Race 1

While waiting for the AP to drop, Alinghi really looked the goods, flying around the start area at 17 knots +, while BMW Oracle showed glimpses of pace, overall she didn't look as quick as her rival. Once the AP dropped, and the 10 minute sequence was counting down, that all changed. In classic match racing style the two AC boats came smoking in to the starting box on opposite tacks, with BMW Oracle on starboard tack. The challenging team put a penalty on Alinghi 5 in the pre-start, but later during a slowing manouver by both boats, USA 17 was caught too close to the wind and lost all speed and amazingly for this calibre of sailors, BMW Oracle got stuck in irons (doesn't every Hobie 16 sailor know what that feels like!). Alinghi 5 was able to escape, building a lead of
over 600 meters before the BMW Oracle Racing team could start allowing Alinghi to take a 660m (1:27) lead by the time the American challenger crossed the start line. Both boats started with headsails flying, the Swiss with their huge code zero, and the Americans with their blade jib.

Race one started in 6-7knots of breeze. with boat speed on both boats traveling at 16 plus knots. The breeze was relatively steady throughout the race, building to only 10 knots at times.

Over the next 5 miles, it became apparent that BMW Oracle was sailing 2-4 degrees higher and marginally faster than the Swiss defender.By the time they had reached the 1/4 way point of the work, BMW Oracle had not only hauled in the 660m lead they had handed Alinghi at the start, they were 300m in front! with this margin in hand, the giant trimaran the lowered the headsail and sailed the majority of the rest of the leg with the wing only, without losing boat speed they were able to point even higher! At the first tack BMW Oracle held a 750m lead overAlinghi (yet to carry out their 270 deg penalty). There were occasions where Alinghi took time out of the of Jimmy Spithill's team, reducing the deficit to as little as 100m. However the pure grunt generated by the wing on BMW Oracle was too much for Alinghi and the 3:21 (1500m)margin at top mark, (with penalty still due) weighing on Alinghi like concrete boots.

Both big multis were flying enormous genakers they hurtled off at speeds of 25 to 30 knots on the downwind leg, BMW Oracle sailed consistently lower and faster than Alinghi and as a result they just pulled further and further away from the Swiss cat. It is just amazing to watch these two massive multihulls weaving their way downwind, heating it up to keep only one hull in the water to reduce drag, just as you do on a Taipan when doing the wild thing, or on a Tiger, then going deep to make the most of each and every gust. Alinghi took on water ballast on the downwind to try and get some more grunt (just as either the skipper or crew on a Tiger will trapeze downwind), but this didn't give them the advantage they were looking for, so it was dumped. Alinghi would have finished approximately 5:30 behind BMW Oracle had there been no penalty, but after the last minute turn, the final margin was 15:28.


Summary: The trimaran of the American team BMW Oracle sailed higher and faster upwind, lower and faster downwind, and Ernesto Berterelli on the helm of Alinghi struggled to hold the windward hull of his cat smoothly out of the water. In contrast, James Spithill seemed very much at ease on the wheel, and the centre hull was consistently out of the water both upwind and off the breeze. It will be quite interesting to see how the Swiss fight back in race 2.

Quote from commentator Cam Lewis: "trimming sails is trimming sails no matter what sort of boat you/re on, but its a lot more fun trimming a sail at 25 knots than it is trimming a sail at 8 knots"

Race 2

After 6 hours of waiting, the AP was finally dropped, and the start sequence got underway only minutes before the deadline for the race start time (Valencia local time 16:30). Alinghi once again were penalized at the start, this time for late entry to the starting box, and well and truly lost the start, with BMW Oracle starting on starboard and forcing the Swiss on to port. While on opposite tacks the early lead was attributed to the Americans, and the two big multis were separated by over 3km before USA 17 tacked. As the two closed it became clear that Alinghi were just in front, giving BMW Oracle no option but to tack. In this race Alinghi looks a much stronger competitor - they appear to have a different main up, a lot deeper and more powerful. They have also gone for a smaller jib. The result of the sail changes, and I'm sure plenty of other adjustments, SUI is clearly sailing higher and faster than they were in similar conditions on Friday, and also relative to USA 17. The helmsmen on Alinghi, owner Ernesto Bertarelli and French multihull specialist Loick Peyron are doing a superb job of keeping the windward hull out of the water today - something they failed to do on Friday. How important is it to keep the windward hull(s) out of the water? BMW Oracle drops 2 knots of boat speed as soon as her centre hull drops into the water!

