Bermuda Update

From Pedro

Pedro, the Laser Foiling Guy, is in Bermuda and called with an update as we watched Team NZ lift its rig for a practice sail. 

Pedro shared an interesting rumor. The huge wing is articulated so that the angle of attack can be controlled for the lower, middle, and top third. Just like flattening the top of a Laser sail, the AC trimmer can control the twist when overpowered. Nothing new here.

But the rumor is that on some boats, the top can be be twisted further to create a negative twist to push the rig to windward when really overpowered. Interesting!

Did Anyone Else See This?

By Doug

In race 4 of the America's Cup final, Oracle trailed Emirates again by 400 meters. The coverage has been fantastic as we get to see much of the live action on each of the boats. Take a look at this short clip to see what Oracle was doing to gain a little speed.

If you listen closely, the sound of the winch gives it away - the wing trimmer is pumping the main! With the help of hydraulics, this can be done with just one hand.

I'm not sure if this is legal, but the idea of pumping a sail this big is pretty amazing!