AC72 Oracle Team USA Spaceship has landed

11 photos here.
Check out that rear beam!

beautiful

Those are some damn expensive cat trax!!

I have a feeling these things might actually foil.

Imagine the start of a fleet race of 10+ of these monsters!

With a little help.
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/488263_457920384240571_877318440_n.jpg

In all fairness to the spaceship down under . . .

40 knots?

more here

NZ looks well suited for the big water in San Fran Bay. I'm going to be out there in a couple of weeks - hoping to stop by and see something.

BTW Jake, you can see the L foils in the video of ETNZ. At 1:09 in the video it looks like it's damn near flying . . .

Thanks. I'm wondering if the back beam can be trimmed?

Are the 72's all going to be of the same design/builder, like the 45's, or is it a 'box' rule, where we may see some vatiations?

Yes it's a box rule - http://noticeboard.americascup.com/governing-documents/ac72-class-rule/

really simple box rule by the way . . .

"batch-nominal elastic modulus of the fibers in an FRP laminate with the modulus measured with impregnated tows, by extensometers, between 1000 and 6000 microstrains; the Measurement Committee will accept the following testing methods (and may accept other similar methods): SACMA-SRM16, ASTM D 4018, or JIS R 7601;"

Several of the rules I like:
No trim adjustments to foils
No water ballast
No boundary layer technology on hulls
Manual power only (no more generators, etc.)
Limited use of electronics, wireless, weather tracking, etc.
Inclusion of cameras and microphones for spectators.

WOW

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WPDAf9jPjwQ

Anybody know why the # 17?

Jeremy, I know you've got some killer pictures. Bring it.

SWEET
Dirk designed my A cat and it looks an awful lot like that.

Larry likes 17, and he pays the bills.

Boat is getting ready to sail right now. Crew in Helmets and sailing gear getting on. Check out Jeremy all day for updates.

Why the center hull? Seems like extra weight for no gain in performance? I don't get it.

Structure support is my guess.

I think I saw an interview where Larry discussed 17 around the time of the DoG event. Wish I could remember the exact reason, but he's had a bunch of boats with that number, and apparently has won some major events running that number.

Mike

They broke a daggerboard on their first sail, the load on the tip of those L foils has to be immense.

video first sail

I'll post 'em here since I don't post, let alone even visit that internet cesspool...




At one point as I was watching 17 sail, I notices that the T Foil on the rudder was lifting more that the board. The boat was sailing bow down. I was about .25 miles off, so it was difficult to see exactly what was going on, but I assume that this is when the board broke.

Having seen the tips of F18 boards sink after a breakage, I assumed that the foil probably sunk. It was reported to me later in the day that one of the chase boats picked it up; it was floating.

Not wanting to disrespect the team, I called their media rep and asked permission to post the pics. He granted permission, and was appreciative of my respect.

I've got a few more. I'll post sometime.

Thanks Jeremy

Great pics, do we know what that box at the base of the wing is?

Counter balance for wing installation. That and the struts come off to sail.

the tiller look cool. so far i think this is the best looking 72. also are both the oracle boats going to be the same?

Those bows look very skinny/low volume compared to the rest of the boat/rig. I wonder if that's why they added the T foils to the rudders. to keep it from going bow-down, or....are they going to try to foil it?

If they can keep the L boards from snapping, I could see where they might be able to foil, but I don't see any means of adjusting the ride height if they do get it up in the air, and they were obviously sailing it on one hull only, so I don't think the intent is to foil it, unless they are going to work their way up to that, after they get used to sailing it.

i cant remember were i read it but the t foils are there is its less likely to pichpole

Cant wait to see these cats race:

I noticed that too. A 72 foot boat with a tiller... I wonder if they are going to keep with that or if it was just something for testing. I noticed that New Zealand's boat was wheels.

Close up of the team installing the tiller arms.

The rules prohibit any underwater adjustment of the foils (flaps, etc.)...but they do have the ability to hydraulically tilt the daggerboards fore and aft quite a bit. The hydraulic power comes from the manual winching stations.

It's a strange tiller too - they can steer the boat while standing up by swinging the rod/bar from side to side. I hope he has something else to hang on to...I have visions of those capsizes where you slide down the trampoline with the tiller in your hand...which makes the rudders turn more into the flip.

Yeah, if they are going 40 knots, I HOPE the driver has a seatbelt! Otherwise it's going to get pretty sporty every time they stuff a bow! I wonder if they'll have a single driving station in the center, with a seat and belt, so the skipper doesn't have to run the full width of the boat with every tack/gybe.

The exact same system has been used on Dutch merchant ships since the 1600s.
There are extensions going to each side so he can steer from both hulls though, no need to stand on the center platform.

The steering action is the exact reverse of a normal tiller though, I wonder if they changed that somehow.

Don't count on it. They're going to optimize every ounce of righting moment.

Article - NZ foiling on Waitemata Harbour

Wow! How Cool is that!

I guess they will indeed be foiling in the AC races, that should liven it up a bit! I can't wait to hear what the Lead Bottom Leaning Society at SA will have to say about this!

Can't wait to see just how fast these things will be!

It will be interesting to see how they manage foiling around the course. I wonder if they can foil effectively upwind at high angles.

Well, if they do crash, at those speeds, it should be spectacular!

Many years ago when we were having a discussion here about how to get more mainstream TV coverage for sailboat racing, I said we needed to make it more like NASCAR, with faster speeds and more 'crashes'. I guess they finally have!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeLacBmYxyU&feature=fvsr

People love to watch expensive stuff crashing at high speed.

How much drag would the windward L foil generate in low winds? (not so probable in SF Bay)

rules do not allow use of the windward foil, I do remember reading something about exceptions (rule 47.3)

they didn't want to get into situations where the windward foil was used to pull the boat down for more righting moment...so they disallowed it's use.

Looks like it foils pretty well on 3 legs though.

Here is the skinny on rule 47.3:

47.3 Preventing windward daggerboard increasing righting moment
After starting, an AC72 yacht shall have the windward board draft stripe(s) visible so to
confirm that the board is no more than 0.500 m below MWP, unless one of the following
applies:
(a) the windward board does not penetrate the surface of the water for more than 15
continuous seconds;
(b) the yacht is within 300m of a mark;
(c) the yacht is within 30 seconds prior to and after tacking or gybing;
(d) the yacht is sailing less than 15 knots;
(e) the yacht is sailing at less than 90% of its performance relative to the other yacht(s);
(f) the yacht is taking a penalty.

That's probably why you and SA weren't a good fit. ;-)

http://www.sail-world.com/USA/Ameri...ts-AC72-can-foil-sailing-downwind/101812

Excellent article on the technology, broadcast television, speed, close up racing, etc. Plus read about the involvement and background of a key player named Stan Honey.
Making the America's Cup a spectator sport

See how the C-class helped shape the current AC platform.

Those two videos are very interesting, and you see what happens at 2:15 on the last one, when they stuff the bows!

I liked the other video above too, where Juan K talks about the C Class, and says "...what have we been doing the past 20 years, these things are so much more efficient!" (wing rigs).

BUT...we know the C Class did try foiling for awhile, and they gave up on it, right? It wasn't paying off on a closed course, right? Or are some of them still doing it around the bouys? Grant Dalton mentions he's not sure if foiling will pay off on a short bouy type course.

SO...are we seeing "The Next BIG Thing" here, in the evolution of sailing technology, and when can I get some L foils and a wing rig for my F16? ;^)

Like I said a long time ago, just hook two Moths together and off we go!

Listening to the comments surrounding the teams, my guess is that they are going to be shooting for a semi-foiling mode off the wind and a near full flotation mode upwind. There is a happy point between weight, available power, and efficient foiling. I think the Moth's are just able to come in under this point with one very light (single-hull) boat so they can foil all the way around a race course efficiently. I don't think we have the technology to have a boat light enough to do this on much of a larger scale yet. While we can definitely build a catamaran to foil to weather, it's suffers with wind and water drag to carry it's own weight. It's going to either sail slowly as the foil drag increases with reduced speed or have to sail so far off the wind in order to keep enough power to stay on foils that same water-borne craft will get to A-mark faster because it can sail much higher.

So, if you give up fully foiling to weather, you have to look at how much foil drag you are willing to carry up to A-mark so you can rocket downwind. My bet is that the happy-point is going to be having just enough foil to make the boat really light on the water while going downwind without becoming completely air-borne on foils. This might also make sense given the fact that they aren't allowed any type of active control surfaces under the water and their racing area is a really choppy piece of water.

The "S" boards on NZ are a good indication of this as well (they can change the angle of attack of the horizontal part of their foil as they lift it).

Then again, I could be completely wrong.

Timbo,
In reference to the C's foiling not working, Magnus Clarke said he thought that the extra horsepower of the AC45's and 72s could remedy the problems they had with "off yer rocker", so I wouldn't compare C's to the 45s or 72s .Apples and Oranges.

I think it's funny that they need a powerboat with 1200 horsepower to keep up with the AC72... talk about carbon footprint

Another question popped into my head. Would slapping a wing on a "regular" catamaran cause problems since it can generate so much more speed, forcing the semi-displacement hulls into a pitch-pole?

Well...Ben Hall did it a couple years ago on his A cat.

I don't recall pitch-poling to be a problem but maybe some of the A cat guys who raced against him can tell us why he eventually dropped it in favor of a tradional mast/sail combo.

more porn . . .
Sounded like the guy in the chase boat wet his pants.