Alinghi, on the right side of the course gained from favourable shifts and more preassure, and lead for most of the work, but still have to complete their penalty. Both boats seeing boat speed of around 18 knots - in just 7 knots of true wind!On the approach to the windward mark, BMW Oracle were coming in on the port lay line but had to dip behind the starboard tack Alinghi, who then tacked to follow. The margin at the first mark: BMW Oracle by 24 seconds. As they rounded the mark both boats accelerated almost instantly up to 28-30 knots, topping out at 34 knots! In this drag race to the wing mark both the cat and the tri had a full load of water ballast on board, but the awesome power of the massive wing sail had the Americans edging away from Alinghi. Watching the traveller on Alinghi working up and down the track with 20 tonne loads on the mainsheet is just amazing!

At the wing mark Alinghi trailed by 2:44 (1850m) and hoisted their gennaker on a last ditch effort to catch BMW Oracle, flying home on the 13 mile reach. However, their efforts appeared to be in vein, as BMW Oracle continued to open the gap with her windward hull around 40 feet above the water once the centre hull is flying! With 3 miles left to sail, Alinghi refuse to give up, dumping water ballast as the breeze eases.

Larry Ellison's BMW Oracle trimaran, helmed by Australia's James Spithill cross the finish line first and should lift the America's Cup subject to any protest. The crew look delighted. It is the first time that a challenger has won a Deed of Gift match. USA win 2-0. Russel Coutts remains unbeaten in the America's Cup match, winning 15 Cup match races on board.


Margin at start: BMW Oracle 0:24
Margin at Mark 1 BMW Oracle 0:28
Margin at Mark 2 BMW Oracle 2:44
Margin at Finish BMW Oracle 5:26

HIGH TECH EYEWEAR

One of the few people competing in the America’s Cup that isn’t wearing Kaenon Polarized eyewear is BMW Oracle Racing helmsman James Spithill, who today discussed his high tech sunglasses that house a futuristic fighter pilot-style heads-up display to supply the Sydneysider with vital wind and sail load information aboard Oracle's 90x90-foot trimaran USA-17.

When the gigantic multihulls do finally race, Spithill will be wearing his glasses regardless of how dreary the skies over Valencia are. They are linked to a tiny laptop and battery-pack which he carries in a small back-pack while helming aloft the flying hulls of Oracle's trimaran.

The technology is not new to America's Cup sailing but the gigantic boats being raced are, particularly Oracle's trimaran which produces a staggering 26,000 data points per second from 250 onboard sensors feeding information to a central database. The supply of real-time information allows Spithill to process his next move without having to divert his focus from USA 17’s 68m tall wingsail or the race-track ahead.

"It provides a display for me and I can have numerous pages. I've got like a load page where I can see all the loads on the boat, rudder angle, anything basically that we're recording I can see," Spithill said. "For instance there's a start page and I can just ask Matteo [Oracle's Italian navigator Matteo Plazzi] to hook me into the start page, hook me into the load page, and see the wing [sail] targets etc and see what's happening in real time.

The science behind the sunglasses was divulged when Spithill was asked by a European journalist what he carried in the back-pack. "It's not a parachute," he quipped in reference to the scary heights the Australian often finds himself in when USA-17 is powered up and flying one and often two of its three hulls. "The biggest push to do it was to save weight, take weight off the boat because now it's one small pack I've got as opposed to running cables throughout the boat and [bulky] displays etc."

ONBOARD WEATHER TECHNOLOGY

While the crew on both Alinghi 5 and USA will be well informed prior to the start on the weather and winds they should expect to find on the race course, the Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS) dictate that outside information from their meteorology teams must halt once the race begins.

But the RRS and the Deed of Gift did not limit onboard weather equipment, and when the defender learned that their challenger had acquired the most advanced onboard laser wind sensing equipment available, their attempts to ban the equipment failed.

Outfitted with a Racer’s Edge Laser Wind Sensor (LWS), the American team will be able to take precise wind measurements at 400m, 700m and 1,000m ahead of USA, BMW Oracle Racing’s trimaran - all with the click of a button.

Based on breakthrough developments in pulsed laser technology, Racer’s Edge LWS is the world’s first hand-held device that provides accurate wind speed and direction data. The unit, which has a comfortable neck strap and built-in tripod mounting holes, transmits wind data wirelessly to a portable display securely attached to the unit or worn on the user’s wrist. The data also instantly downloads to the boat’s onboard computer for rapid navigation and modeling.

