by Capt. Flak » Sat Sep 28, 2013 7:14 pm
From what I have read, it is not a matter of ETNZ not being aware of the device. They were given the measurement certificates every time Oracle was checked and vice versa. ETNZ wanted to protest or question the device and were denied because they filed too late or something to that effect. However this thing worked, it should have been human powered. I cannot figure out how you have a device that can somehow correct for minute changes in micro seconds and yet still be human powered. I also remember there being something about auto trims not being legal. Maybe I am wrong. The foiling moths use a simple pole with a small tab the rides along the surface of the water. It is attached to a control arm that changes the elevator on the rudder foil. As the boat moves through the water, this tab goes up and down with waves and the height of the boat and makes little corrections to the foil to help keep the boat at the same level. Clearly the AC72s did not have these. Perhaps Oracle found a way to do the same thing by sensing the pressures on the foil. I don't know, just guessing.
What ever it was, the Measuring Committee did not feel it was outside the rules. Some have said, what they measured was not what was actually sailed and therefore cheating. That would need to be proved. I really would hate to see that be true.
In my heart, I want this comeback victory to be genuine. I want it to be as Spithill said it was. Just great effort to learn and improve and tweak the boat, mixed in with some extreme luck from a silly time limit.
What I saw from both boats was huge improvements in speed all through the regatta. ETNZ was going 30 percent faster up wind in the last half of the the finals than they were against Luna Rosa. Both boats were foiling up wind at sometimes 30 kts. Oracle really only passed and beat them on leg three a few times and two of those times, you could easily see a mistake by ETNZ. One of the biggest was the slow lee bow where Oracle rolled them. There were other errors, I thought, on some down winds, where it looked like ETNZ could have hooked them, instead they gibed into no wind.
Clearly Oracle made some huge improvements, but they also got extremely lucky to have avoided that one more loss. There were obvious differences in wind speed on different parts of the course and the boats each gained and loss accordingly. The stats also show that there was nothing between the boats overall. Down wind there was a virtual tie in boat speed and distance sailed. Upwind, the tide changed in Oracles favor, but they sailed lower angles and just slightly higher speeds with greater distances. As with many sailboat races, the rich get richer when out in front.
As for that nose dive that Oracle did at the first mark, they were not uncommon throughout the regatta and I saw ETNZ do just as many. It only takes one ease of the wing at the wrong time to drop your speed. It is only a couple of degrees in flight angle between diving and climbing and at 40 kts and only 4 feet above the water, that happens in a second. I would not use that example as proof of something fishy going on.
I do agree that the truth needs to come out. When Australia II finally won, they hauled out and dropped the curtain for all to see the winged keel. Oracle should drop their curtain now. Let all the teams see it and if it is good, they can all adopt it to make the racing better in the future, or they can rule it illegal. If it turns out to be cheating per the current rules, then strip them of the Cup and kick them out of the sport.
I no longer look to pro athletes to be my heroes. Lance Armstrong changed that for me. So if this turns out to be cheating, I will not be shocked. Disappointed, yes. Shocked, no.
From what I have read, it is not a matter of ETNZ not being aware of the device. They were given the measurement certificates every time Oracle was checked and vice versa. ETNZ wanted to protest or question the device and were denied because they filed too late or something to that effect. However this thing worked, it should have been human powered. I cannot figure out how you have a device that can somehow correct for minute changes in micro seconds and yet still be human powered. I also remember there being something about auto trims not being legal. Maybe I am wrong. The foiling moths use a simple pole with a small tab the rides along the surface of the water. It is attached to a control arm that changes the elevator on the rudder foil. As the boat moves through the water, this tab goes up and down with waves and the height of the boat and makes little corrections to the foil to help keep the boat at the same level. Clearly the AC72s did not have these. Perhaps Oracle found a way to do the same thing by sensing the pressures on the foil. I don't know, just guessing.
What ever it was, the Measuring Committee did not feel it was outside the rules. Some have said, what they measured was not what was actually sailed and therefore cheating. That would need to be proved. I really would hate to see that be true.
In my heart, I want this comeback victory to be genuine. I want it to be as Spithill said it was. Just great effort to learn and improve and tweak the boat, mixed in with some extreme luck from a silly time limit.
What I saw from both boats was huge improvements in speed all through the regatta. ETNZ was going 30 percent faster up wind in the last half of the the finals than they were against Luna Rosa. Both boats were foiling up wind at sometimes 30 kts. Oracle really only passed and beat them on leg three a few times and two of those times, you could easily see a mistake by ETNZ. One of the biggest was the slow lee bow where Oracle rolled them. There were other errors, I thought, on some down winds, where it looked like ETNZ could have hooked them, instead they gibed into no wind.
Clearly Oracle made some huge improvements, but they also got extremely lucky to have avoided that one more loss. There were obvious differences in wind speed on different parts of the course and the boats each gained and loss accordingly. The stats also show that there was nothing between the boats overall. Down wind there was a virtual tie in boat speed and distance sailed. Upwind, the tide changed in Oracles favor, but they sailed lower angles and just slightly higher speeds with greater distances. As with many sailboat races, the rich get richer when out in front.
As for that nose dive that Oracle did at the first mark, they were not uncommon throughout the regatta and I saw ETNZ do just as many. It only takes one ease of the wing at the wrong time to drop your speed. It is only a couple of degrees in flight angle between diving and climbing and at 40 kts and only 4 feet above the water, that happens in a second. I would not use that example as proof of something fishy going on.
I do agree that the truth needs to come out. When Australia II finally won, they hauled out and dropped the curtain for all to see the winged keel. Oracle should drop their curtain now. Let all the teams see it and if it is good, they can all adopt it to make the racing better in the future, or they can rule it illegal. If it turns out to be cheating per the current rules, then strip them of the Cup and kick them out of the sport.
I no longer look to pro athletes to be my heroes. Lance Armstrong changed that for me. So if this turns out to be cheating, I will not be shocked. Disappointed, yes. Shocked, no.