Here's some info on Ben's wing.
Ben Hall's A cat wing http://www.mathran.nl/acat/node/23

Have a big bank account and a bigger ability to keep your boat pointy side up.
Jay, with current design hulls I don't think the wing would necessarily force you into a pitchpole, but the extra weight aloft of it can cause pitching moment than can certainly help go glub.

I would love to hear Ben's opinion of these AC boats rigs. Where is he now? Is he still racing A cats or is he busy building AC masts?

I did get to see his A cat Wing up close at Gulfport when he was there the year he was testing it, I was amazed at how quickly and easily he was able to step the thing. As he mentions in the aritcle, he tipped the boat up on it's side, next to his trailer box, and then just slid the wing out of the box and hooked it up. It was very quick.

I wish he had spent more time testing and developing it, has anyone seen it (the wing) lately?

He's still racing A's and very well at that. Doing the Hall spars thing. Just had them build some diamond wires for me.
Oracle bought the wing from Ben before Dogzilla was built as their intro to wings. Word on the street is one of our own from this forum now is in possession of it.
Here's a good thread on SA about A cat wings with some comments by Ben.
http://forums.sailinganarchy.com/index.php?showtopic=134280

I herd it was on it's way to it's new home .

Can you imagine the loads when that thing stuffs?! Holy crap!

Thanks for the links and info, interesting stuff! I guess from a speed standpoint, it -might- be a little faster, but from a practical standpoint, having to drop it every night at a regatta, etc, and god forbid you land on it if/when you flip...it could get ugly! A soft sail is pretty easy to roll up after sailing, and it stores in a much smaller box, weighs less, costs less, etc.

Still...those wings are sexy beasts!

You don't have to land on it ,just flipping can give you a very expensive , long term repair.

Given the nature of the new owner, I bet that the carbon specialists in his area are salivating :P

Or his indentured boatguy/ crew has alot to sort out, if he hasn't already.
My prediction is the wing will be parts for trophies in no time, but I hope I'm way wrong.If I'm not I want a piece.

Funny how the same things get rehashed.
Catsailor A cat wing thread
http://www.catsailor.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=117940&page=1

damn, no love from this crowd...

Yes, I now have the Ben/Oracle wing and have plans to rebuild/modify it over the winter.

Come spring it should be "interesting" in it's new configuration.

-M

That wing didn't have the benefit of banana foils either when Ben was working with it (I don't think so).

or if it did, it was super early with the curved boards

It didn't but..
I would think combined with the pitching moment the angle of attack of curved boards would change so much it could prove to be a hindrance.

Jake,
You ready to get a CnC cutter to make Mike new ribs for that wing?

Mike,
Nothing personal. I saw,first hand at the LAC, just how fragile those wings are. If you don't flip, you might be OK as far as major damage goes. It was rare for a wing to go out and not have to have something done to it when it came back. From simple Clysar repairs to loading it in the back of a pick-up bed in 100s of pieces.

As long as he's ready for the ribs to come in 9" x 12" pieces (I am working on buying a 3 axis CNC engraver).

From what mike told me... it ain't going on his A ... don't know if his plans are super top secret so ill shutup now.

So, and F20C with wings?

He doesn't have that anymore either...you really have to run fast to keep up with Mike!

Seacart 30 with wing?

Interesting seeing the speed/foiling of an AC72 from a powerboat:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNb5QJH1vtE&feature=related

awesome.. to bad it wasn't filmed/produced in hd

here's a really nice summary of the various states of the teams...and foiling. As per Loick Peyron (always colorful), the bearaways in the bay may produce some moments where you would be glad to be wearing brown pants....

OK, spy photos have captured the stunning new hull design! The Black Boat is only a diversion to mask the REAL new hull which can be seen in just a fleeting glimpse at 1:04 in this video. Which of you can identify this radical new hull design?

1:04 looks like the wing caddy/cart to me.

Looks like the team has secretly enlisted the powers from Gotham City. (hint 2:12 in video)

sexy!
Wing, jib and Code Zero ! must be insanely fun

NZ's Nick Holdroyd on the design for boat #2

Hah! . . .the chase boat

They have already nick-named it the bat boat.

Team Oracle Day 3 pics

Finally . . .
AC72 Oracle Team USA Spaceship has landed lifted off.

wowie wow-woo

Amazing. What does the keel-thingey do?

makes it fly above the water.

Or not. I mean the big solid looking structure along the center line. Strong back?

Pretty cool . . . and smart. The "L" part of the board is a cassette and is interchangeable for different size/shape inserts. Wonder if the Kiwis did something similar.

notice how much the boat shakes when it foils! 3:28

It is to keep the air from going under the wing. The wing is going to be very close to the tramp at some point.

Yes, the leeward hull moves up and down with the waves and the other one remains steady. And on 2:50 both hulls seems to point in different directions.
Flexibility?

I think it's safe to assume that Oracle has determined that platform flex is not that big of a deal. It seemed that way with the big trimaran too. The other teams have gone to great lengths with the posts and rigging to stiffen up the platforms at the cost of weight and wind drag...better or worse? dunno.

Very exciting. And very very interesting. On small boats (under ~30') the moto has always been stiffer is faster. It seems the bigger the boat and the faster you go some give might be faster (lighter), or at least your boat might not blow up (ala nomex cores in the southern ocean)? Definitely be exciting to watch the races, that is for sure!

I've always wondered about that...I know it certainly feels better when the boat is rigid through the waves....but is it faster? People talk about energy lost when a wave makes the platform flex but it is kinda like a spring - you'll get a good bit of that "energy" back on the return...whether that's beneficial or not, I have no idea.

From the '70's onward the Tornado got faster the stiffer it became.
Before the Marstrom, new Tornado's were fast.
Finally Marstrom made the sfiffest Tornado with the autoclave technology,
and changing the rear beam to the largest size under class rules helped too.
Marstrom would not have gone to a larger (& stiffer) rear beam if it made the boat slower.

I think the flex is used as a foil control, not faster just a way to get around the "no manual control" rule.

With foiling its all about light weight, is the extra stiffness on this sort of length of boat going to impede any chance of it foiling, due to the extra weight of the construction needed to prevent twist.

surprise surprise

it seems that fluttering

was tearing the boat apart...

"What we have is something that's trying to act like a plane," he told a luncheon audience at the Golden Gate Yacht Club, adding that Oracle's boat needed extensive repairs after foiling at high speed.

last sentence here

http://www.mercurynews.com/californ...ben-ainslie-leads-strong-showing-opening

Winner winner chicken dinner.

yikes....

Didn't i see (here) they are only allowed 30 days of training? does all this load testing count towards that 30 days or is that for "race training" whatever/if there is a difference

How would flex be controlling the foiling? They can move the daggers tilting forward or back to control via a ram. I can't see how the boat flex would help them in any way.

I think that The emirates video said any more than 5 minutes sailing untethered counted as a day.

untethered?

From the towboat.

Set your DVR or watch it this Sunday on NBCSN or VERSUS at 2:30 PM EST.
The Road to the America's Cup - Oracle Team USA
hosted by non other than . . .
you guessed it, our AC genius Todd Harris.

"Tag along as WOAS takes an exclusive inside look at the design and construction of the epic 72-foot catamaran the team will be charging into battle with at the 34th Americas Cup in September 2013. Remarkable feats of engineering and copious amounts of training aren't all that it takes to make an America's Cup champion. It also takes heart and perseverance which, luckily, Oracle Team USA has in abundance."

just happened

Ouch

More

abclocal.go.com/kgo/livenow?id=8849852#&cmp=twi-kgo-article-8849852

Damn!

Sequence

NBC bay area video

Oracle Team Website

oh dear lord. Everyone OK?

apparently all ok

wing and platform

not so good

more and more both are looking unrepairable

2nd boat can't be launched until feb2013

looks like they shouldn't have dumped the original requirement for a big and small wing

Wanna bet there'll be a Hobie Bob on the top of the next wing.

I understand the wing being beyond repair, but the platform too?

At least this newscaster has the presence to call it a "pitchpole"
NBC Bay Area

An hour of sad helicopter video footage.

I have not seen how the righted it, but I wouldn't be surprised if that's how te platform got damaged badly. They also said it was badly damamged from foiling.

It made it back to the dock turtled,never was righted, so it's a safe bet the wing is a complete loss. I was at least hoping they could save the spar.
All of you have to know it was inevitable. You can't push the development edge that hard without some consequences.

wonder if larger T-foils on the rudders would have helped.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/47411_439284166108635_1264142852_n.jpg

I can't imagine what it feels like to go from sitting on the aft part of the boat then rise to 40-50'(est) while the transoms are lifting in the air ...

A lot of gory detail, as far as wing breakage in this one.

Total shame but not really unexpected. Great thing no one was seriously injured. Think I might get some helmets for those 20kt+ days on the F18/N20.

I'm surprised a little more wasn't done to slow the drift and prevent more damage to the platform? Oracle are the experts for sure and hindsight is 20/20 but maybe ditching the wing and at least righting the platform would have been a good way to get back on the water faster? Sounds like v2 is already in build so maybe not?

Once you ditch the wing you're not righting that platform without a bigass crane. The wing filling with water was what most likely kept them from righting in the first place. There were not many ways to do it different and accomplish anything. Faster righting before the wing filled is about it, and the current seemed to prevent that.

No drift Sam. There's a HUGE tide current there.