The device is accurate within plus or minus .5 knots, and plus or minus two degrees. Its accuracy is not affected by the speed of the vessel or the speed of the wind. In fact, the device has been tested in a full marine environment with salt spray, fog, high waves and strong winds - none of which affected its accuracy. What’s more, it is eye safe, so the laser won’t be harmful to the BMW Oracle Racing crew or its competitor on the race course.

The Racer’s Edge LWS is a natural evolution of the state-of-the-art laser wind sensing technology that is the cornerstone of Catch the Wind’s flagship product, the Vindicator LWS, deployed in the wind power industry to help wind turbines optimally align with the wind. -

What does the Racer's Edge exactly do?

It's a laser device, about the size of a large pair of binoculars, that can measure the wind up to a distance of 1,000 meters in multiple ranges, enabling to you to get a map of the wind up to 1,000 meters, at multiple ranges. So, a sailing team has a tactical advantage because they can see where the best wind is, one kilometer ahead of them.

Racer's Edge measures wind speed and direction at 400m, 700m and 1,000m ahead. As a result, you just point the device where you want to and you'll get wind speed and direction along that line of sight in those three different distances. You just push the fire button and you instantaneously know that data at those three different distances. The intervals (400m, 700m and 1,000m) of this particular device BMW Oracle are using have been preset at the factory but it's something that can be adjusted.

The device has Bluetooth wireless capability, so it can be connected to an onboard computer and this is the way they are using it now. It will also have its own PDA display that can be mounted on the unit, on a wrist wrap or any other spot on the yacht. So, it can either display by itself or interface to a computer on the boat.

It also has a wing-profiling mode, depending on how far up you point it. If you point at different angles up from the horizon it will also provide a vertical profile of the wind. So, depending on where you point it, you'll get a horizontal and a vertical profile of the wind. There’re two modes of operation.

How much does it cost?

The model BMW Oracle is currently using is called the Racer's Edge Professional Model. It is the very top of the line, high end version of the device with cutting-edge technology, a lot of built-in features specifically for the very high-end professional sailors and is offered for sale at US $149,500. It's not only aimed at yacht racing but some of the top cruising yachts could certainly benefit from this technology. We will have in the very near future, other models of this device, including one much more geared towards the general sailor.

SCHEDULE

The Match is won by the yacht to first win two races. Race warning signal is normally at 10:00 am local time (CET), with race to startat 10:06 am. The race schedule will continue to attempt a race every other day, with the next race scheduled for Friday, February 12 (and then Sunday,Tuesday, etc.). The first race finally took place on Friday 12th February.

COURSE

The first and third races will be a course twenty nautical miles to windward and return; the second race, an equilateral triangular race of thirty-nine nautical miles, the first side of which shall be a beat to windward. Golden Gate Yacht Club (BMW Oracle, USA 17), won a pre-event coin toss, and chose for a starboard end start entry for the first and third races.

FROM LITTLE THINGS, BIG THINGS GROW

At the Alinghi base on Thursday the Defender ran a workshop for the press led by their weather gurus John Bilger and Jack Katzfey. The session was fascinating as the pair explained how the team goes about collecting its data and how different this Cup is to previous ones both for the met boys and the crews.

"For the sailors, this Cup is really a case of sailing blind," explained Bilger. "On a version 5 Cup boat wind spotters could see 10 minutes ahead from the deck and 16 minutes from the top of the mast. Now, given the speed that these boats are sailing at they can only see 1 minute ahead and 3 minutes from up the mast."

"We're also hearing from the crews that the biggest performance issue on these boast is the weather," he continued. "If they can find 1-2 knots more breeze, the improvement in boat speed is far greater than any other performance enhancing factor that the team has tested. Just 2 knots of boat speed can produce another 6-7 knots of boat speed."

And it's not just the potential increase in boat speed that is linked to a small increase in wind speed. According to Bilger 1 knot of pressure can be equivalent to a 20 degrees wind shift. Clearly for these generation of Cup boats, wind speed is far more important than wind direction.

IF YOU WERE A BETTING MAN.

