Tag Archives: america’s cup

Franck Cammas : «Notre retard en design est comblé »

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by voilesetvoiliers.com

Ne croyez-pas que Franck Cammas se prélasse dans son canapé durant sa convalescence suite à son accident de décembre (double fracture ouverte tibia-péroné) ! Le skipper de Groupama Team France est tous les jours ou presque à la base de Lorient, au four et au moulin… alors que la construction de l’AC 45 Turbo vient de démarrer sur trois sites distincts. Petit point à un an et demi de la 35e édition aux Bermudes.

Photo @ Didier Ravon

Photo @ Didier Ravon

Voilesetvoiliers.com : Déjà, comment va ta jambe ?

Franck Cammas : Ça va plutôt bien. La plaie n’est pas tout à fait rebouchée, mais les os commencent à se consolider selon les radios. J’ai attaqué la rééducation à Kerpape (l’un des centres d’excellence en France en la matière ; ndlr). Quand je vais pouvoir poser le pied par terre et pouvoir mettre du poids dessus, je serai content.

Voilesetvoiliers.com : Tu espères pouvoir re-naviguer quand ?

F.C. : Franchement, je ne peux pas le dire à ce jour, mais j’espère fin … continue reading on voilesetvoiliers.com

ETNZ – On water testing program begins

Posted in TFW's news, video on by .

by americascup.com

Emirates Team New Zealand ticked off another major milestone of their 35th America’s Cup today, launching the first test boat in Auckland today.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gK9jqCAgy2I]

The silver and red boat is formerly Luna Rossa’s AC45 test boat, which has been loaned to the Emirates Team New Zealand by the Italian syndicate.

While it is an exciting occasion for the team having the boat touch the water, the reality is it will take a few days to perform systems tests and gear checks before the real testing begins.

“There are a lot of people across all departments in the team that are chomping at the bit to finally get out on the Hauraki Gulf testing an America’s Cup yacht again,” said skipper Glenn Ashby.

“The really exciting thing, other than flying around at some pretty insane speeds will be that we are finally going to be sailing back in home waters and showing the public just how awesome these boats are up close again.”

© Hamish Hooper

© Hamish Hooper

The goal over the next few months for the test boat is to run through an immensely structured testing program with the sailors and designers implementing their learning’s and development into the next test boat due out early next year.

The sense of occasion is not lost on Team Chief Operations Officer Kevin Shoebridge,

“Really this milestone is an accumulation of a huge amount of hard work by everyone in the team, especially the shore guys, but also the fantastic support that Luna Rossa have provided to us.”

The launch of the boat caps off what has been a quietly successful year for the team.

“Our year has been a solid one,” continued Shoebridge. “We have been quietly grafting away in the background, our sailors have been performing leading the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series, we have signed some significant sponsorship deals, our designers have been relentlessly developing and refining, we have moved our entire operational base, Pete and Blair have been named the ISAF sailors of the year, and now we have our initial test boat on the water.”

Here is looking forward to an even better 2016

America’s Cup racing returns to New York – 2016 calendar released

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by americascup.com

newyork

America’s Cup racing will return to New York for the first time since 1920 with Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series racing on May 7-8, 2016.

The New York event is one of six events planned during 2016, each featuring thrilling, high-speed competition, as six America’s Cup teams, with the top sailors in the world, vie for points that count towards the final competition for the 35th America’s Cup in 2017.

[youtube=https://youtu.be/rsva5caV4gA]

This year, Emirates Team New Zealand’s star helmsman, Peter Burling, the youngest in the fleet, led his team to the top of the standings over current America’s Cup champion Jimmy Spithill’s ORACLE TEAM USA, and the highly touted Land Rover BAR team led by Olympic hero Ben Ainslie.

But the competition was close. In fact, the opening three Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series events in 2015 featured three different event winners, and four different individual race winners. The 2016 calendar promises more hard-fought racing on the foiling AC45F catamarans that fly above the water.

“Everyone is going to want to start the New Year off well,” said ORACLE TEAM USA skipper Jimmy Spithill. “But all the other teams have been out training with the same goal in mind, so nothing will come easy this year.

“The New York event is going to be spectacular. Racing on the lower Hudson River, in front of that Manhattan skyline, will be a huge hit. New Yorkers are massive sports fans and I think this will be something very special: thrilling, top-level racing right in the heart of the city. It’s going to be a great event for the America’s Cup and a great event for New York.”