Thanks for the clarification guys. Lee I'm aware of the tidal based current flows in San Fran, just surprised they didn't motor against it but given the problems Cat_Fever outlined that wouldn't have worked.

What are the bets on seeing this thing fly again?

Don't forget that the outgoing "tide" carrries the entire contents of the Sacramento River as well.

Once outside the Bridge you face the wrath of the entire north Pacific. The north shoal of the outer mouth of the GG is called the Potato Patch. Relativly shallow water, only 25-35 feet deep, makes a tough place to turtle a 131' mast. Huge swells can pump up waves in the 30 foot range but are themselves torn to shreds by the huge current.

Notice the condition of the AC72 right after the flip (pretty clean), then again after and hour of being pounded. I'm surprised there's anything left. Typical day in SF...7 knots westbound outgoing current, 30+ knots of wind coming in from the west, all funneled through the narrow GG. Nice place to turn downwind on a 72 foot cat. Like Butch Cassidy said, "Who are those guys?"

I thought they were supposed to learn not to do that, when they were flipping the 45's!

Did they think the much taller mast would be less prone to burry the bows and pitch-pole?

I'm thinking they need more volume in the bows unless they are going to limit the upper wind strength for racing.

Perhaps they should all go back to the AC45's. Plenty of action on the proven design. Also, would allow more teams to take part.

ah, google Larry Ellison. He has almost more money than god. It'll be on the water again ricky-tick I'm sure.

Hell, a local company just spent $31m on an Oracle product, so that should help.

They are not allowed to launch the 2nd boat before February next year, and the 2nd wing wont be ready by Christmas apparently.

Your fascination with poo is disturbing.

BWAHAHAHAHA! That avatar is high-larious!

Funniest one I've seen!

I would watch that as an Olympic sport. Especially if they toilets were set up like hurdles.

Sorry but multihulls pitchpole and break their riggs eversince... its just bad luck if you, me, Oracle or someone else will be the next one day ;-) Here it looks to me as if the recovery and the counteraction to not let the mast, wing go down was too slow. Maybe they had just no idea, never planned that?

do you think the foils may have hurt the hull's ability to recover from the nose-dive during the turn down?

Since those things aren't adjustable, I would figure at some point the foils were actually trying to dive for lobster along with the bows...

And having 131 feet of wing pushing didn't help, either...

Those foils must have had incredible loads on them during that event...and you would think that when those lifting boards point to the bottom that they drive harder to the bottom. I heard mention that the foil loads tore up the hulls during that dive and they didn't even know if the hulls were repairable.

Also, the main L-foils at that high negative angle of attack must have produced a lot of drag and contributed to slowing the boat, so in addition to pulling the whole boat down, they contributed to the torque loads that forced the bows down.

It will be interesting to see what design changes come out of this. I'm picturing main foils with super strong hinges so that the L-foil part swings to near vertical when top loaded, and back to horizontal under normal upward loads. I wonder if such a thing is possible with modern materials, and if the drag and weight of such a hinge would be acceptable. It would not be an angle of attack control per se, so it seems like it might be acceptable under the rules.

We all have had the same problem at every bear away, think A mark in a good blow, many times with the same results (pitchpole).

As you turn from going upwind to downwind, you've got several additional forces all happening at once, to include the centrifical force the rig exerts as it's being swung in the big arc, the added drive from the (momentarlily, until you accelerate) greater aparant wind which is now puhsing the bows down, not lifting the windward hull up, and the added drag of going faster, on the boards which also pulls the bows down, until they get into foiling mode.

From watching that video several times, it looked like a classic bear away nose dive. As they bear away and unroll the jib, the bows go down and never really come back up...they just keep going deeper and deeper as they accelerate, until it's too deep to recover. Use full screen to see this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drgglIebuQY

On our boats, we can all run to the back, to keep the bows up when we get to A mark and we know it's coming, but they can't shift as much (relative) balast aft, as we do in that situation.

I still think it needs more volume in the bows to help prevent this nose diving. That was the cure for the early Blades, as well as some of the A cats.

You may recall years ago, when the mega cat Playstation had to have it's bows modified, enlarged, etc. The first time they took it out in big wind and waves, they also stuffed the bows and nearly pitched it right over.

The only beach cat I've felt 'safe' on in a big wind bear away was the Inter 20, and it's known for it's huge, fat bows. When I look at the design of the AC72's, I see A cat like, skinny bows. Great for keeping weight off...but not so good for preventing a picth pole.

Remember, they cannot simply 'dump the main' when it gets blowing too hard and you want to bear away, like we can. If they are going to keep going out in 25knots, they'll need bigger bows, or a much better righting system!

It looked very similar to this earlier pitchpole, on the 45' version, nearly identicle;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KNql99zT6s

Now, watch this next video of the first sail of Oracle 17. Pay particular attention to what the bows are doing, they always seem to be pointing down. Near the end of the vid. at 1:50, they are just cruising back to the dock, not pushing it, not even blowing too hard, but going downwind, and the bows are looking like they want to dive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sr055W97l4o

Go to 'full screen' you'll have a better look.

the recovered platform looks a lot better than it did after it had turtled and was filling as it disappeared off into the pacific night

I can hear them on the docks now:

"Hey...get some Duct Tape! And HURRY!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLX1XPCQodk
In this video it looks like OR-S is the only AC45 in the group letting out the wing on the bear away. I wonder if the AC72 had the same wing trimmer.

They are adjustable. They can adjust the angle of attack. There is a learning curve here and they missed the setting for the conditions at hand. If you check out Sailing Anarchy ,Tide Tech shows that the conditions changed when they made that last bear away. Had they had the time or knowledge to set the foil properly they may have been alright.

They are not counting on forward buoyancy to keep the bows up. They are counting on the foils for that.

So is the lesson then to travel-in when starting to stuff as the apparent wind shifts aft? Part of that makes sense, but when the apparent wind is at 90°, It would be really tough to override the instinct to dump the traveller. Not sure I'd have enough time to think about it...

Past a certain point, you are just screwed. IF you can keep your speed up through the turn you are better off as you apparent wind will remain more forward. When the boat stuffs hard enough to go over, I don't think anything you can do will save it. Sail in, sail out, it's only going to change the angle with which the mast hits the water. Once it stuffs, the momentum and wind pressure are working against you and you have no helm. I've been out where it took three or four attempts to bear away to get through the turn. The trick was to get through the turn as fast as the foils would let you when the waves and wind are just right. The faster you can make that turn, the better off you will be. Get your speed as fast as possible, hang on, and yank it through hopefully just short of your rudders stalling.

These guys were just hugely overpowered and as they bore away, the rudders were probably stalled and about 1 second later and another second after that, there wasn't enough rudder in the water to have any influence over the direction of the boat.

That wing is ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY FEET TALL!!! That's a lot of tomahawk momentum!

There was a thread on here a long time ago about a guy that made a CO2 cartridge with balloon that you could inflate to stop a mast turtling, would something like that have stopped this wing filling with water which stopped the righting?

... you can buy one. Just search for: Secumar Auto Inflation Anti-Inversion Mast Float

Somehow not very common. I've never seen a boat equipped with it. Propably because getting a beach cat out of the 100% turtle position by manpower is not so difficult, as far as the boat is not too wide like Tornado, H21, or others.

That "airbag-recovery" could work on any boat I guess.

Fill the wing with helium....


So. How much money is uncle larry going to have to shell out to get this beastie back on the water? Any guesses?

What did he spend on the last AC, something like $360M wasn't it? I have buyers remorse spending $200 on a pair of jeans. lol

Somewhere I read this boat cost about $10 Million. Peanuts to Larry.

Oh, but you can still use your $200 jeans...right?

I don't think so he seems to have a duty problem.

He doesn't wear any trousers. Check his avatar.

Is that supposed to be Karl?

And all this time I thought it was the crew of Oracle 17 abandoning the boat!

He just bought our neighbor island for $500-600 mil. The repair cost will probably come out of his walkin' around money.

I can't even fathom that level of wealth. The man plays at a level that basically beyond comprehension.

He could have his own private space station orbiting the Earth.

No, he's more into Japanese Botanical Gardens.

who says he doesn't?

After watching the video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drgglIebuQY) I think they buried the windward bow first. Can anyone confirm my observation?
If this in fact happened it is possible that someone just dialed too much angle of attack to the leeward foil or not enough AoA to the leeward one.

I have it on a relatively high authority that after the big wave of water rushed over the deck, there were only 2 people left on the boat for the ensuing pitchpole.

and now it seems artemis broke the main beam on their ac72 by tow testing it....

Luna Rossa to launch their ac72 this week

if it's been built as well as it's sister ship they should be up and flying in no time

The Whole Story

The trimmer said, "as the bows went down, I crawled as far forward as i could.

- I guess it's the same on all boats... it's the crews fault we capsized.

HAH! +1 on that

Latest AC72 entry

Launch

Man that thing is gonna be blinding people.

No kidding - they sure put that new flexible chrome vinyl to the test. That stuff is about $1,600 in material alone to do an F18.

Why would they add the vinyl?

Seems like extra weight to me. Maybe it's some type of fancy paint? Still, fancy paint adds extra wt. too, which is why most racing boats are white, right?

That and it's much harder for the RC to pick out one 'over early' white hull out of a crowd of white hulls.

I would say it is paint. They have been using it on F1 cars for several years.

film

Film is lighter than paint and easier to fix. That is why Formula cars use it.

