Team NZ failure

[chippie]

Team NZ pulls out less than half an hour after the start of race one.
The end of the boom broke off, the headsail came out of its foil and there was a lot of water in the cockpit.

How does this happen after months of successful testing in conditions more severe than those of todays circa 25knots. ?

 

[Twister_Ken]

Re: Team NZ loose???

Does that mean NZ has lost race one?

 

[chippie]

Re: Team NZ loose???

'Fraid so, by default as they withdrew.

 

[BrendanS]

Same reason as any high risk sport. Stress something highly and it will either fail on first outing, or fail on multiple testing...or most likely fails first time it is required to do something useful <s>

 

[Mirelle]

Racing improves the breed....

In a few years' time, when all this new technology has trickled down into cruising yachts, your boat will be able to fall apart in 21 knots, too!

 

[bedouin]

If you read the YW reports you will find that the condiitions were "20 knots, and one metre swell" - which are described as "marginal conditions for this class of boat".

Enough said

 

[pugwash]

No-break Blake

Blake's thinking was that you don't fit gear that's going to break. He'd found out the hard way, losing a mast in mid-Atlantic, and he carried the lesson through his three America's Cup campaigns. Don't know the full story yet but it seems his rule has already been forgotten.

 

[chippie]

I didnt read the YW reports as I watched it live from the comfort of my armchair.
I made the post while Alinghi was still comleting the course before the YW reports were filed, for the benefit of any nightowls on the forum, as I am aware of the minimal live coverage available in other parts of the world. Its hard to express irony in a posting, but was expressing feelings I think a lot of Kiwis felt.
You are right in that it was near the upper reaches of the weather and conditions for this class of boat, but Alinghi had no problems and Team NZ helped define those limits for this competition.
Another day today (much gentler weather) . Lets hope their misfortunes are over.

Cheers

 

[Aeolus_IV]

I hadn't realised that the "upper limit" for 'Cup racing was so low - seems strange to me that this is the case. Perhaps for the next cup they'll insist that all matches take place only on lakes..

So what are the defined limits then?

Jeff.

 

[bedouin]

I don't think there are any specific limits for the AC itself (as there were for the LV cup) but the boats are optimised for the sort of weather they expect at this time of year.

If Alinghi win, and the next AC is held in the Med as seems likely, then that may well influence the design of the next generation of AC boats.

That of course highlights how crazy the whole affair is. They spend $100million creating a boat that is optimised to a very tight rule and set of criteria.

 

[sailbadthesinner]

i saw that
was staying at a friend with sky and they actually had the decency to stop harping on about their bloody child to allow me to watch.

i thought the same. i only caught a bit of the after brief but the newzealand skip was a bit bemused himself. sh*t happens i guess

Ok brain let's just do this and I can get back to killing you with beer.

 

[jhr]

No doubt you're right about the boats having been optimised for likely local conditions.

At the risk of sounding like a boring old f@rt, the original "America" was sailed across the pond from the States, raced the RYA's finest* round the IOW and thrashed the pants off them, then sailed back home again - a true all-rounder. It would be interesting to see the expression on the AC crews' faces if they were asked to do that nowadays...........



*I accept that this may be regarded as an oxymoron in some circles!

 

[Twister_Ken]

Re: No-break Blake

Which is why, after dropping the stick on Ceramco NZ, Blake's Lion NZ, beautiful boat that she was, must have been just about the most overbuilt Whitbread racer ever since people stopped doing it in production Swans. He went back considerably lighter with Steinlager.

Are those boats still around?

 

[pugwash]

Re: No-break Blake

Quite right. Lion was an overweight dog, and Steinlager very nearly lost her mizzen or was it the main on the last leg. But from what I understand, when Blake got the Team NZ challenge going, simplicity and durabilty were his watchwords as regards gear. And up to last Saturday, NZ has had no gear failures.

I'm sure there is an upper wind-strength limit because races have been cancelled before, or maybe that's only the LV Cup. And according to one of today's papers, both NZ boats had trouble in the same blow.

Got a telling e-mail from a mate of mine in NZ this morning. It said: Progrees report.....B*GG*R

 

[david_e]

<<was staying at a friend with sky and they actually had the decency to stop harping on about their bloody child to allow me to watch.>>

Sinbad - you really should think twice about that funnymoon)

 

[sailbadthesinner]

children are allergic to me
they come out in bruises when i am around

Ok brain let's just do this and I can get back to killing you with beer.

 

[davidhand]

I think here that the point is A.C. racing is a very specialized form of round the buoys racing. There are other forms of racing the Volvo for example which are much different, I enjoy following them both. Nobody suggests that formula one cars be driven from venue to venue why so A.C. boats.
The present A.C. rule does not I believe specify any structural requirements, this leaves it to the designer to optimise for strength versus boat speed, also anticipating the weather conditions at the location. If he builds too strong the boat will be slow, if he builds too light the boat may be fast but will break before the first mark, that's all part of the design challenge. To me this makes the whole thing more interesting, hang the cost, if someone wants to spend 100mil let them, nobody is making them and there does not seem to be any shortage of challengers. I believe conditions were expected to lighten up this time of year in N.Z. is that correct Chippie? so mabe the Kiwis underdesigned. Any way as I have neither a Swiss or N.Z. passport I will be watching with unemotional interest the third race later today, (actually I would like to see the Kiwis win today if only to keep the series interesting).

 

[chippie]

Yes David, the usual conditions for february are definitely a lot lighter than saturday was.

Well, its down to three nil in alinghi's favour, it seems that lady luck loves a winner.

Television here screened a great documentary on the Aussie challenge, they were well down and managed to come back and win it from the yanks.
Having said that , Coutts and Butterworth are one hell of a combination that have been together for years,and Dean Barker is only the world champion .;-)

 

[jhr]

I don't necessarily disagree with any of this - I was just musing, in a reactionary old git-ish kind of way, about how the America's Cup has moved so far from the concept of the original race (though it has to be said that, like the modern day AC yachts, America was a highly expensive bit of state of the art kit, for her time). I certainly agree that the carte blanche aspect of the design rules means some ingenious cutting edge developments and, of course, many of them trickle down for our benefit, along the line.

Also, imho, excellent to have a racing series that attracts attention (even if just a little) beyond sailing circles.

 

[ponapay]

Wouldn\'t it be good ..

if they all had to sail from their home country to the race.

And the holders had to sail out and back to their nearest competitor over 2000 miles away. Just to prove the boats and make them of some use to mere mortals.


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