Cup teams get the wind up
Emirates Team New Zealand and Challenger of Record Luna Rossa have had to go through a mediation process to agree on wind limits for the 36th America’s Cup. The defender and challengers disagreed on where the upper wind limit should be set, with the Kiwi team pushing for a higher figure.
It is now fixed between 6.5 and 21 knots for the round robins and repechage series and between 6.5 and 23 knots for the Prada Cup and America’s Cup match
The wind range has been hotly debated because it fundamentally shapes the design of each team’s second AC75 design and foils. Teams are allowed only one measurement certificate for each event, meaning it is not possible to mode a boat for any given day depending on the forecast, as was the case in Bermuda.
Once the certificate has been issued, the boats must be capable of being sailed and be competitive across the entire wind range. Since wind speed is measured lower than masthead height, an official wind speed of 23 knots could well reach 30 knots at the masthead.
Wind ranges impact particularly on foil design, as teams need to judge how small a foil they could get away with using while still being able to fly at the minimum wind speed that day. Larger foils for windier conditions are heavier, have more drag at speed, and are prone to earlier cavitation and loss of performance. Higher wind speeds also mean greater loads and necessitate a stronger, heavier boat.
Emirates Team New Zealand is said to have argued that lowering the limit would lead to a greater likelihood of race cancellations. They have already been training in stronger winds in the Hauraki Gulf off Auckand.
The America’s Cup matches will be raced between 6 and 15 March 2021, after an elimination series between the challengers during round robins next January and the Prada Cup in February.