Unique Chrome Finish
The color of the Formula 1 car was a very special wish from Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. For AkzoNobel Automotive & Aerospace Coatings, whose highest ambition is to always get color right, this request was a challenge to relish. Working closely with the McLaren paintshop team we exclusively developed the unique and spectacular looking chrome livery which millions of people see every race weekend.

“It has to provide the right impact that you are looking for through the television cam, when the car comes by with high speed. Our brand needs to stand out and to be clear. And of course, we want the other drivers to be intimidated of what’s coming behind them." Jonathan Neale, Managing Director, McLaren Racing.

“I love the car I drive. I think it’s the most beautiful car on the whole grid. The paint job is the best - I think it’s the most stunning car out there," said Lewis Hamilton during a BBC radio interview about his Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-26.

Luna Rossa Flies

apparently the mirror treatment does weight more as used on LR as they have the same paint underneath as etnz use as their final copat

As far as the AC and its expenses are concerned. I am sure making the sponsors happy to keep the money coming is pretty high on the priority list.

makes you wonder . . .

This seems more appropriate here than in the Olympic thread.
Ben Ainslie

ouch! downfall video with larry as hitler

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1OeudSStne8

not amusing

Poor taste especially considering Larry's Jewish roots.

I found it fairly amusing

I'll bet even Larry thought it was funny!

That was funny!

First time I saw one of those Hitler videos it was this one. I still think its the best. Though that one was pretty ****ing funny.

American Airlines Pilots made one too, I'll see if I can find it.

Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu42f-pHClw

She passed the test.

So at best vmg of 42 knots, that makes the Tractor still probably not as fast as the current crop of Tri's which I think are averaging around 38 knots for 24 hours at a time ?

That jib looks like a hanky when they pan back. Kinda makes you wonder if there is a point they'd just drop it?

Designing a boat for 80% reaching and designing a boat for refined windward leeward are two very different things.

The latest from the Oracle camp

What to do when your 30 days are used up . . . .

or17 is going back together with good stiff looking beams

hopefully she'll be flying again in feb.

O.K., this video has my curiosity up. The boat is a one design SL33, designed by Morrelli & Melvin and built by Hakes Marine . The video shows it foiling nicely, but it looks like it has a curved foil on port (windward hull) and "possibly" a L foil on starboard. Can't tell what the rudders are. Here are some pics of the SL33 foiling with a soft rig. Looks like it might be an S foil on the windward hull. Any body have any knowledge here?

Obfuscation. Public released video. I wouldn't rely to heavily on what you see.

This isn't really knowledge but, apparently the 33's are test platforms and they are trying every type of foil they can think of on them. even the 72's have 2 different foils often.
from the photos it looks like the curved part of the foil is mostly in the hull when in the down position. the business end is an "L". the cant of the "L" is something to play with as are the tip foils shape/angle, etc.
Rudders have similar aspects to play with as well. it seems to me that an end plate on a daggerboard would help quite a bit to windward as well as become a hydro-foil off the wind. finding a happy medium between these 2 points of sail and the characteristics of the end plate would be a job, and require all sorts of testing.

there is some debate as to whether the extreme fineness ratio of the 72's may be fast enough to eliminate the need to fully foil in an upwind/downwind course with some 1-2 minute legs.

I really don't think we will see them foiling upwind. I think they'll use the foils to make the boat a little lighter in the water - but not foil born. Downwind, however, probably.

Agreed, the no foiling to windward seems to be the consensus.
Most likely they are canting the lee board for sailing off the wind, which when combined with the wing tip or "L" gives the enough vertical lift to fully foil. Their speed may or may not increase, and their angle downwind may improve. Some speculation says both speed and angle will improve from foiling.
They are limited in the number of 72 dagger boards that they are allowed to make, but they can make as many SL33 or ac 45 dagger boards as they want to help figure this new development out. Mr. Melvin is on the design team for NZ so it makes sense for them to use the 33 as a test platform. Atrtemis focused on the big wing first and don't appear to be in agreement that fully foiling is the way to go.
the original mockup of the 72s showed banana boards, but i imagine that they work better on small cats that are crew weight trimmed, and big tris that have a regular board in the center hull. once they tried "L" and "T" foils they didn't look back.
can you imagine flying into the leeward gate at 40 knts., having to round up and crank the daggerboard to a de-canted position? what a learning curve this contest must have.
On the jibes it seems like they would set the new board before the jibe, but when 17 capsized going into their jibe they still had the 1 board up. if it had been down maybe both hulls would have been clear of the water and nosing in would not have been an issue.

Dear Santa:
All I want for Christmas is a wing!

America's Cup in Photos

Can't wait to see some video of Jimmy foiling the Moth.

New Years Resolution? . . . "keep the AC72 upright" . . .

Oracle's New Wing

ETNZ boat#2

Coutts: "I'm optimistic"

Oh my!
Free swag . . .

no way is that for free.

somebody's pulling our leg

I think it's legit, it's also posted on the official AC's Facebook page.

Maybe they already tried selling it, the market for 130ft trimaran day sailors can't be that big

and it's in two pieces.... on purpose?

it's probably the one that broke...but I don't understand why they have pictures of dagger board molds and the like in that posting. It seems out of character.

"Other carbon fibre items (molds, boom, broken mast, etc) from the same boat are available."

Hmm, how to get from SF to Annapolis...

Go get the free mast, stick it on a Laser, and sail it 'round the Horn!

Looks like the board molds are up for grabs.

Looks like something Krantz could use to turbo his Reynolds :P

Karl #2 has been looking into a bigger mast for his viper. Maybe this will work for him.

Its easy to forget how big that crap is until you see those molds in the parking lot.

If the add is fake, I cant really see how they could be worth much.

Not many bridges high enough for that mast either.

Oracle countdown to relaunch

Team NZ has launched their 2nd AC72 today.
article here
Let's pour the champagne on the hull to christen her, don't want to break the carbon!

.
.
.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Pacific in SF . . .
Looks like the new Oracle boat has done away with the tiller.



more boat porn . . .
image 1
image 2

What makes you say that?

http://livesaildie.com/oracle-team-usa-ac72-v17-1/

http://www.americascup.com/en/news/8/teams/11540/improved-oracle-team-usa-boat-back-in-the-water

Some pics from Jeremy at Sail Revolution

wheel
more
more

Somebody mentioned this early on in this thread and was spot on . . .

“The amount that the platform racked (twisted) was a trade-off with weight and windage in the structure of the boat,” he explained. “That trade-off is still there. We’ve made some subtle changes that will reduce the racking, but again, it’s a design decision trading off windage and weight.”

Some NZ goodies . . .

I hope that wheel base articulates (it looks like it might)...it's AWFULLY close to that winch.

I have wondered why some of the foils haven't been shaped like the new OR foils. From my aviation days, it seems the dihedral there would create some extra stability.

Dont really understand why the helming position is so low (apart from windage), shouldnt he be able to oversee the whole boat from that position? (Especially with matchracing?).

Great interview with Grant Dalton! Enlightening indeed.

Dalton referring to Oracle 17 "It's going to go like stink upwind!"

NZ named their second AC72 - Aotearoa
(Aotearoa is the Maori name for New Zealand, meaning the land of the long white cloud, said to the the first sighting of New Zealand by the first migration.)

This is first of a series of four with Grant Dalton, Kevin Shoebridge (COO on the shorecrew), Dean Barker (Skipper on the sailing aspects) and Nick Holroyd (Design Director).

are they going to dangle all over the side like the AC45's or is hiking not allowed on the big boats?

Saaweeeeet!

thanks for all the updates Philip

I find it interesting that their daggerboards are so far forward...I presume this enhances straight line speed at the expense of tacking speed. If so, I suppose they're not planning on any tacking duels.

The got a nice hole in the stern yesterday when a chase boat got in the wrong place. A nice piece of tape and they kept sailing.

Looks like Jimmy is not the only member of the
"stuff an AC72" club, although he gets the trophy.
0:29 in video.

These machines are awesome.

This Dean Barker interview is the second in the series of four. We've already seen team boss Grant Dalton. . . . to be followed up with Kevin Shoebridge (shore boss and COO on the logistics of the AC72 campaign) and Technical Director, Nick Holroyd. Enjoy.

They're that far forward to allow the boat to balance fore & aft when up on the foil. It's not directly under the CG due to the dynamic forces on the wing.

check out the lights on the trailing edge of the new main beam, which is (intended to reduce racking).

Play this back in full 1080P HD. Nice for the first day back. Plus a little foiling action at 2:51

Great way to spend a summer in SF.

2013 ‘Summer of Racing’ calendar

Download the full race calendar here

Its flying again

. . . and up wind.

The shot of the boards when it's sailing vs. being hauled ,look like different foils. When hauled and dropped it appears to have a knuckle and the L goes well past 90 degrees, but the shots of it sailing look like a regular 90 degree L foil.

I'm pretty sure they had two different foils in the boat. The starboard board was straight and had the inverted V-wing with the knuckle at the joint. The port board appeared to have a soft curve to the length of it and had a curved radius shaping smoothly into the horizontal foil with no knuckle.

Here is the Kevin Shoebridge interview in the series.



and here is the (last in the series) interview with Nick Holroyd, Technical Director.

Jimmy on the moth.

[img]https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BCxbqZpCUAAp6Nu.jpg:large[/img]

Some nice eye candy here.

It looks like the hulls will gradually diminish until all that is left is a rail to attach the foils to.

