Not directly AC related but cool nonetheless, Johnny Heineken has some serious skills.
Maybe they should give him some time on the helm of a 72.

At best case and with a significant lead (worthy of two tacks not causing you much harm), you round the mark and tack back so you reach near the middle of the course at the time your competitor is rounding the mark so you can follow from the front and stay in phase with them. That was bizarre to see them tack right away at that rounding. It does look like they thought they had a sneaky creative manuever in that they could get a free tack by going straight into a tack coming around the mark while still on their foils. They wanted to get right anyway but because tacks are so expensive, they reached the boundary too soon and would have had to do 2 more tacks to stay on the same type of line NZ was running into the lee water of Alcatraz. The blown tack hurt but tacking right away at the mark left them at the edge of the zone too early to take advantage of that side of the course. I heard a comment in the press conference that they just didn't have time to get everything setup for that tack which is part of the reason it looked so awful (the new leeward board wasn't even lowered yet). That was a major dork up.

I really feel for the guys on the crew. The "brain trust" has failed them miserably. The looks on their faces at the end of that race was gut-wrenching.

You know it's bad when Kenny is asked why they pulled that stunt, he has no idea, and passes off to Gary, who is also stunned...

During the race, on that leg, Kenny is thinking that they must have broken something on the boat that made them want to tack. Just unbelievable. They should have just rounded the other mark and kept going fast.

I think they honestly don't know which way to go at that mark. Seems like they've tried both ways in prior races, and have been passed anyway.

Mike

The call I made last night after seeing JS move to the chaseboat to talk to RC instead of sailing the boat home was that JK is off and RC is on. Waiting to see what happens Thursday.

That might be their only remaining hope...

I thought tactics didn't matter in multihull racing? At least, that is what my friends at the yacht club told me.

The so-called "purists" want to see tacking duels all the way up the course, luffing each other until one chokes, etc. I say that Larry is more in touch with what the regatta was originally about: crazy spending on new technologies, and winning at any cost. I don't know that he intended it to end up this way (so few competitors), but that is essentially how it was before the 12-meter years.

Anyway, what idiot wastes their question in the presser asking something that they know won't be answered now, or at any other time until after the last race: Do you have an agreed protocol for the next one??? She needs her credentials revoked immediately...

Mike

Yeah...but imagine if he had answered something in the positive to that question? The challenger cannot be accepted until the current cup is won and it's supposed to be first come first serve. To have pre-"selected" a challenger would be not legal per the DoG (although it is pretty much common knowledge that this is what happens). It seemed like a stupid question but she was fishing for a whale. I remember thinking how it was a good thing for NZ that their guys are knowledgeable and/or coached in this area.

If you remember, Larry's challenge to Bertarelli came about because they were able to show that the club that was the official challenger of record was a sham and didn't meet the requirements for "a club" in the DoG. They legally got them booted and Golden Gate Yacht Club's challenge was next in line.

The winners typically have the next challenger of record on a boat with them near the race course to sign a basic agreement moments after the winning boat crosses the line so they can control the transition without leaving room for interference. Until that point, there can be no challenger.

I know all of that. It was a wasted question which everyone knows would never be answered.

If you want to know who the next challenger will be, find the commodore of each club before the last race, and see who is with him on the boat. Good luck with that, BTW...

Mike

BTW, Jimmy was obviously VERY well-coached in some of his answers (or dodging, I should say).

And, although the commentators are getting somewhat more accustomed to cat tactics (they correctly identified that as a mistake almost immediately), on a monohull, spinning around that mark may have turned out to be a brilliant match-racing move. Too bad JK and JS forgot that they're on a cat...

Mike

+1 on that. My amatureish view of the stats doesn't seem to indicate a notable difference in either boat's POTENTIAL. So it would be a shame to "blame the boat" like we so often do...

There was one overhead shot during race 3 that appeared to show OTUSA wing trimmed really weird (compared to ENTZ). Almost like overtrimmed on the top section, maybe even hooking to windward. I can't imagine Kyle would do that, and I know the wing profiles are different between the two boats, but it sure looked "off"...

My understanding is that they will do that to off set some of the moment to lee created by the rest of the wing. The wing was designed to fly a hull in 6 knots of breeze. If the rig were shorter, they could theoretically go faster. Less drag. So they are using the top section to create force to windward. The drag is already there, they are just using the rig to gain the most advantage.

I'm prognosticating there will definitely be a new afterguard.
Sir Ben Ainslie

Behold the Power of New Zealand's Taxpayers

Harvey Schiller talks all things AC

Listen to the podcast. They call this foiling tack maneuver the "Mr. Whoopie". Turns out NZ might have done it if Oracle didn't.

Podcast Episode 25 - ETNZ's Ray Davies and TV New Zealand's Peter Lester after AC race five

Video: Can this be the new afterguard?