Defiant Fails To Defy Gravity

[Photoboy]

American Magic have recovered from a capsize of their America’s Cup boat in Auckland.

SOURCE:www.stuff.co.nz

The United States syndicate tipped over Defiant while training on the eastern side of Browns Island in decent winds on Sunday.

They were able to quickly come upright again and continue sailing.

The incident further validates the safety elements in the design of the radical 75-foot foiling monohull.
American Magic weren’t commenting on the incident as a matter of team policy, other than to say they were able to complete “a full session” on Sunday.




Both Stuff and specialist yachting website Sail-World received several reports of Defiant briefly capsizing on Sunday when they were the only team training.

“This ability to recover from capsize and nosedive situations and continue race training is very pleasing to see in the AC75, and means that the boats can be pushed very hard in racing situations, and recover from a mishap, unlike the AC50 and AC72 of the 34th and 35th America's Cups,” wrote Sail-World’s New Zealand editor Richard Gladwell.

Their report said Defiant had a “wild ride back to the dock” in high winds. “Again an even more impressive performance given their capsize earlier in the day.”

American Magic have been pushing hard in Auckland training in the upper wind limits, turning in some impressive sessions.

They have previously capsized their small-scale test boat The Mule during training in the United States.

Both American Magic and America’s Cup defenders Emirates Team New Zealand trained on Saturday as preparations ramp up ahead of the opening phase of racing with a world series event incorporating the Christmas Cup due to be sailed in Auckland on December 17-20.

American Magic were the only team sailing last Sunday.

American Magic have just taken delivery of their second AC75, with Patriot flown to Auckland late last week from the team’s boat builders in Rhode Island.

Patriot won’t be ready to sail for several weeks and American Magic will continue to use Defiant in the meantime.

American Magic weren’t training on Tuesday with Defiant in a “maintenance phase” as light winds are forecast for the Auckland area over the next couple of days.

The other two challengers, INEOS Team UK and Italy’s Luna Rossa, are advancing their plans to transfer to Auckland for the final phase of their buildup.

That will involved the second editions of the boats from all four syndicates with official launches looming.

[El Capitan]

I think that we will see a lot more capsizes when they have 4 boats on the course and they start passing in close quarters

[Photoboy]

American Magic's AC75 Defiant performed some spectacular gymnastics on Monday - when training in winds well above the racing limit.


Leaving the dock in the Wynyard Marina at 11.00am, an hour after Emirates Team New Zealand's Te Aihe, the American Magic's first AC75 Defiant set up off Browns Island in the area of America's Cup Course C. The breeze kicked in as forecast - building to 23kts gusting over 25kts.

It did ease away briefly - giving way to a rain squall gusting over 35kts in the early afternoon.

American Magic started another beat towards North Head, as Emirates Team New Zealand had called it a day, and packing the boat away off Motuihe Island - about 5nm away from North Head. In this phase, the breeze eased away, being recorded as low as 10kts on the Northern Leading recorder before increasing over a short time to 25kts gusting 35kts.

In the buildup to the "sky leap" incident, American Magic looked a bit wobbly 7 secs after coming out of a gybe, slowing down and going into windward, before recovering and sailing fast and under control, albeit a little high.

From timings taken off a frame by frame replay, it shows that a few seconds later the fine high speed spray off the rudder started showing solid white indicating the rudder was ventilating, and it all came apart very quickly as the rudder ventilation continued - losing lift. The stern sank with an impressive roster tail of solid white spray emitting from the rudder. It is familiar scenario seen in at least three of the AC75's - caused by a design flaw that will be fixed in the second generation boats.



all images © Richard Gladwell/ Sailworld.com





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