Practice racing in New York is on May 6, with point-scoring races on the weekend of May 7-8.

Four events on the 2016 schedule have been announced to date:

Muscat, Oman – February 26-28, 2016; 
New York, USA – May 6-8, 2016;
Chicago, USA – June 10-12, 2016;
Portsmouth, UK – July 22-24, 2016;

Two additional Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series events are anticipated to complete the calendar, likely in Europe in mid-September and in Asia in mid-November.

“With six events around the world in 2016 our fans will have more opportunities to enjoy America’s Cup racing and follow their favorite teams and sailors as we build towards the finals in Bermuda in 2017,” said Harvey Schiller, the Commercial Commissioner of the America’s Cup.

“We’re excited to be able to add the new venues of Oman, New York and Chicago to the calendar, giving more fans a chance to experience the America’s Cup in person.”

The New York event is an historic milestone of sorts. America’s Cup racing was held in New York harbor and environs for 50 years, representing the first 13 challenges for the oldest trophy in international sport.

From 1870 through 1920 racing took place off New York. Beginning in 1930, the competition was moved to Newport, Rhode Island, where it remained until the United States finally lost the Cup in 1983, ending the longest winning streak in sport.

Since that time, racing for the America’s Cup has taken place in Perth (Australia); San Diego (USA); Auckland (New Zealand); Valencia (Spain); and San Francisco (USA).

In May/June 2017, the next America’s Cup will be raced for in Bermuda.

Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series standings (after three events):

Emirates Team New Zealand – 122 points
ORACLE TEAM USA – 112 points
Land Rover BAR – 109 points
Artemis Racing – 105 points
SoftBank Team Japan – 100 points
Groupama Team France – 82 points

About the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series New York

This event will take place from May 6-8, 2016, with official practice racing on the Friday and point-scoring races on Saturday and Sunday.

The Event Village will be in the Brookfield Place Waterfront Plaza, while the racing will be on the lower Hudson River off the Battery Park City Esplanade (between the Pier 25 basin to the north and The Battery to the south).

The technical areas for teams, race management and America’s Cup TV production will be based at Liberty State Park and Liberty Landing Marina, across the Hudson River in New Jersey.

Sultanate of Oman to host Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series in 2016

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by americascup.com

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlI3uFgaJj8]

The Sultanate of Oman will create a rare slice of sporting history when it becomes the first country in the Middle East to host America’s Cup racing by staging the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series Oman in February 2016.

omanI

A point-scoring event for the opening wwws of the 35th America’s Cup in Bermuda, the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series Oman will take place in Muscat from 27-28 February, as the curtain raiser to the 2016 season, which will be spread over six different venues around the world.

For many of the America’s Cup sailors, including Sir Ben Ainslie (Land Rover BAR), Dean Barker (SoftBank Team Japan) and Franck Cammas (Groupama Team France), the waters off the Sultanate of Oman will be familiar territory, since Muscat has been hosting high performance multihull racing every year since 2011.

Near perfect sailing conditions that consistently deliver a 10-15 knot breeze combined with a sunny climate and warm waters have made Oman a popular destination for many Olympic Classes that have chosen to www their World Championships at a time of year when the weather in Europe and North America limits training opportunities.

The driving force behind the Sultanate’s sailing activity has been Oman Sail, which was established in 2008 to create a generation of sailors and raise the Sultanate’s profile as a high end tourism destination using its centuries old traditions with the sea as a platform to promote its sporting, cultural and economic potential.

From grassroots sailing, introducing many thousands of girls and boys to the sport through its sailing schools and community programmes, through to elite participation, setting world records on its flagship MOD70 and winning two Extreme Sailing Series championships, Oman Sail has repeatedly broken new ground in its programmes both on and off the water, culminating in this exciting new development at the highest level of the sport, the America’s Cup.

“We are delighted to announce that we will be hosting the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series Oman here in Muscat for the first time and we are very proud and excited to welcome the America’s Cup community and its massive following to the Sultanate,” said Salim Al Mamari, Director General of Tourism Promotion for the Ministry of Tourism.

The 2015 Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series events in Portsmouth (UK), Gothenburg (Sweden) and Bermuda, with teams entered from the UK, USA, Sweden, New Zealand, Japan and France, attracted enormous crowds at the venues with live action followed on television by tens of millions around the world.

