The first qualifying day for the challengers had a surprise in store. The British challenger Ineos Team UK is back in the game. Just three weeks ago, Sir Ben Ainslie's team failed to win a single race in the Christmas Race. That night, however, it won both opening races against American Magic and Luna Rossa in impressive style.
Everything that has been seems forgotten. And is also insignificant. Because only now does it matter, now the results count. The Prada Cup has begun, in which the three challengers sail out to see who will be allowed to compete against defenders Team New Zealand.
The first two races in the replay
Ainslie's post-race analysis sounds as simple as sailing should always be: "We wanted to start well, sail fast and take advantage of the wind shifts." And we succeeded. The course off Auckland had winds of between 8 and 16 knots in the first race against the Americans and between 16 and 22 knots in the second race against the Italians. In both encounters, the right-hand side of the course was favoured. With very good starts, Ainslie's team secured freedom of choice and was able to defend and utilise this right-hand side on every leg of the course in every race. In addition, the boat was handled without making any major mistakes, which meant that the opponents, who were behind early on each occasion, had no chance of overtaking.
What was particularly impressive was that the British team apparently managed to use the three-week break from racing to make the boat significantly faster. However, Ainslie refused to be drawn into the cards: "We have made changes everywhere, to the foils, the elevator (rudder) and how we operate the systems."
However, a few clues allow cautious, more detailed conclusions to be drawn. The British boat "Britannia II" sailed with a smaller genoa than its opponents in both races. This can be interpreted as a sign that it is generally very successful in building up the necessary pressure - a very good sign. The smaller the genoa, the less it contributes to propulsion, but it also has less resistance. The necessary propulsion must therefore come from the mainsail.
The configuration and operation of the double-membrane mainsail has obviously undergone some changes. The many wind tapes with which the sail is equipped were striking. Normally, these sails are trimmed according to predetermined values determined during training, requiring only a few wind tapes for control. If the British team made a lot of changes to this sail during the break, these values may not have been memorised and the crew, like every sailor, has to rely on the visual feedback from the wind tapes.
The significantly faster and more effective manoeuvres also speak in favour of a changed mainsail configuration. Just three weeks ago, it was clear that the Brits had their foils in the water the longest during manoeuvres and had to sail very low, especially after tacks, in order to maintain pressure and keep the boat at flying height. Now, however, the tacks not only looked much more aggressive, the windward foil also came out of the water very quickly and the boat hardly had to be sailed any deeper.
Apparently it is now easier to transfer the pressure from the mainsail from one bow to the other, which has a lot to do with how quickly the camber depth of the double diaphragm can be adjusted. Perhaps this is what Ainslie meant when he said "how we operate the systems".
Changes were also made to the foils. Obviously, the colour was changed from red to black. But the profile has also been changed. There are no more spoilers or anything similar, and the trim tabs seem smaller than before.
The team also seems to have more confidence in the boat and its own strengths. Another indication of this: In the second race, Ainslie ordered an immediate roll tack after the downwind leg when rounding the left leeward mark in order to get to the right side quickly. This was completed perfectly. Tactically, it was a brilliant manoeuvre. However, the crew could have taken a little more time for this, the lead over the Italians was big enough to first go upwind after the rounding, trim the boat and then tack. The fact that this roll tack, which harbours a significantly higher potential for error, was dared is a clear sign of great self-confidence.
However, Ainslie dampened the euphoria of the British fans somewhat. "We love this wind range and were fast. Now the focus is on the light wind area, where we still have a lot of work to do." This area was also the British team's weakest in the Christmas Race.
Nevertheless, Ainslie got off to an ideal start in the first round robin. Four of these will be sailed. The British team shows just how important a win would be here. The winner of the round robin goes straight into the final of the challengers, while the two losing teams compete against each other again. For the winner, this means a three-week break from racing. And the British have shown what improvements can be made in three weeks.
Tomorrow American Magic sails first against Luna Rossa and then against the British. The first race starts at 3.00 am German time. The forecast is for slightly less wind.
Lars Bolle
Chief Editor Digital
