any other time in America's Cup history, we have no clue as to who the favorite will be and what will happen. The radical foiling AC75 monohulls have never raced against one another in competition, and even with the Kiwis' home-course advantage, each of the challengers brings almost unlimited financial resources to try to pry the America's Cup from the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron's firm grip. My guess — and it's far from a logical one — is that American Magic actually might get the job done, returning the America's Cup to midtown Manhattan and the waters of Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island.
INEOS Team UK AC75: Britannia Royal Yacht Squadron Portsmouth, UK Skipper: Ben Ainslie (UK) Crew: Ben Cornish; David Carr; Giles Scott; Nick Hutton; Xavier Fernandez Design: Nick Holroyd; Juan Villa Syndicate Principal: Jim Ratcliffe; Grant Simmer (Executive Director) If there was ever a dark horse, this time around it's INEOS and Sir Ben Ainslie. But BA is the best in the world when he's in equal equipment. He showed that in February when he crushed the SailGP competition in his first go-round in Australia, and it wasn't even close. Britannia 2 has taken advantage of its collaboration with the Mercedes F1 design program and come in with a radical bustle as part of a waterskimming, aero-inflecting hull shape that potentially takes advantage, strangely enough for a yacht, of ground effects. It would come full circle for the Auld Mug and for the Brits if the Royal Yacht Squadron could get their 100 Guinea Cup back! continued on outside column of next sightings page Page 44 •
Latitude 38
• December, 2020
WILL RICKETSON / AMERICAN MAGIC
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The boats. American Magic's spanking-new AC75 'Patriot' has been fast out of the gate, and the NYYC Challenge has a legitimate shot to win the America's Cup next March in Auckland.
C. Gregory / INEOS Team UK
The Teams American Magic AC75: Patriot New York Yacht Club Newport, Rhode Island, USA Skipper: Dean Barker (NZ) Crew: Andrew Campbell; Cooper Dressler; Matt Cassidy Design: Marcelino Botin Syndicate Principals: Doug DeVos, Hap Fauth and Roger Penske; Terry Hutchinson (Executive Director) On paper, the Americans would seem to have everything: money, experience, resources and design expertise. But NYYC has been here before, ever since they relinquished their precious trophy to the Australians in 1983. They underperformed in 1986, and their efforts in New Zealand in 2000 and 2003 fell well short, due in part to two catastrophic structural incidents on the water. Part of Terry Hutchinson's strategy is to ignore the past and focus on what can be, with a no-nonsense approach this time in their effort to leave no stone unturned. Patriot, their second AC75, appears fast out of the gate and if looks could kill, this boat looks like it has the speed to finally get the job done for NYYC and bring the America's Cup back to Newport, RI! It is pure conjecture, because none of the new America's Cup Class yachts has ever raced another on the water in real time. American Magic spent their training time in Rhode Island and Pensacola, Florida. The AC Protocol states that the teams cannot race their AC75s against one another as a cost-cutting measure. Can Dean Barker finally get the job done and win an America's Cup? That's the big question and a big ask. He's been on this doorstep before.
Allegedly spinnakers got their name from the sailing vessel Sphinx and the sail known as the 'Sphinx Acre'. The name has also been attributed to the sail's being the 'spin-maker'. I don't know if either is true — in fact, most of what I hear about spinnakers from rookie sailors or even old salts who haven't hoisted one since the Nixon administration isn't true. This article will focus on asymmetrical spinnakers. They don't require a pole or any other special hardware; in fact, many boats have one stashed in a locker somewhere in a bag simply labeled "Spinnaker." Modern asymmetrical spinnakers really deserve a new name. It's simply not fair to compare them to their fussy, old-school symmetrical ancestors. OK, when the wind gets light and you're trying to reduce your carbon footprint and the diesel exhaust is curling in over the transom and you know you have a spinnaker aboard but you have that little
It's all in the hull shape this time for the British, as we are all left to surmise whether there is hustle in the bustle. This christening shot shows us what lies beneath.