Oman Sail CEO David Graham believes that the wide reach of the America’s Cup will create new opportunities for the Sultanate and increase the country’s exposure around the globe.

“The America’s Cup is the pinnacle of sailboat racing with a long and interesting history and we are thrilled to be hosting the first Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series event in 2016 here in Oman.

“Oman Sail has worked hard since 2008 to reconnect the people of Oman with their sailing roots and to create a generation of sailors. We have a very successful youth, women, national and international sailing programme and are actively generating socio-economic benefits for the country and contributing to the development of the Omani people through sailing. Hosting a Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series event will provide huge inspiration to our sailors and take us closer to our aims.

omanII

“The America’s Cup brand is incredibly powerful so this will be a monumental opportunity for us to showcase the Sultanate of Oman and to celebrate a landmark moment in the history of Oman Sail.”

The America’s Cup trophy took centre www at the press event hosted by The Chedi, Muscat and attended by David Graham, Oman Sail CEO, Salim Al Mamari, Director General of Tourism Promotion for the Ministry of Tourism, and Paul Gregorowitsch, CEO of Oman Air.

Also present for the announcement, Harvey Schiller, America’s Cup Commercial Commissioner, said: “Oman is an ideal place for us to open the 2016 racing calendar. It’s exciting to be bringing America’s Cup racing to this part of the world for the first time. We all look forward to adding to the success of Oman Sail with this historic event.”

In February, spectators in Muscat are in for a real treat as the foiling AC45 yachts, capable of breath taking speeds, fly across the water in front of the fans.

And with points counting towards the America’s Cup Qualifiers in 2017, the Oman event will give fans their first opportunity of 2016 to see all the runners and riders seeking to gain an early advantage.

Franck Cammas recovering after accident

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by americascup.com

m1153_crop169014_1024x576_proportional_14489783821950

Franck Cammas, the skipper of Groupama Team France, is recovering following surgery on his leg after a training accident.

Cammas was two-boat training with his team in foiling GC32 catamarans when he lost his balance and fell overboard. His leg was struck by the rudder. The speed of the boat, combined with the fine edge of the foil, resulted in a double break of the fibia-tibia in his right leg.

He was transported to shore by RIB and then to hospital by helicopter. Specialists performed surgery on Monday night and on Tuesday the news came that the surgery was a success. Franck has a long road ahead of physical rehabilitation, but he has been assured by doctors he will not lose the use of his foot.

On Tuesday morning, Cammas was already asking about his team, anxious that they should resume training. He also expressed gratitude for all of the well-wishes sent his way.

While the injury isn’t expected to significantly impact the Groupama Team France campaign for the America’s Cup, it does put an end to Franck’s bid for a spot at the 2016 Olympic Games.

Franck Cammas Seriously Injured

Posted in Web's news on by .

by Scuttlebutt Sailing News

cammas

Quiberon Bay, Brittany, France (November 30, 2015) – The French skipper Franck Cammas was wounded in the right leg off Quiberon in western France during training in preparing for the America’s Cup 2017.

The accident took place this afternoon around 14:00 in the bay of Quiberon. “In a wind of around twenty knots, and while he was at the helm, Cammas went overboard and struck the rudder of his right leg while the hydrofoil catamaran was launched at full speed” said his team in a statement.

With a serious foot injury, an open fracture at the bottom of the right tibia, he was immediately rescued by the safety boat, which accompanied the two GC32’s during team training, and airlifted by helicopter to Nantes. At 18h, the French skipper was in the operating room “or is about to be there”, said a relative.

Cammas, 42 years old, one of France’s most talented sailors, is the skipper of Groupama Team France challenging for the 35th America’s Cup event to be held in 2017 in Bermuda. The GC32 are hydrofoil catamarans and used by the French challenge to train. The Cup itself will be sailed on the AC50 catamaran hydrofoil, about fifteen meters long.

Cats and the Cup: the first encounter over a century ago

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by Foiling Week.