Irish bookmaker Paddy Power has quoted Larry Ellison's BMW Oracle as the favourite in the three race series at 4/6, with Alinghi at 11/10. They are also predicting that it is only slightly more likely to rip a sail than it is to break a mast. Here are their predictions:
Ripped sail - 2/1
Boat to dismast - 5/2
Man overboard - 4/1
Boats to collide - 6/1
Boat to sink - 12/1
Website: http://www.paddypower.com/bet/sailing

THE UMPIRE DIARIES

To ensure fairness during the 33rd America’s Cup, the skilled positioning of the on-the-water umpires will be supremely tested during this high speed event. For the four person International Umpire Team officiating the 33rd America’s Cup - Bill Edgerton (Great Britain), Chief Umpire; Gerard Bosse
(France); John Standley (Australia); and Roger Wood (New Zealand) - past lessons will help to determine where the Umpires should station themselves… and hopefully avoid getting too close.

Dyer Jones, Regatta Director during the 32nd America's Cup, shares this story from the Umpire diaries: “John Standley and Gerard Bosse are the two Umpires that still hold the ‘Monkey’. The monkey is a stuffed animal (looks like Curious George), awarded to the Umpire(s) that pull(s) the biggest operator error during competition. They were umpiring together during one of
the Acts leading up to the 32nd America’s Cup when LUNA ROSSA went around a leeward mark trailing a spinnaker sheet. Following closely in the Umpire
Boat, they fouled the trailing sheet in their prop and pulled the spinnaker out of the yacht. Talk about a surprised foredeck crew and a ‘chase boat’ drop.

“They've been trying to get the ‘monkey off their back’ for several years now. I mean literally - they had to carry it on the Umpire Boat when they umpired together, and had to bring it to all of the dinners we had for the race officials - always in hopes that someone else would have earned it.”According to Standley, he has taken full responsibility for the monkey.
“Both Gerard and I were together, but it was my role to position the boat, and while we couldn’t see the trailing sheet, I have accepted the monkey as my own.”

On anointing the next recipient of the monkey, Standley comments, “As the holder of the monkey, it is now for me to award it for an incident that I deem worthy.” Given the lack of opportunities thus far in the 33rd Match, Standley is looking wise in his decision to leave the monkey home in Perth.

ONLY DRAMA FROM MONDAY

America’s Cup journalist Bob Fisher reports for Sail-World on the only drama that occurred during the abandoned race on Monday: “Harold Bennett, the PRO, proved a good mediator before the first race when the handbags were drawn in battle. Golden Gate YC is entitled to have an observer aboard the Committee Vessel, and it had been agreed between Brad Butterworth and Russell Coutts that it could be Tom Ehman, who is a former international Judge and Umpire.

“When Tom turned up at 0700 on Monday to board the boat he was met with resistance from Fred Meyer, the Vice-Commodore of the Societe Nautique de Geneve, who refused to let him on board. Harold, on the other hand agreed to Tom boarding and stood his ground.

“Enter Lucien Masmejan, the SNG legal counsel, who said that if it had been agreed with Brad and Russell, it was all right by him. Meyer remained adamant that Tom should not go, but finally wiser heads prevailed and the handbags were put away. I understand that the same GGYC representative will be on the committee boat when it puts to sea on Wednesday.

HARDER THAN BEFORE
Chris Bedford (USA) heads up the BMW ORACLE Racing weather programme and it's hard to imagine someone with better qualifications. This is his eighth Cup campaign and he comes to the team fresh off winning the Volvo Ocean Race with the Ericsson Racing squad (it was his fourth Whitbread/Volvo).

But despite his vast experience, this America's Cup, with two enormous multihulls sailing on the much longer, Deed of Gift race courses, is a very different proposition to what he, and everyone else, is accustomed to. "I think the fundamental thing to understand about this race is that it is more like a coastal race," he says.

"There are quite a few things we don't know. The race area is very large, so we don't know exactly where the race course is going to be on any given day. We also don't know how to define 'upwind' over a 20-mile course length, as the wind will vary quite a bit over that distance in both direction and speed. So we're treating it as a venue where we need maximum flexibility.

"In general we're going to be relying on modelling a lot more. Because the race will take anywhere from a couple of hours to several hours, the information from a weather boat will become irrelevant fairly quickly. So the main role of the weather boats will be to define the initial conditions and to verify that the computer modelling is accurately representing those conditions.

"In that regard, it's quite different from the traditional race when you're really doing what I think of as 'nowcasting', where your weather boat data has a lot more relevance. When you're taking an hour plus to get to the top mark, the weather boat data is not as useful."

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