Alinghi - Staying ahead

Boatspeed 16kt+, wind speed... well, just take a look at the water. Alinghi 5 sailing with her new taller rig (also far right) off Ras Al-Khaimah in early November. Rig cranked slightly to weather, straight foils and little racking of the platform. Compare this to USA in similar light air on page 7 – two contrasting solutions to the same questions

Murray Jones has been in charge of the Alinghi 5 sailing programme since the boat's launch in July. He is the linchpin between the sailing and design team and also manages the rig programme...

Seahorse: The obvious first question – are Alinghi also going the wing mast route? Murray Jones: No, we decided not to go with a wing mast for a number of reasons...

SH: What was your reaction to BMW Oracle's when you first saw it?

MJ: It looks pretty cool. I think they've done a nice job of designing and building it. It's early at this stage to gauge the performance, but you have to respect that they have done a nice job and to get it operating straightaway is a credit to them.

SH: Key differences between that concept, a solid wing mast and what you have?

MJ: The primary difference is that the wing is two distinct surfaces, you can adjust the camber quite easily and the twist profile vertically. It can be quite efficient and versatile in changing through the range of conditions; like upwind and downwind and also when the breeze comes up and you are depowering, you can twist it and in theory you should also have less drag.

SH: Alinghi now have a bigger mast up – what are the next plans for development?

MJ: We've been working on different sail areas on the boat and the taller mast has given us the ability to carry more sail. We are assessing the performance difference between the two masts and the different sail plans for different wind speeds and different angles. In a multihull the sail area is particularly critical; how much sail you should carry, because you want enough sail area that you can fly the hull and then once you're flying freely all the time, you don't really want any more because depowering usually increases drag. It's a matter of trying to learn how much sail area is the correct amount for different wind strengths.

SH: As we know, Valencia is on the cards for the Match. How are the team changing or adapting their plans?

MJ: We have always had to be versatile! Valencia in February will be in very changeable conditions, so we have to be able to sail the boat, change gears, change sails, depower and go right through the range. That will be more challenging for the crew.

SH: In comparing Alinghi's two spars to date can you give any relative percentage in terms of performance increase?

MJ: Well, it's definitely been an improvement for the performance of the boat in the lighter conditions... I can't tell you by what percentage, but when you are on the sub-flying/flying threshold it improves things a lot as the sail area has increased quite a bit. But then as you get more wind the performance of the two rigs begins to converge and then there is a crossover where smaller is faster. So it depends entirely on which wind range you are sailing in.

SH: Can you tell us about other areas that Alinghi are developing at the moment?

MJ: Just about everything on the boat! We've still only been sailing the boat for a few months and a boat like this you can spend a year optimising, no problem at all; more, in fact. We are looking at every aspect of the boat; we are optimising the foils, the rigs, the sails, the systems onboard for sail handling. There is still room for a lot of improvement, even though there are only a couple of months to go now to the Match.

SH: Job list – how do the team decide what to do first?

MJ: We have a long list of things we're trying to achieve over the next two months and we prioritise them. We know we're not going to get them all done. You never do. When we sail the Cup the boat still won't be 100% optimised to its potential; you can sail for another year and you would still be improving, so it's just a matter of prioritising to see where the larger gains are and picking those projects to concentrate on.

SH: Have you had any significant breakdowns to speak of...

MJ: It's been remarkably smooth (touch wood!), but with a boat like this you go out sailing today and you don't know what's around the corner. You know Oracle broke their last mast and... At Alinghi people realise that it could just as easily happen to us tomorrow. It's a horrible thing to happen on a boat like this, and it's dangerous. These are the sort of boat you have got to have the utmost respect for.

SH: What wind conditions is the BMW Oracle boat targeting?

MJ: I don't know actually. I think they cover quite a range. From the little we've seen of them sailing in San Diego, they seem to sail in similar wind strength to us: light and moderate winds. It's hard to do a comparison between the two boats and say which one is optimised for which conditions. It's not easy to assess the performance of a multihull unless you know the exact wind speed, wind gradient and also the shear.

SH: I guess both teams are now optimising for Valencia?