Nathanael Greene Herreshoff 1st was an American naval architect and mechanical engineer. “Captain Nat,” as he was known, revolutionized yacht design, and produced a succession of undefeated America’s Cup defenders between 1893-1920.

amaryllis

©Herreshoff Marine Museum – Amaryllis II, 1933 (Amaryllis – 1876 – replica)

Amaryllis was a catamaran sailboat designed by Nathanael Greene Herreshoff and launched in 1876. It was notable for its significant victory in the 1876 New York Centennial Regatta, which resulted in multihull sailing vessels being banned from organized sailing competitions. Ironically, Herreshoff was later to become a celebrated monohull designer. His America’s Cup winners were Vigilant, 1893 (of which Herreshoff was the helmsman); Defender, 1895; Columbia, 1899 & 1901; Reliance, 1903 and Resolute, 1920.

Extracted from 1870-1887 American and British Yacht Designs (François Chevalier & Jacques Taglang, 1991)

Extracted from 1870-1887 American and British Yacht Designs (François Chevalier & Jacques Taglang, 1991)

On June 24th, 1876, the day after the Centennial Regatta, The World printed:
The catamaran Amaryllis, constructed by Mr. Herreshoff, of Providence […] fairly flew along the Long Island shore, passing yacht after yacht as if they were anchored. As Amaryllis dashed over the line a winner she was saluted by guns from the yachts that were lying at anchor, and the excursion steamers screeched their loudest in honor of her victory.

The World also printed an editorial on page 4, excerpt:
A Revolutionary Yacht
Nobody protested against entering her for the race yesterday, for the reason probably that everybody expected to beat her, but everybody seems to have objected to being beaten by her. It behooves the owners of the large schooners, however, to take counsel together lest somebody should build an Amaryllis a hundred feet long and convert their crafts into useless lumber. It is a matter quite as important as keeping the America’s Cup.

Amaryllis blew the hatch covers off the crack sandbaggers, leading her nearest rival home by more than 20 minutes. The upstart boat, which her inventor called a “catamaran,” was instantly banned from organized racing. The excuse was Amaryllis had no cruising accommodations. Capt. Nat pointed out his cockpit could be completely enclosed with a boom tent, giving standing headroom, and was quite comfortable to sleep in on an air mattress. But this fell on deaf ears.

The Centennial regatta and the little catamaran aberration would have seemed very distantly related to the traditional America’s Cup schooners of very large size, but the reporter spelled out a glaring premonition: the future of regattas, and indeed, the America’s Cup itself, were put into question on the day that the very first American catamaran set sail. Eventually, the America’s Cup was defended with a catamaran, Dennis Conner”s Star & Stripes in 1988 and since 2010 seems to be the new way.

Bibliography:
– wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathanael_Greene_Herreshoff
– sailingtrivia.ravenyachts.fr/2013/08/the-evolution-of-sailing-multihulls.html
– “Multihulls Discovered: Part 1: Their origins, myths, magic, mana… and caveats that go along with these craft that have evolved from ancient heritage.” by Randy Thomas on Yachting, June 1985
– sfbaysss.org/forum/archive/index.php/t-655-p-4.html

 

la France accueillera L’America’s Cup en septembre 2016

Posted in video, Web's news on by .

by cuplegend.com

goupamaac45

A l’occasion du salon Nautic de Paris, Team France annoncera une étape française qui accueillera un America’s Cup World Series en septembre 2016. En attendant l’équipe avance sur son programme.

Après les trois ACWS de 2015 qui se sont achevés aux Bermudes, les équipes poursuivent leurs entraînements. Team France va commencer dès la semaine prochaine avec deux GC32. L’un acheté et l’autre loué à l’ENV. L’équipe s’entraînera à Quiberon avec deux équipages après le recrutement de cinq nouveaux marins qui ont rejoint l’équipe il y a un mois.

Une deuxième équipe naviguante
– Hervé Cunningham, il a déjà navigué avec l’équipe notamment en Extrem Series où il avait remplacé Devan Le Bihan et il était auparavant avec Gitana 40.

– Thomas Lebreton. Il commence la compétition à 12 ans. En 1995, il passe en Laser, puis intègre le Pôle France de Brest en 1998. Après 13 ans de Laser, dont une 6e place aux Championnats du Monde ISAF 2006, Thomas décide en 2009 de passer au Finn où il sera 3e mondial en 2011. En 2012-2013, il intègre l’équipage du MOD70 de Sidney Gavignet, Oman Sail pour les saisons 2012 et 2013.