I think it has been mentioned here before, but I can't find it; what is that center structure for, that is in the middle of the boat, below the tramp?

Is it some type of structural support or an aerodynamic end plate for the wing?

Or is it where they put the mechanical systems/gearing, etc. for trimming the wing...or...??

beer cooler

I read somewhere that it contains hydraulic equipment and doubles as an extension of the wing although I wonder just how much it helps.

and the hookers

So how the F are they controlling the attitude of this beasty?




Sometimes it looks like she's running bow up, others nose down. It certainly isn't crew weight doing that much. Angle of attack on the boards? or are they pumping water around to get things done?

I don't know about water ballast - but I know they can control the fore/aft angles of the daggerboard trunks. They're aren't allowed to have movable foils/flaps that articulate under the water.

Well, clearly less racking then before. I'm wondering if this might be a good thing. Very exciting to watch.

Seems like yesterday. It's been 3 years.

Hum. There's a lot of foiling going on without the geneker.

Watch at 1:41 in video. On a bear away, the platform begins to pitch and immediately the lee bow rises in attitude and the lee hull foils at a moderately low speed. Could this be the result of adjusting the angle of attack of the foil? Seems very responsive.

It's also appears to have accelerated very quickly as soon as that hull came up.

NZ's Sphincter Factor "10"

Can we hurry up and tweak done class rules and make this happen on a beach cat? Something tells me these guys have done their homework.

Sligsby to helm Oracle Team USA at ACWS Naples

The B-team gets promoted so the A-team can keep working on big betty.

Seems to me that they got plenty of rudder in the water.

Nothing to worry about :P

The A-Team will not be allowed to sail the AC72 during the ACWS event though.

"he has a set of button that control the shape of the wing – the camber and twist. But the difference is that those buttons trigger the hydraulics and the hydraulics are powered by somebody grinding. Every time he presses a button it spends some of the hydraulic pressure and that has to be topped up by somebody grinding."

Bundy talks about who's doing what on the AC72

Interesting

Looks like Artemis is heading back to the shed for some upgrades.

Artemis building 2nd AC72
Good Read.

These boats really are huge:


Video or Oracle up close (cant embed Vimeo):
http://vimeo.com/59580291

Just one more then

-

good lawd...that's going to be a handful in SF.

video no work

-

Fackin nuts right there. That turn down from the reach was ridiculous.

Removed the previous videos to post this one, in Full HD no less.

more than 24 hours since a post in the open forum . . .
that's got to be a record. Here some AC goodies


A little AC history

Russell Coutts interview.

and some fun facts on Larry Ellison here and here.

check out the safety gear
photo 1
photo 2

yahoo!
http://tvnz.co.nz/sailing-news/team-nz-benefit-practice-race-video-5364295

Jimmy Spithill interview Part 1

Wait.... There's going to be another 72? As in a third? Or is this from before the second one hit the water, it doesn't really sound that way though.

Jesus, it must be awesome being Larry.

I lost a little track of things to ... but I'm pretty sure the 72 they are sailing currently is the first boat's hulls and cross beams put back together with a new wing. So, it's technically still the "first" boat.

I know the teams were limited, by rule, to two boats - so there shouldn't be a third.

This is correct. This is boat v1.b

v1.a went swimming under the golden gate.

Ah. Still good to have a primary sponsor with bottomless pockets. I'll paint my Viper black and slap an Oracle sticker on it for a mil a year. Seems fair....

I look out the window and see his island every day.

The truth is, except for New Zealand, all of these teams are the toys of their rich owners. It's not all that different than how we show up on the beach for an event like the Tybee with sponsor decals.

Yeah, but..... Your sponsors, and mine (my cabinet shop), aren't exactly on the same plane as Oracle.

Oh, I dunno...just a big tax write-off! ;-)

Why is; -EMIRATES- team New Zealand any different? You don't think they are a toy of the Shieks?

No way condom sales could support that Team. Sheiks. Tim you're nuts.

You are probably outspending Larry several times over income/percentage wise.
He also bought an airline btw, you cant have an island without it:
http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2013/02/27/larry-ellison-buys-hawaiis-island-air/

I see Larry's planes fly by every day.

hmmm...true. They're just less in the face of things I suppose.

I spend a lot of my layovers in Dubai.

Their intent is to win the AC, and have the next AC in Dubai.

Nothing wrong with that, it's just money well spent.

How pissed will all those kiwis be if they win the AC then don't defend in NZ?

HAH.

I'm sure it won't be a surprise to the team, but I bet their media would have a circus with it.

I would be really surprised if ETNZs defence will be held anywhere else than Auckland.
For completely selfish reasons I hope either Artemis or LR win the cup (less travel!).

I'll bet if the Sheik of the Emirates has anything to say about it, and he does (ie, FUNDING $$$) it will be held in Dubai, should ETNZ win.

Jimmy Spithill interview part 2

In all fairness to the spaceship down under . .
_____________________________

What did Bundy get on his Birthday?
how 'bout helming the ac72 . . .

Killer shot from a GoPro

Spy vs Spy: Information and Misinformation

Nice.

not a dry boat by any means...

These boats are just pure porn.

Naw, they're more wholesome than that. An amalgam of the beach volley ball chicks and that jiggly SI model.

"wholesome porn" I like the sound of that...

Like a Norman Rockwell painting with a money shot?

Jeez! U R 1 sick puppy.

Give me a midget, a donkey, and a gimp mask, I'll show you sick.

Clearly you've never been to Tijuanna...that's on every corner down Revolution Blvd. along with the hot dog/taco stands.

A weed eater, live chicken and some peach preserves.

Best I can do is three dwarves and a bucket of eels.

you all need to get on the water ASAP

Cabin fever, at it's worst!

I'm going down to Islamorada later today for the weekend, you guys have fun shoveling snow...

. . . now back to our regular porn schedule

image 1
image 2
image 3
image 4
The Big Fella

ETNZ's Secret Weapon Revealed

Sounds like I will make the same modification to my boat, I expect you will see us foiling as well soon.

Russell Coutts interview
"once we get our two 72s on th...those two boats against each other"

Seven minutes of hell
Don't mess with Jimmy

Friday porn
1
2
3

It's time to go

Good read. Two part interview with Oracle's COO Grant Simmer. Some good stuff regarding the platform racking, AC development and bunch of other goodies. Fill your coffee cup . . .

Part One
Part Two

Oracle Wing Ver. 3.0



Oracle AC72 Ver. 2.0 (aka: USA17-2)



New paint scheme. Looks like a smaller center pod.







[img]http://pressure-drop.us/imagehost/images/45616515896092936520.jpg[/img]

more

pics

More great pictures from onboard Artemis AC72

This picture is begging for a caption . . .
anyone wanna take a jab at it?

The front fell off?

The new boat is...

Invisible!

Oracle joins Mercedes to announce their new SLS-AC72.

Ver. 2.0 flies

Thing of beauty . . .

Looking more like both beams have morphed into aerowings.

Not a bad idea, at 40 knots they could be generating decent lift.

I wonder if they've got bladders full of helium in the hulls. I thought back when Larry won the cup on the big Tri, someone said they had some helium in the amas to lighten it up?

Aero beams are primarily for drag reduction. They are trying to re-attach the flow aft of the tramp and keep it attached forward of the tramp. Attached flow is much less drag than fully detached flow (i.e the wake coming off a round or square beam).

Remember the prototypes on hull #1? They didn't build them there for a reason; CFD is good but modelling separated flow effectively is more of a rare art form than a science at this point. Much easier to instrument your system in a wind tunnel, i.e put tell tales all over your ribbed beam and design the solid beam from there.

Gonna be a fun summer with the AC and C-class action...

CNN article on Ben Ainslie

The Wind Gods - Official Trailer



The blurb released with the trailer describes it as:

'Awe-inspiring boats that reflect the unlimited reach of human ingenuity, breathtaking views, action, tension, excitement, consummate skill, the pursuit of lifelong dreams and the tempestuous romance between sailors and the sea, set against a soaring musical score: this is The Wind God's, the story of the 33rd America's Cup race.

'In a quest to bring the oldest trophy in International Sports back to America, Oracle Corporation's Larry Ellison organizes an elite team to sail USA-17, the most technologically advanced sailboat ever built, in a challenge against the defending Swiss team Alinghi, which has held the cup for seven years.

'The film documents the effort from start to finish, with intimate portraits of the competitors, fascinating insights into the cup's history, and sweeping cinematography of the race. But more than that, The Wind Gods is a tribute to the adventurous spirit that leads men to test their limits, by challenging the elements, the sea, and fate.

both of those are apparently in 3D...I'll have to try that on my TV tonight.

Is "The Wind Gods" a movie?

am I correct in assuming that Artemis doesn't foil yet?

I believe they are foiling now

Is the garden hose coming inside for the complete experience?

Incorrect. They are firmly still in the displacement camp until at least they release Boat numero duo.

Your right, the red bows on OR #2 had me thinking incorrectly.

Are you sure? they talked about structural improvements on the hull and the vid showed foils on the rudders.

They are foiling with AC45, Moths, but the new 72 wont hit the water for another few months.

At 3:10 look at how F-L-A-T the hulls are!

$10 says you have to dig deep to find a catamaran reference on there (I haven't looked).

OK...I looked - I take that back. It actually looks pretty nice.

dug a little deeper...and the "detail" on catamarans is really bad. It points out nearly as many negatives as positives and glosses over the majority of catamaran sailing. There shouldn't be any "direct" negatives listed on any of these 'more detail' pages.



