“The sailor was hanging 30 feet above the water, a rope from the damaged rigging tangled around his neck, as the boat started to sink beneath him. He was saved when fellow sailors cut him free with the razor-sharp knives they carried all times.” A story from Tales of the Caribbean and Captain Jack Sparrow? No, just a bad day in the life of an America’s Cup crewman racing the new AC72 catamarans.
This particular incident was recounted by Martin Tasker, Devonport resident and the man on the spot for TVNZ’s coverage of all things yachting, when he spoke at the Friday Business on Toast meeting at Corelli’s Cafe on the 26 October. Martin was able to pass on the latest news about the new Cup boats to the well attended breakfast crowd because he had just returned from San Francisco, where Team Oracle cart-wheeled their boat and had a crew member caught in the rigging as described above; and had been out on the water with the Team NZ boat.
The technology involved with the AC72 catamarans makes them sailboats on steroids. Big, complicated and very, very fast. The crew all wear crash helmets, carry knives (to free themselves from under rigging or the large net slung between the hulls) and have a small oxygen bottle to allow breathing if they end up submerged after a mishap. The boats are so fast that mistakes can result in spectacular and dangerous capsizes and up-endings. Look at this clip:
Currently, Team NZ are sailing their AC72 on the Hauraki Gulf and experiencing speeds of 40 knots as the boat rises out of the water on hydrofoils attached to the rudder and centreboards. See this spectacular action here http://tvnz.co.nz/sailing-news/team-nz-s-new-catamaran-in-full-flight-video-5066890. The support boat has four 300hp outboard motors to help it keep ahead of the big cat. They will be joined until the end of January by the Luna Rossa sister boat so both teams can train together to experience match racing at dangerously high speeds and improve crew skills and boat tuning. After January, the gloves are off and the two teams will continue their preparation for the Cup challenge independently.
With his extensive background in reporting America’s Cup activities, and his contacts within the teams, Martin was able to give an insider’s view of the trials & tribulations involved in preparing the fastest and most unforgiving Cup boats ever built. And it really is Business on Toast – New Zealand companies are at the forefront of developing and servicing these boats, and the teams’ investment can be ‘toast’ if the wind and the waves are unkind at 40 knots – just ask Team Oracle.