– Olivier Herledant – Grand spécialiste du match racing, cet ingénieur est considéré comme l’un des meilleurs sinon le meilleur embraqueur du monde. Presque deux mètres de haut, des épaules de déménageur et le quintal athlétique, Olivier, c’est le gars qui winche plus vite que son ombre et qui, lorsqu’il se met au rappel, a tendance à remettre le bateau à plat.

Nicolas Heintz : Il était aux côtés d’Arnaud Psarofaghis en Extrem 40 dans l’équipe suisse, régleur. Champion de France de Match racing en 2009.

Adam Minoprio : Néo-zélandais, c’est l’un des plus jeunes champion du monde de match-racing. Il a fait la Volvo Ocean Race à bord de Camper et participer à la Coupe avec Luna Rossa. Ce sera lui le barreur du deuxième bateau.

Une partie de l’équipe participera à la Youth America’s Cup. A noter qu’Arnaud Psarofaghis, le tacticien actuel quittera l’équipe en fin d’année pour des raisons personnelles.

La construction d’un AC45Turbo
Le design Team Martin Fischer, Juan Kouyoumdjian et Horacio Carabelli sont au travail pour concevoir, avec le consultant Michel Desjoyeaux, l’AC50 le plus performant possible.Le bateau est prévu pour avril-mai 2016. L’équipe compte actuellement 25 personnes au bureau d’étude sur un total de 40 à 45 personnes au total.

Team France au Salon Nautique
L’équipe sera présente avec son AC45 au salon Nautic en décembre prochain. Ce sera l’occasion pour le public de rencontrer l’équipe. A cette occasion Team France annoncera que l’America’s Cup viendra en France l’année prochaine au mois de septembre avec une étape ACWS. Lorient, La Rochelle, Marseille et Toulon font partie des quatre villes qui pourraient cet évènement.

Un calendrier chargé l’année prochaine
L’équipe de France aura beaucoup d’occasion de s’entrainer face aux meilleurs l’année prochaine.
Le calendrier officieux des ACWS est le suivant :
– New York en mai
– Chicago en juin – Officiel
– Portsmouth en août – Officiel * les billets sont déjà en vente
– Une ville française en septembre
– Tokyo en octobre

Taking off with a wingsail and foils

Posted in TFW's news, video on by .

by OracleRacingTeam

The wingsail on ORACLE TEAM USA’s racing yachts and the wings on airplanes operate in similar fashion. As Ian “Fresh” Burns explains, a significant amount of force is generated to propel the boat faster or lift a plane off the ground. And, the team is utilizing the aerodynamic know-how of Airbus to help achieve optimum performance on the water.

TURBOCHARGED

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by americascup.com

turbocharged

Delivery of AC45s testing boat to mark next www of development program

SoftBank Team Japan will take delivery of their first AC45S in December and according to sailing team manager and tactician Chris Draper, the sailors can’t wait to put the turbocharged race yacht through it’s paces.

Draper and his crew will take delivery of the first AC45S test boat that ORACLE TEAM USA built and had been using as a training platform this summer.

“Being able to sail our own AC45S test boat really marks a significant step up in our development,” Draper said. “As a sailing team, up until now, we’ve been restricted to racing at the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series events.

“Our plan is to take delivery of the new boat early in December. We’ll get it ready, make some adjustments, get our full sailing crew relocated here to Bermuda after the holiday break and start sailing in January.”

Draper says having access to the first development boat produced by ORACLE TEAM USA will make the team competitive despite its late start as a new team.

“Getting a jump start on our development is fundamental to being competitive on the water in 2017,” Draper said. “It’s a very similar model to what we did with Luna Rossa and Team New Zealand last time.”

As helmsman of the Italian Luna Rossa team in the last America’s Cup, Draper raced a boat built to a Kiwi design. The close training relationship between the teams then led to a strong bond between Draper and SoftBank Team Japan CEO and skipper Dean Barker that remains to this day.

“I learned a lot about Chris through working with him during the last America’s Cup so it was natural to reach out to him when we started building SoftBank Team Japan,” Barker explained.

“Looking forward, both of us know how important getting this AC45S boat is to our team. It really makes the challenge possible. By early January, our Bermuda base will be operational and we will be out training with our sailing team on the Great Sound.”

Barker and Draper, along with General Manager Kazuhiko Sofuku, are currently in Japan overseeing crew tryouts with the aim of recruiting two Japanese crew members.