So, let's see the negatives listed for small (non cruising): slower at turning, do not have a keel, unstable and capsize easily (listed as an anti-negative for a 'big one'), wet (anti-negative again), and some might say "simple" is a negative if not just a mischaracterization written by someone that has clearly never set foot on a small multihull.

Is that the two most exciting pictures they could find of multihull sailing? What is up with choosing that top one - it looks like a trainwreck just happened and the second one (while cute) doesn't show any excitement. Compare that to the others while you're on there too.

compare that to the "small boat sailing" and you'll wonder why anyone sails catamarans at all (besides large cruisers).



let's see...negatives for 'small boats'? errrr....none.

Come to think of it, what is up with the line clearly drawn between Multihull, small boats, and large boats? Can a multihull not also be a small boat and a large boat? Why isn't it "small boat; dingy and multihull", "Large boat; monohull and multihull" or something. This is dumb. Not any of the other descriptions for the other "types" of sailing means lists any negatives but the multihull version is full of them.

Crap like this makes me glad I choose not to renew my US Sailing membership for the first time in a long time.

I'm going to leave the "Sailing Basics" page alone and just shake my head.

Go that way really fast. If something gets in your way....turn

Wait... Are you saying that there is more to it than that?

Better off Dead. What do I win?

2 dollars

OK....clearly I'm the only one that sees the issues with the way the Multihulls are presented there - but I promise we got about 1/10 the marketing of any other "boat type" on there. It really is a marketing faux pas to point out so many negatives for something you are trying to "promote". Who proof read that and thought it was OK?

Those multi hull pics were sooo lame. I just want to go learn how to sail one of those. lol Jake I am with you.

The descriptions for small boats and other monohulls are also pretty lame if that makes you feel any better.
Why dont you contact them and submit an alternative text?

Lame, yes...negative? no. There is no contact on that site anywhere. I've sent a message to info@ussailing.org

they wrote me back with assurance that they aren't intentionally favoring any type of boat and that they will review it and be consulting their multihull constituents. Apparently, they looked up my membership status.

Sweet!

Television deals, details and conflict revealed
.
.
.
60 seconds with Nick Holroyd

pic1

pic2

Say hello to Artemis ver.2.0

ETNZ AC72 lands in San Francisco Bay

Artemis AC 72 capsize

anybody have a link to that shoreline cam?

http://207.150.197.186/

Live video here:
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/live

http://www.sail-world.com/Australia...capsize-reported-in-San-Francisco/109306

SA is reporting that crew are receiving CPR... **** this doesn't look good.

live cam from another angle
Golden Gate Bridge base

quoting Sail World
"Video shown on a local TV Channel shows the boat completely upside down, and with the wingsail smashed, in a similar outcome to that which occurred on the October 6, 2012 incident with Oracle Team USA."

Coast Guard Lt. Jeannie Crump says the Artemis Racing catamaran carrying a Swedish flag capsized just after 1 p.m. Thursday (UST) near Treasure Island, the former naval station located in the bay.

All 12 people on board have been accounted for.

Crump says the injured crew member was taken to a nearby yacht club and would be moved to the hospital. She didn't know the extent of the person's injuries.

The 11 other people on board were transferred to a support boat operated by Oracle Racing, which is defending its America's Cup title from last year in San Francisco this summer.

That's a total loss, but appears to be ver. 1.0

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking...swedish-boat-capsizes-rescue-boats-swarm

Holy Cows! No bueno.

live chopper video
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/live-video/

this is your feed

radio apparently reporting that CPR was unsuccessful....

[img]http://bangphotos.smugmug.com/photos/i-FNQfPD6/0/L/i-FNQfPD6-L.jpg[/img]

Sailor dies! This is just awful
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/loca...sizes-off-Treasure-Island-206820701.html

Reports are that a second person was injured.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/americas-cup-boat-capsizes-san-210048918--spt.html
http://www.smh.com.au/sport/olympian-dies-in-americas-cup-training-20130510-2jbhw.html

"It is with immense sadness that Artemis Racing confirms the tragic death of crewmember Andrew “Bart” Simpson today in San Francisco."

Very Sad
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Simpson_%28sailor%29

http://lessadmin.wordpress.com/2013...s-crew-member-dies-in-training-accident/

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/10/s...-dies-in-americas-cup-accident.html?_r=0

http://artemis-racing.americascup.c...andrew-simpson-dies-in-training-accident

That's horrible.

He died from one of the things that scares me the most about catamarans.. upside down they can drown you.

Apparently he got pinned under the boat.

I thought these guys carried air? I remember seeing something that the Oracle guys were.

Oracle definately do, I'm not sure about the other teams.

Not much use when you are unconscious
Looks like the whole boat imploded somehow.

Interesting article. I can only hope that something is learned at the expense of life from this tragic event.
http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.a...fter-artemis-overturns-san-fran/1863087/

Wow. A very sad day.

Thoughts and prayers to his wife and kids.

Here's another article:

http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/sailor-dies-in-capsize-of-americas-cup-boat-050913

My prayers go out to his family.

It's easy to forget how dangerous all of this can be.

A report in Wired.com said:

Preliminary reports indicate Artemis’s boat didn’t capsize because the sailors were pushing too hard or made a mistake, as was the case with Team Oracle. The problem was with the boat itself, either faulty engineering or faulty construction. The boat simply broke apart under sail, folded, then flipped. The Artemis boat has had a history of cracking and problems with the carbon fiber used in the twin 'beams' — the two girders that lash the two narrow hulls together. The boat had been in and out of the shed numerous times in an attempt to correct those problems. Today, however, the forward beam — the girder in front of the sail — gave way during a practice run. The two hulls, no longer connected, began sailing in slightly different directions. This caused one hull to snap just forward of the aft beam, and the mast, held up by high-tension rigging connected to the front of the hulls, simply fell over. The boat began to cartwheel, ultimately trapping Simpson underneath and drowning him.

I wonder if there's any video of the actual pitch pole. From the article, Andrew was the tactician, which I guess would mean he would be at the back of the boat, probably wearing some type of tether or harness. If the boat went deep bows down, he'd be wayyy up in the air, either tossed from up high with the boat landing on him, or tied to the wrong side of the boat as it went upside down.

And as mentioned, he may have been unconscious when he went into the water. I guess we'll hear from the survivors as to what happened to Andrew, eventually.

horrible that this would have happened, but I guess with all this new stuff (technologies, materials, design) a catastrophic breakdown was bound to happen at some point.

Heck, even a "regular" capsize would put one hull almost 4 stories in the air. A fall from that (even on water) would likely cause serious injury.

Let's add about 40 knots of boatspeed to that equation and I shudder to think what "could" happen.

I recall something about "Drum of England" having a keel fall off and causing some injuries, and I'm sure I could bring up all kinds of fatalities due to boat breakdowns (mono and multi) if I searched, but it's still sad to read of tragedies like this..

What would really add insult to injury is if no recommendations are made to improve safety based on their investigation

After the Oracle capsize all the teams worked together to address and improve a multi-level safety and recovery protocol. You would guess it would address helmets, portable compressed air, chase boats with doctors, etc.
But, I have yet to find a picture or video of the Artemis guys wearing spare air. Many pictures and video of the team in April where there is no spare air visible here, , here, here and here.

Very obvious that Oracle is wearing them. Does anybody know for sure if Artemis was wearing spare air or any type of portable air system yesterday?

hum . . .

"I hope like hell that whoever survives this thing and wins it changes the boat class to anything safer than these God-forsaken death traps."

So the unidentified sailor is willing to risk his life to be a boat whore, and then whine about it.All about the money. Maybe Darwin should cash the check on this douche. Yep, it's dangerous ,and YOU CHOSE to do it, nobody forced you. No wonder you want to be anonymous. I "hope like hell" that person isn't anybody I ever had any respect for.

I am pretty disappointed but not surprised by the reaction to all of this. I guess it's impossible to consider thy the crew on these boats has a choice, most of them I have seen on videos seemed pretty thrilled to be on the 72s. All athletes take a risk of some kind, you are the only one responsible for deciding when to call it quits.

Is this general opinion of the AC72 in similar fashion to the opinion of Open 70s when they all got destroyed, or all the canting keel boats which keep breaking?

Are we supposed to hate all cutting edge innovation because it's not "bomb proof"?

What AC designs have lasted beyond a single attempt at the Cup?

More good stuff to read.

" . . . In the week previous people were bidding in excess of $20,000 for a ride in an AC72 . . ."

"This correspondent sailed at speeds of 43 knots on Emirates Team NZ's AC72 in 25kts of breeze, for around three hours"

" . . . only option was to take shelter behind an island as wait for the wind to abate, or take a risky sail ride downwind– which they did . . . "

See the video here.

http://www.sail-world.com/USA/Ameri...dge---It-folded-like-a-taco-shell/109405

‘The next thing he heard a cracking noise and the boat went on its side. Before it capsized it snapped in half, Nathan described it as folding like a taco shell.’

Sounds like that may not be accurate.
http://artemis-racing.americascup.com/news/4528

Looks like Sail World, who published the above link, has pulled that article and replace with this statement.

My guess is that is EXACTLY what happened but they're trying to get things sorted/damage control before the actual story gets out. It'll be interesting to see what the concluded cause was.

Yep, and SA just added a blurb about it on their homepage.

