America's Cup

[PDB]

Will the Brits get a win today, racing starts shortly https://www.youtube.com/live/RfYOBBpRgGk?si=xq2_J1lIm4EurO_a

[Jake Bullit]

Yay!! We`re on the board 🙂

[Ernie]

I don't understand what the hidden guys along the sides are doing, they seem to be pedalling

ernie

[PDB]

7 minutes ago, Ernie said:

I don't understand what the hidden guys along the sides are doing, they seem to be pedalling

ernie

They're driving oil into the hydraulic systems that trim the sails.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgTV-IEQGho

[GrumpyGnome]

Cyclors......... sounds like a species from Star Trek!

[Jake Bullit]

4-2 game on!!!

[payneib]

15 minutes ago, PDB said:

They're driving oil into the hydraulic systems that trim the sails.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgTV-IEQGho

Are they essentially doing the more modern version of this job?

 

[Ernie]

Could they not use lipos they"d surely be lighter than 8 cyclors

ernie

[john davidson 1]

||||Thanks for the link.Two wins so coming up to halfway , nearly and two behind.  Fascinating dynamics including a split trailing edge to the mainsail

[PDB]

No racing tomorrow, restarts Friday at 1300hrs and will be live on the YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@americascup

[Geoff S]

33 minutes ago, payneib said:

Are they essentially doing the more modern version of this job?

 

 

Yes, but, in addition they're having to trim the foils for lift as well as raise the windward and lower the leeward foil.  I think sail trim is hydraulic, too.

[PDB]

5 minutes ago, Geoff S said:

 

Yes, but, in addition they're having to trim the foils for lift as well as raise the windward and lower the leeward foil.  I think sail trim is hydraulic, too.

Under water is battery powered hydraulics, above water human powered hydraulics.

Edited October 16, 2024 by PDB

[John Wagg]

1 hour ago, john davidson 1 said:

||||Thanks for the link.Two wins so coming up to halfway , nearly and two behind.  Fascinating dynamics including a split trailing edge to the mainsail

I saw that and wondered if the stitching had come undone.? 🙄

Typical of the Brit's - when the going gets tough. 😁

( although I did wonder if the Kiwi's were giving us a head start, just to make a race of it. )

 

[Don Fry]

5 hours ago, payneib said:

Are they essentially doing the more modern version of this job?

 

Hopefully not, is that rope not jammed by the rising loop on the winch. Skipper be screaming blue murder. 

[payneib]

33 minutes ago, Don Fry said:

Hopefully not, is that rope not jammed by the rising loop on the winch. Skipper be screaming blue murder. 

I haven't sailed since I was at school. The last boat I was on was big and grey, and had an airport on the roof so we couldn't go outside very much. 

[Nigel Sharp]

Fascinating. Great to see that Brittania has some wins. My they continue to grow.

 

I've an interest in yachts. Dad built me a Sail Foil in 1974 I was 9yrs old.

 

Occasionally went like stink on Yeadon Tarn, Leeds ... except it mostly tipped over. Wasn't RC Which didn't help at all.

 

Could only do a broad reach but was great for plywood and nylon...Exhilarating to chase when it worked tho.

 

Swing forward to 1980's and I got into vane steared model yachts. Still have My A class. effectively based on the old 12metre rules.

 

These were used to help Dave Hollom (Bradford) and others design for the 1987 Whitehorse backed uk challenge. Alas it came to nothing that year.

 

Good luck to Ben Ainsley and the crew.

 

 

[Peter Jenkins]

20 hours ago, GrumpyGnome said:

Cyclors......... sounds like a species from Star Trek!

I believe it's a combination of cycling sailors, hence cyclors.

[Peter Jenkins]

19 hours ago, PDB said:

Under water is battery powered hydraulics, above water human powered hydraulics.

My understanding was that the smaller AC40s used in the Womens Americas Cup were battery powered but the AC75s are pure muscle power for everything that doesn't involve thinking.  I could be wrong as Ineos had to change an overheating battery pack so it could be that what you say is right PDB.

[Philip Lewis 3]

My understanding is that everything above deck must be human powered, but below deck is battery powered, so I think PDB is correct. 

[PDB]

11 minutes ago, Peter Jenkins said:

My understanding was that the smaller AC40s used in the Womens Americas Cup were battery powered but the AC75s are pure muscle power for everything that doesn't involve thinking.  I could be wrong as Ineos had to change an overheating battery pack so it could be that what you say is right PDB.

 

Freddie Carr (One of the cyclors) used the sentence in an interview yesterday to explain where battery and where human power are used on the AC75s. 👍

Edited October 17, 2024 by PDB

[Jake Bullit]

Similar technology being used here.

Been following this lad for years,he  should be with NASA,though some of his wiring would need a tidy up.

 

 

[Ernie]

It's really fascinating stuff, but how on earth do they get enough lift to get all that weight out of the water? Is it the hull itself that is a lifting body, like the old NASA experiments, or is there more going on?

Also, the constant changing of direction is way beyond me. they often seem to be going in different directions

ernie

[GrumpyGnome]

Looks like those teeny tiny foils of only a couple of square metres in area support the boats - awesome.

[Dale Bradly]

Taihoro's foil is 1.2sqm, and weighs about 7500kg.

Someone want to do the math on that wing loading?

[Geoff S]

1 hour ago, Ernie said:

It's really fascinating stuff, but how on earth do they get enough lift to get all that weight out of the water? Is it the hull itself that is a lifting body, like the old NASA experiments, or is there more going on?

Also, the constant changing of direction is way beyond me. they often seem to be going in different directions

ernie

 

A yacht can't sail directly into wind, so on the windward legs they have to tack (change direction by turning the bow through the wind and zig-zag). A 'normal yacht or dinghy can sail roughly at 45 deg to the true wind. These foiling yachts go so fast the apparent wind is stronger than the actual wind so they always have to trim the sails very tightly to get the the best angle of attack.  On the downwind legs it's slightly different. Obviously the shortest distance is a straight line towards the leeward gate (or finish line) but sailing dead downwind means the maximum speed is the wind speed.  Sailing at angle is faster and with these yachts considerably so and thus faster.  In this case they change tacks by gybing (when the stern goes through the wind).  However, because they generate so much apparent wind the sails are still trimmed tightly.  In a dinghy, we used spinnakers (baggy sails) off wind but we never went fast enough on a run (dead downwind) not to sail far off the direct route.  Catamarans rarely use spinnakers because they sail a lot faster though not as fast as these foiling yachts.

 

The yacht furthest up wind on the windward legs is leading despite being far apart. Similarly, the yacht furthest downwind is the leading boat on the downwind legs.

 

Looks like it's all over bar the shouting.  If Britannia can win both races today it'll be more exciting - they seem to do better in stronger winds.  Fingers crossed 🙂