MJ: Obviously that's what we're doing at the moment, but it's a couple of months away so there is only so much you can do.

SH: Do you anticipate any more major changes to the BMW Oracle boat... perhaps more of a catamaran configuration emerging from their original trimaran platform?

MJ: I wouldn't expect so as the match is in February and the sailing time for them, as much as for us, is very important... Any major alterations mean downtime from sailing and both teams have got plenty on.

They've made major changes to their boat, they've got a new rig, so I wouldn't anticipate them taking their boat out of commission for long at all to make any major changes.

As far as a comparison between a trimaran and catamaran is concerned, basically both sail on one hull anyway, so with both boats you are effectively sailing a canoe. There is not that much difference between a trimaran and a catamaran in basic terms really. The only major difference with their configuration is that they have to sail with more heel angle than we do to keep their centre hull out of the water.

SH: A sizeable group of observers felt the key game being played by BOR over RAK and so on was all about a play for some more time...

MJ: I don't know what Oracle's motivations were for not coming to RAK; they came up with some fairly feeble reasons. In the month and a half we have been out here it has been absolutely perfect sailing conditions; I wouldn't know of a place in the world better for sailing a regatta in these types of boats. It's a real shame because I am sure they would have enjoyed these conditions as much as we have. I honestly don't know why they objected – maybe it's because we chose it.

SH: So are they playing for more time?

MJ: That's not clear really. They have been sailing their boat for a year longer than us, so they should be ready... they shouldn't need more time.

SH: How big a part will water ballast play on both boats?

MJ: I doubt that it will be a major consideration.

SH: How has your analysis suggested the performance of the two boats will compare in various conditions?

MJ: Time will tell...

SH: Anything else to add?

MJ: Yeh. The other major area of development that we'll be working on is our warm weather gear for winter sailing in Valencia; beanie development. See you there – wear your thermals!

AC33 Update

– Fred Meyer, Société Nautique de Genève vice commodore

Seahorse: Can you give us the latest developments?

Fred Meyer: Recently we have seen New York Supreme Court Justice Kornreich reverse some of the principles that had been established by Justice Cahn's previous decisions. First up, she disqualified the SNG's choice of venue: Ras Al-Khaimah in the UAE. Cahn clearly said: 'Valencia or any other location'. Then, despite 'the rules being those of the defending yacht club', she ruled on measurement procedures, stating that rudders are not part of the load waterline length measurement. We decided to appeal against the decisions to the Appellate Division as Ras Al-Khaimah has the most suitable weather conditions for these boats for a race in February and because of Cahn's plain wording in the 12 May order. We will continue to evaluate our position, but in any case we aim to race GGYC on the water on 8, 10 and 12 February and this goal may take priority over our right to select the venue under the Deed of Gift.

SH: And what was this about Australia as a 'third way' solution?

FM: In an attempt to get the Cup back on the water and to free the event from GGYC's ongoing litigation, we offered two Deed of Gift-compliant Southern Hemisphere options (Townsville and Airlie Beach, Australia) for the February 2010 Match. GGYC didn't accept this solution to the legal impasse and wanted to delay the race – surprising from the team that were trying to force a Match first in July and then in October 2008, knowing we didn't have a boat, and have been preparing for 18 months now for the February date.

SH: What happened in the discussions between the teams?

FM: Judge Kornreich asked both teams to talk about the venue but no agreement was achieved. On 10 November we announced Valencia, previously accepted by both GGYC and the Court, as the venue for the Match in February. We also published the Notice of Race. Alinghi will continue to train in Ras Al-Khaimah until the end of the year before shipping the team, the boat and its entourage back to Valencia to prepare for the February Match.

SH: What can you say about the Notice of Race?

FM: The Notice of Race is pretty similar to the NOR for any other regatta. There is not much to say about it and it can be consulted at www.americascup.com. The NOR is balanced and reasonable but GGYC may be disappointed as they wanted to jointly draft it and to negotiate each rule. They need to remember that what they have forced is a Deed of Gift Match and not a mutual consent regatta. Therefore, the rules are those of the Defender and they are expressed in the Notice of Race. The document includes a number of topics adapted to this unique race, but it has nothing exceptional in it.