Emirates Team New Zealand showed a clean pair of heels to the chase boats today as they hit tops speeds “well in excess of 45 knots” and ripped around the waters of North Head in wind speeds that peaked at 24 knots with a mean at 18 knots.
It was a full-on, breeze-on day for the team with skippers Nathan Outteridge and Pete Burling pushing the boat to its outer limits as they played with sailing styles whilst having an objective to “sign off from a load perspective” as Outteridge stated afterwards.
With the boat fully wired-up with sensors, the design team and shore analysers were eager to see the AC40 at capacity and it was a spectacular sight out on the Hauraki Gulf. “There were no alarms today which was fantastic…we were wanting to find some waves today and with the wind against tide, we definitely found some out there…it was interesting to see how the boat performs in those waves, with some decent troughs and I was really impressed with how seaworthy the boat was.”
Big tick for the team today in tough conditions. The commissioning continues but what a sight to see the AC40 at its absolute maximum. Impressive.
RECON Team Notes
All of the equipment on the AC 40 was one design today. Mast rake setting looked to be back at the maximum setting. Boat sailed very well in strong breeze up to 25 knots. very large wind against current sea way with large waves up to 2 meters with very short period. Very rough conditions for the reconnaissance RIB to try and keep up with the yacht. The AC 40 looked to be in control for the entire session.
STATS
Helms: Nathan Outteridge / Pete Burling
Crew: Blair Tuke / Andy Maloney
Wind: 18-25 knots (PM) Easterly
Dock-out: Noon Dock-in: 2pm
Sails Used: M1 Mainsail (2 hours) J2 (40 minutes) J3 (1hour)
