The Louis Vuitton Preliminary Regatta begins on Thursday August 22 featuring six, ultra-competitive teams, raced by the finest sailors on the planet all at the top of their game. This opening event is too close to call, with every team in the running. Then comes the Louis Vuitton Cup, starting on Thursday August 29 where, for the Challengers, the gloves come off and every point and every race matters. Here we take a technical look at the three key areas of the racing that are worth watching:
PRE-START
The start is a vital element of the race. In match-racing there are critical factors that are key determinants of outcome. The starting box is tight, with penalties incurred for any infringing boat that steps outside of the boundary area, and time is short so a good game plan is vital.
At three minutes, a warning signal is fired to indicate the race is on, before the port entry boat crosses the line from the windward side and enters into the box at two minutes and 10 seconds to go. The starboard entry boat enters the box at precisely two minutes and the pre-start jostling for position begins.
Accuracy on the timing to get into the box is paramount. What we are most likely to see is the port entry boat head directly across to the left side of the box (looking downwind), hoping to secure a cross on port gybe of the incoming starboard gybe (right of way) boat and then be in a lead position, able to dictate when to come back to the starting line.
If the cross is not made, then the port entry boat will have to take avoiding action to keep clear of the starboard gybe boat who will instantly assume a commanding position. In that situation the port entry boat is at risk of being pinned out to the right-hand side or perhaps deep in the start box – both very hazardous places to be.
With such little time, most starts will see a lead-back to the line from the left-hand side of the box (looking downwind) on starboard tack. Both boats will be trying to kill time so as not to cross the starting line early whilst also trying to secure the optimum position against their opponent.
Taking the windward or leeward position plays into the early tactics of the first upwind leg and can dictate the outcome of the race. Off the line, a fast leeward boat can gain a quick upper hand in terms of pace, whilst the windward boat can elect whether to tack first.
All the teams have all spent hours on the water and in their simulators running through pre-start practice and developing detailed pre-start playbooks. Who gets the consistent upper-hand is going to be fascinating to watch.
UPWIND
Several wind directions in Barcelona make the right-hand side of the course (looking upwind) favoured, and if this is the case, the windward position off the line may well be preferred to allow for an early tack to head out to the right.
In Auckland at AC36 we saw a number of races begin with a sprint to the left-hand boundary on starboard tack off the line, almost trials of speed, where the leeward boat could dictate the first tack by calling ‘water’ on the windward boat at the boundary. This could still be a factor in Barcelona, depending on the wind direction.
What we may well see is aggressive protection of the favoured right-hand side of the course with the leading boat tacking directly on the chasing boat’s wind whenever it tries to come back to the right to ‘bounce’ it away back to the less favoured left side. This tactic is highly effective as the speed-sapping wind shadow effect on the trailing boat can be significant – several knots at top speeds.
In terms of technique upwind, the teams have several ‘modes’ they can sail their boats in depending on the wind conditions and sea-state. In winds above 13 knots and relatively flat water the boats ride low to the surface, ‘bustle-skimming’ to achieve an end-plating of the boat to the surface of the water for maximum aerodynamic efficiency.
When the wave heights increase the flight controllers ride the boat higher, staying above the crests but just low enough to keep the foils in the water in the troughs and avoid ventilation.
In lighter airs the teams can employ windward heel to make the maximum of any gusts in the 26.5-metre rig, but a recent trend has seen the AC75s sailed more upright to put pressure on the immersed leeward foil – almost ‘standing’ on it for the best lift profile.
The approach into the windward mark gates is crucial and if the right-hand side of the first leg upwind has paid off then it is likely that the left-hand side downwind will be the preferred option. This will mean a rounding of the starboard (right-hand) gate (looking upwind) for the leader, whilst for the trailing boat there are a number of options.
One option is to follow the lead boat around whichever gate they selected in order to keep the race tight and rely on downwind speed and tactics to overtake. Another option, especially for a boat that has been ‘bounced’ off to the left-hand side of the course, is to set up for a port tack rounding of the windward mark. If the lead boat opts to round the port gate, the follower can quickly dial away to the starboard gate and get to the downwind favoured side of the course.
If the leader opts, as is likely, to take the starboard gate then the follower might – in order to split the downwind tactics – execute one of the hardest moves in an AC75: a tack and bear-away around the port marker . This is fraught with technical and coordination difficulty, but when performed well can yield big gains.
The devil is in the detail upwind, and all the teams have developed both trim and tactical playbooks for every condition and racing scenario that they might face. Tight, lower speed tacking duels could also be back, especially if one side of the course is favoured.
DOWNWIND
Once the AC75s have successfully navigated the windward gate rounding, the teams are set for the battle downwind and it’s here where we might see variance in technique.
A premium is placed on the trimmers and flight controllers downwind to drive super-low angles whilst keeping the pace high. Ride height is crucial and there will be several techniques on display with some teams opting to fly high, and others preferring the end-plating effect of a low flight. The higher a boat flies, the more unstable it is, but at times it can be faster. It’s a fine-line that requires supreme coordination between the trimmers / flight controllers and helmsmen.
Downwind mainsail trim is crucial and looking up at the leech you can see rapid and precise movements as the trimmers eke every last ounce of power from both the sail and the mast – which is also rotated aggressively to produce the optimum flow shape.
Tactically, the downwind legs are all about defence and offence. The leading boat will look to maintain a leeward and ahead position on the angles to carve out a controlling position, with the ability to luff the trailing boat and force them to sail less than optimum angles or over to a position on the course that they don’t want to be on. For the trailing boat it is about trying to force a split, perhaps by gybing first to try and force an error by the leading boat from which they can capitalise.
The approach to the leeward gate markers is key. The helmsmen and trimmers will decide which gate to round – either port or starboard – and then set themselves up to gybe on the layline that will take them directly to their chosen marker. That’s the theory, but the best laid plans can change and in the last few seconds of the downwind leg we can see alterations to the game-plan. This is where it gets interesting and requires huge co-ordination from the crew and big power output from the cyclors.
The final crucial factor on the downwind leg is the rounding of the leeward buoy and, again, this is dependent on conditions. In stronger winds gains can be made by those teams that round the leeward gate at speed on just one foil, whilst opting for the safe, two-board down option (usually in heavier wind strengths) is slower but with a much higher chance of success.
CLOSEST REGATTA IN HISTORY?
Until racing at the Louis Vuitton Preliminary Regatta starts on August 22 the relative performances of six teams remains a huge unknown and makes predicting a winner impossible.
What is for certain is that on specific days and in certain conditions, teams will find their sweet spots in terms of performance and will exceed expectations. The same is true in reverse where teams that are optimised for a specific set of conditions will struggle when confronted with variance.
This makes the upcoming regattas incredibly hard to pick, and it will be the team that has developed their boat to be able to cope with the widest range of conditions that should prevail. Expect the unexpected in arguably the closest America’s Cup in its 173-year history.
Buckle up, choose your team, wave your flag and enjoy the ride – this is going to be brilliant.
