AC45s Foiling on the Bay

Oracle Team USA’s new foiling AC45 rolled out of the shed at San Francisco’s Pier 80 on February 16, splashed, and, after a quick systems check, got foiling in a light 8-10 knots of breeze.

“The boat is very complicated and getting it on the water has been a huge achievement, just to have all the systems working," said sailing team manager/tactician Tom Slingsby. “But the first bear-away we were up on the foils and sailing very stable.”

The team is training and testing on the foiling AC45 before packing up operations in San Francisco and moving to Bermuda next month.

Artemis Racing, which is based at the old Alameda Naval Air Station, got their AC45 out on the Bay about a week before Oracle’s. Paul Goodison has been on the helm (under the supervision of Loïck Peyron), with Freddy  Lööf on the wing. "It’s a small Bay and we are both out there," said Artemis Racing’s Hannah Davis, "so with two competitive sailing teams it’s inevitable there will be a few line-ups!"

The boat has been fast in not much wind. "February is generally light on the Bay, so we’re very happy with how fast we’ve been going given the conditions! Sorry — we can’t tell you more than that," said Davis.

The Swedish team expects to continue testing right up until the first race of the America’s Cup. "As for how long we’ll be on the Bay — we’re still making those plans, but around other regattas and training we’ll be here on and off for a while yet."

For Bay Area sailing fans, catching the boats in action is rather hit or miss. "Our daily plan is changing depending on the breeze, so the best bet is to watch the forecast just like we’ll be doing," said Davis. "Unfortunately this is another one that is hard to predict. We’ll go sailing, do a bunch of tests, and depending on the results of those tests we may need to put the boat back in the shed to do some more modifications."

The Ben Ainslie Racing team has been sailing foiling Nacra 20s in Bermuda, and sailed their foiling AC45 on the Solent last fall. Luna Rossa conducted sea trials this winter with the two AC45s Piranha and Swordfish out of their team base in Cagliari, Sardinia. Team France’s Franck Cammas has been busy with the Extreme Sailing Series and his Olympic campaign.

Emirates Team New Zealand announced yesterday that the rumors are true: Dean Barker will be replaced by Peter Burling as skipper. According to the press release, ETNZ wants to retain Barker’s services as "Performance Manager and Sailing Coach with a place on the executive committee." The team plans to begin modifying an AC45 to foil in March. Due to budget constraints, they’ve scrapped plans for a second one. "The announcement of Bermuda as the venue for the next America’s Cup series had a serious impact on the team’s finances and sponsorship funding, reducing the budget by some $20 million."

See www.americascup.com for more on all the teams.