Meanwhile, other international media outlets not mentioned here are continuing to report the original quote as I type this.

I imagine we will hear some official statements tomorrow after Tuesday's planned events.

It's a liability spiral now.

I watched the TV interview with N.O. Dad. He was repeating what his son told him and it's exactly that.

If you look through this page you will see a picture of the boat with 2x4's lashed to the front beam to support it while lifting.

http://forums.sailinganarchy.com/index.php?showtopic=129683&page=68

This boat had problems and they knew it.

Presser 2pm PST. http://www.youtube.com/americascup

If the countdown timer is correct, it will start at 4PM EST, 1PM PST, but the press release did say 2PM PST. Might want to check in just in case.

It is saying 2:45 from now...which is 5pm EST / 2pm PST.

And....?

What did they have to say about it in the press conference?

I missed it but according to a couple of news reports I skimmed through...in a nut shell:

the race will continue as scheduled
They will be performing a detailed and expedited review of the incident, conditions, and boat designs.

Well, there is this:

http://www.americascup.com/en/news/...that-this-summers-events-remain-on-track

They provide links to the bios of the review committee members, as well as the terms of reference that the committee will work under.

What I can't find (and find rather disturbing, bordering on disgusting) is any sort of reaction from Uncle Larry.

The naysayers are having a field day. We need leadership at a time like this, and the only voice I want to hear right now is Larry Ellison.

I do appreciate that the teams are either staying quiet, or posting condolences out of respect for Bart, his family, friends and team. God bless them all during this horrific time.

Mike

Basically all that is keeping these boats from collapsing is a few wires pulling the whole thing together.
What would happen on a beachcat when the dolphin-stiker breaks? Probably something very similar? (frontbeam collapse).

I've seen it happen on a Hobie 21. Dolphin striker fail at the center connection. Front cross bar folded. Ripped the rear cross bar out of the hull. Mast went over. Damaged hull filled with water. Even with a power boat is was a minor nightmare getting the boat(pieces) back to the beach.
See any similarities?

Mike, I don't feel the same way - what would you have him say? The naysayers are only going to jump on any tiny slice of something that can be misinterpreted and blast him for it....or blast him for using it as an "opportunity" in some way if he does come out in a public fashion. I think a somewhat silent reflection is OK.

Agreed,

With half of the crowd convinced that this is all his fault, I don't think there was anything he could have said.

Are you kidding me? A high-profile sailor, beloved by anyone who met him, died. I don't blame Larry for the tragedy, but he is the leader. How can there not be at least a statement of condolences? From him, not just all of the people working for him.

I hope it's out there, but I haven't seen it yet.

Mike

Technically Larry is no party to this anyway, its the GGYC that is host to the other syndicates and not Oracle Racing.
It might actually be inappropriate if he did.
Public condolences where sent by Oracle but who knows what happens privately.

Larry Ellison is NOT the Leader of Team Artimis. It was their boat, their failure, where is their team leader to make a statement??

None of the other AC72 boats have "Failed" like this, and they have all been out sailing in more wind, many times.

This was not a Pitchpole, this was a build/design failure. Where is the design/build team's statement?

They are pretty quiet, and hiding from the Lawyers no doubt.

Actually, their team did have a somber statement on their website almost immediately. Their owner has never really been in the forefront of the public image of the team.

The pioneers always take the arrows.

The only thing LE and RC are guilty of is trying to take sailing to the next level. I thank them.

Some are clamoring for all the evidence to be released. Keep in mind there's a active police investigation ongoing.

I doubt very much you'll see or hear anything until that's complete.

I suspect that, although it appears unrelated at this point, we may see a recommendation lowering of the maximum wind range come out of the committee's findings. Just a gut feel.

Perhaps they will.

However boats can always fail in one way or another causing death regardless of wind speed. Imagine one boat foiling t-boning a boat not foil borne.

Having a guy trapped underwater alive and not having the ability to find and free him in a time frame to prevent drowning or further peril is something they have to address.

didn't someone post a vid of 17 going downwind in 28 knots TWS? Granted, they weren't running a w/l course, but the boat didn't get destroyed...

And I do agree that if LE isn't in charge of the whole AC deal, he probably isn't required to make any public comment on it.

+1
He's the defender.

I respectfully, wholeheartedly, disagree.

Mike

So...are you blaming Larry Ellison for the failure of the Artimis boat?

Fun facts about the 72's.
Anybody's guess what blackberries was before translated to English . . .
Grinding Stations

A short video. Kind of an America's Cup 101 for the noobies.

"I'll take Reading and Comprehension for $1000, Alex." I wouldn't double down if I were you, I've already addressed that in a prior post.

Hint: NO

Mike

with that new grinder layout (and a single person per station), you'd wonder if they'd get more horsepower and aerodynamics if they were foot-driven (like a recumbent bike)?

Did you see the foot buttons for switching gears on the NZ and LR boats. Cool. My understanding is the grinding stations do nothing more than pump up/maintain the hydraulic reserve.

That would make sense.

I think they need some bicycle mounted pumps!

Here's a statement from the man in charge - The CEO of the event Stephen Barclay.

http://www.businessweek.com/article...clay-on-sailboat-design-and-death-at-sea

yes, especially if those grinding stations don't have to reverse the direction of rotation to switch gears (I think the first few generations did switch direction to change gears like a standard winch) - which would make the bicycle style inefficient (I don't think I can pedal backwards nearly as effectively)

But if they're just using them to drive a hydraulic pump, use the legs man!

Of course, the drawback is that they might not have the strength to jump up and run across the trampoline quite as quickly as they do with the standing grinder stations...

I'm thinking the cycles need to be mounted on rails, just before each tack the grinders are released to slide down to the low side, pedaling all the way!

Pedal powered sailing tools are nothing new. Here's a photo of an on-deck blender.



The latest human powered airplanes (and blenders) are using a rowing machine style of human power, giving up on the bicycle style. Something about using only the big muscle groups.

If they got really strong at that technique a grinder/rower wouldn't ever run across the tramp, they'd simply take the whole width in single power jump, like a frog. Just don't overshoot.

I'll get my coat.

http://www.americascup.com/en/news/...mends-teams-suspend-ac-catamaran-sailing

“Luna Rossa will not participate in the slaughtering game”

It sounds like a reasonable argument to me.

One accident due to a boat insufficiently built makes it a slaughter?

I'm guessing that's a translation problem. At any rate I got the impression he was referring to possible damage during qualifying, that wind on the bay would be quite high at that time and much reduced later in the year when the Cup is actually run. I was glad to read he was calling for divers, air bags and the like.

Recommends suspending sailing until the middle of the week! Ouch...that's not good for the event.

I think the AC 45 was some of the best racing we will see. They could have just as easily used those boats for the Cup races and had a lot more teams participate.

It would be hard for any of them to admit that now, but I'm with you. Open up the AC45 rule to allow some development in foils, etc and have a huge event.

I'll believe that when I see it. AC is all about elitism, imo.

Good riddance.

Give me the keys to the boat on the way out, I'll take good care of her.

Russell Coutts tried - and he was told to get stuffed.

Is it me, or has the AC always been a boat race between uber-wealthy narcissists? That's what makes it so entertaining

Would you rather watch "Lifestyles of the lower middle class & nominally known" on television? I think not.

Having Robin Leech ride in my half-destroyed car with his camera crew would be a little un-nerving, but he could help keep that window from leaking while he's there...

Suspending racing for a short while until people can determine if there is something inherently wrong with ALL the boats sounds reasonable. But if it turns out one team or boat was cutting the margin too thin, then the rest of the teams shouldn't be penalized

I've recovered a few bodies of offshore power boat racers in my earlier days (dive rescue), but I don't recall the industry cancelling the entire fleet/division/calendar because of one (or a few) accidents.

I'm sure that some of the accidents may have actually been the result of design deficiencies, too...

I recall diving on one boat (maybe a 60 foot tri) that stuffed hard in a wave while rounding a mark and killed the throttle hand (traumatic asphyxia from what we figured - our response was literally 30 seconds from when the boat crashed to our getting hands on him, but CPR attempts were unsuccessful). The boat literally disintegrated below us (our safety team was following in a small helicopter at about 100' asl). The driver denied being hurt, but we got him packaged (backboard/CS collar) on the rescue boat and later found out he had a C-6 fracture.

While tragic for all involved, the general racing community believed it was one of the inherent perils of the "game" and soldiered on. I would hope to see the same out of the AC

Even back in the early AC events, the danger of injury or worse was always present. A parted sheet or blown block could easily maime or kill a sailor. Collisions between boats have and will break bones or worse.

Booms swinging can knock sailors overboard unconscious, and until recently I don't recall any of them wearing PFDs while training or competing.

Learn all we can from this incident, apply those lessons to protect life and property, and let's develop the sport and its associated technologies in a safe and effective manner.

I think that was tried but NZ killed the idea, I think it was proposed after the OR crash.

It might have made a much better event, I imagine it would have been much more affordable with more teams jumping in. Probably more teams doing the series as well.

On the other hand it would have have been quite the same as the big badass 72s either. It's not the AC without the wealthiest teams competing with the biggest and baddest boats.

Then they can readily afford safety crews and equipment to safeguard the lives of the sailors. In hindsight I'd say safety standards were amateurish.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/22563038

Patrizio Bertelli: No. Look, this thing about airbags is a stupidity.

Well I'll be dipped.

