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As previously mentioned, one of the treats of yesterdays media day with the Red Bull Youth Americas Cup was an impromptu Q&A session with Jimmy Spithill. Among the
revelations and tid bits:
A) The extraordinary effort to get US-17 back up and sailing again was huge in the teamwork department. "Some times when the pressure comes on and a team has to face some real adversity, it can just implode. But for us, it has been a good sign of strength and the real positive is that we have been able to see how our people reacted and what we saw was pretty encouraging."
B) In addition to the safety week training the team went through late January, the teams new Yanmar rib is supplied with enough torque to help right the Big Cat in event of another capsize, and stropping for quick attachments to hull along with a contingency
for re-righting, also an alliance with other teams and the USCG and SF Fire and PD Boats for quick response.
c) The wheels for steering provide a better leverage with better loads and are geared for more sensitive trimming or heavy load options.
D) Cross training has expanded to include Moths on off days, the physical work out plus foiling attributes are making for great sensitivity / balance practice, which translates directly into foiling on the AC 72'.
E) The down time after crash, was tough on team, but provided the engineers and designers a chance re-retool the boat, more so if they were consistently sailing
Justin Chisholm of Sail Racing Magazine provides addition Q & A HERE!