The AC was not about money and bleeding edge tech when it was being done on 12 Meter yachts. It was also about as fun to watch, as watching paint dry.

Then the Aussies came up with that new keel design and it started evolving into a high tech development race.

Then they changed the boats to AC boats, to go faster, and then Ernesto changed them again, to open class multihulls. That's when it became about who's got the most money.

30 years ago, in the 12M days, the New York YC had a "Defender Series" just to decide who would drive which 12 M to defend the cup, remember when Ted Turner and Gary Jobson won it? Then NYYC hated "The mouth of the south" (Ted) but he was the fastest driver, so they had to let him drive.

I like to see the fast cats racing, but with so few teams able to put up a credible boat, I think it will come down to Oracle vs. Emirates Team NZ. The AC 45 series was much more interesting, but with that many fast teams, LE could lose the cup if it were held on those. I think that's why he wanted to push it out to where very few could afford to compete.

I just wish they would bring back the nationality rules.

Actually watching the after race interviews with Ted Turner and Tom Blackaller were awesome.

Yeah, Ted was a hoot, but the actual racing, at 7kts or less in light air, was pretty boring. Once one boat got ahead, it was pretty much game over. Not that the last one, with the big cat vs. big tri was any different in that regard, and even with two foiling AC72's it might end up being just a drag race, ie. first boat across the start line won't be caught, unless it breaks, which looks entirely possible at this point!

Shortly after Turner won the AC he became active on the TheMightyHobie18 for a short time. Anyone know what happened?

And what kind of air bags were being considered for the 72s? I agree that automotive style bags aren't appropriate but I was thinking something like they use in salvage work, attach it to the sunken hull to keep it afloat. I can see that that might have an application to rescue a trapped sailor.

They were talking about mast head air bags...which is silly because they break apart shortly after capsizing.

Really . . .
Safety press conference first . . .




then this??


after the recommendation to do this!

more Bertelli flatulence

"The Artemis team has yet to indicate its clear intention to continue. The boat that broke up cannot be sailed and its repair may be hampered if reports are true that the second boat, the one it intended to campaign in, was damaged in transit from Sweden and will require repairs."


Really? You have to wonder about the leadership of this group.

If I understand correctly beam failure caused Artemis's destruction, if so at a minimum they would need to rejig their beams on the second boat. I think the boat is supposed to be designed by the nation it's representing but they could give the kiwi's a call and see what their layup was as they seem to quietly go about their business

they had some initial damage to the boat when they first launched the platform. I didn't get much detail but it seems to have had something to do with a mistake made while towing or rigging the boat somehow. The boat had to go back into the shed for repairs and was out of commission for some time. I believe this damage was in the area that ultimately failed...so it wasn't necessarily a design flaw.

I believe they hoisted by the beam without any pre-load down force , where the mast would have been. As it was designed for sailing with wing up and massive downforce loads, the opposite caused a problem.

Sort of like flying the spin with no mainsheet tension?

If flying 72 foot catamarans are a reality, can flying motorcycles be far behind?

This guy already has put a 9 cylinder radial airplane engine on his bike!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hirsRnytTkU

I think his prop is a little undersized.

I think you're right! But, if you don't have enough money for a custom motorcycle with an airplane engine, you can always build an...

Air Bike!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOyjyU36qBU

After a few beers, I decided to take a Cub up for a joy ride...not a good idea! I had no idea it was being filmed!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfrPuZG3Kuk

Especially since those things are air-cooled by the slipstream. I sense overheating in his future.

Hmmm... maybe - maybe not. Duty cycle would be a lot lower on the bike.

What I'd be afraid of is the belt under the left knee.

Ours at school would overheat idling on the ground if you were not careful. That was also turning a prop pushing a tremendous amount of air over it. Those are also prone to hydro locking from oil draining into the lower cylinders, I don't see anyway to turn it over by hand.

What would really be bad butt is a rotary radial, pretty flipping dangerous for that application.

http://youtu.be/-UBAukXPD-0

The centrifugal forces would make that extremely hairy to actually ride.
Even the BMW flat engines were weird to ride and there is nowhere near the amount of weight being slung around like there would be on that.

I'll parrot the overheating issue, aircraft engines need airspeed more than just prop wash for cooling.

I'm not sure about that - it's just the crank/cam that is spinning - the pistons are still just going up and down in the cylinder sleeves.



But...here's probably a better idea from that perspective (the cooling issue gets worse). You probably also want to put some tape or velcro around your left pant leg.



....man, are we off topic.

I understand the concept. But there's still going to be way more mass there than a flat four beemer, and those cylinders aren't going anywhere either.

We've encountered thread drift.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VU-ULRps4Y&feature=endscreen&NR=1

Encountered? No, no, no. Well past encountered...

Back on topic... I had an outstanding, long weekend at Madcatter. But, I don't care what the docs say, or what titles people have. If you think for one half of one second that Larry isn't in charge, I can't help you. Let's just say, they all know who signs their paychecks, or at least keeps funds in the account.

Mike

Mike, We're just a couple out of thousands of a-holes with an opinion. It really doesn't matter what you or I think. I don't have anything invested in it other than a t-shirt and the time I spend viewing. Enjoy commenting here once and a while but certainly not going to argue about it.

On a side note, US Sailing updated the multihull detail on www.startsailing.org (presumably from my email). They removed the negative stuff, added a little, and now it doesn't make much sense (cruising multihulls are easy to launch from the beach?)...whatever

IDK Jake this sounds fairly reasonable, still a tiny bit negative on the turning (I'd just delete that section): http://www.startsailing.org/index.php/multihull/

cruising multihulls are easy to launch from the beach...

I bet MOST of the world will understand that because they have seen the glossy bare boat advertisments of a cruising mulit tied up to a tree on some island resort beach...

Of course it is beach launched... You walk off the beach and launch your Gunboat.... QED!

And I'm still not sure how the text is broken down into "What" and "why" and what follows.

Did everyone see this? The film about AC33, might be a worthwhile watch.

http://www.thewindgodsmovie.com/

You can buy the DVD or watch it on PBS

Here they are.
ACRM Safety Recommendations

May as well post this here, nice looking toy:

All those recommendations amount to "Sail 66% of the races that you were planning on sailing"

Bullocks. I hope my tickets are redfundable in case its blowing 23.5knots.

Hopefully, things are getting back to sailing. We should see ETNZ, Oracle, and Luna Rossa AC72 teams on the bay today. Let the games begin.

Some interesting stuff in there. Capsize, and it's officially game over...

Like you could recover a 72, and start racing in hopes of the other guy flipping? These aren't Hobie 16s... I'm pretty sure that no one sailing these is thinking about the race while the boat is on its side, and it's not like the other boat is going to be able to offer more help than the RIBs.

Mike

I bet there was some full shorts on that one!

Do I read correctly in the new rules that they are limited to two soft sails so the wing is dead. If so how long to build a mast and sail and get back on the water?

Soft sails = jib and gennaker.

Wing is not dead.

Anybody notice anything unusual in this picture?? (Hint: B.O.S.)

If you're referring to the dude up on the jib luff, that's not unusual for big boats. Of course, having the cajones to do that on a 72 after last week puts him in a whole different league...

Mike

You win!
FYI B.O.S.= Balls of Steel
. . . and he's got 'em.

Good Read. Puts it all into perspective.

I loathe and despise the New Zealanders.

****ing can't stand their "we've got everything figured out attitude."

I seriously want to punch Dalton in his ****ing smug butt face.

Likewise, I am pretty sure most Kiwis find it difficult to put up with yanks with verbal diarrhea.

Just watched this on the big screen in 1080p. Check it out. (mark :30 to 1:05) Amazing cinematography, incredible image stabilization, and all from a chase boat. Anybody know why the white helmet? At one point Newton is wearing it, then you see Falcone wearing it. Does the orange colored jersey designate anything?

Bucket list:
1) experience space travel
2) a ride on this beauty

Not reacting to your post Tad, just pointing out that 8 of the Oracle crew members are NZ.

This race is going to be sick.

Check out that foil.


More goodies.

I meant the team - I guess specifically - Dalton.

Love them or hate them, you can't deny that their program is very impressive for such a small country.

Oracle will have to really get things together to be able to beat them, 2nd boat isn't as smooth as I hoped it would be.

Latest video from the kiwis:

Gilberto Nobili has two dream jobs at once
"the team analyzes data culled from more than 300 onboard sensors and sends real-time, job-specific information to each of the 11 crew members via PDAs worn wristwatch-style."

busy guy

I think it's way too early to start the who's ahead and who's behind stuff. First the Kiwis have to win the LV. I wouldn't take the Italians lightly. The latest videos I've seen shows US17 doing just fine. Like AC 33, we will learn much when the horn sounds.

This Sunday broadcast on 60 Minutes.
America's Cup: Gone overboard?

Oh christ.

However shall we save ourselves from ourselves if not the media were not there to do it for us?

CORRECTION.
This will NOT be broadcast today on 60 minutes but on the series "60 Minutes Sports", this Wednesday, June 5 at 9 p.m. on SHOWTIME.
Showtime schedule here.

The Artemis Racing team, with Nathan Outteridge at the helm, has returned to practice on San Francisco Bay.

The team took to the water in its AC45 catamaran early in the afternoon on Tuesday.
"A good day to get back out on San Francisco Bay in our foiling AC45," the team tweeted.

Artemis Racing hadn't sailed in nearly a month, following a May 9th training accident in the first of its two AC72 catamarans