Smooth sailing
Backed by cutting-edge technology, Australia’s next generation of sailors have their sights set on the America’s Cup. By Felix Scholz
When Australia II, skippered by John Bertrand, sailed into the history books by crossing the finish line first at the 1983 America’s Cup, it wasn’t just the crew’s skill that ended 132 years of American dominance. The boat’s creative, cutting-edge design played a crucial role. The winged keel, which debuted on Australia II, is the most well-known example, but the yacht was innovative in other ways as well, featuring Kevlar running rigging and a carbon-fibre boom. Today, the cycle of innovation continues, with the next generation using 21st-century tools and technology to push the boundaries of what’s possible.
At the forefront of this new wave is Andoo Team Australia, a squad of talented young sailors who are Australia’s official national entry in the third Unicredit Youth America’s Cup and the inaugural Puig Women’s America’s Cup in Barcelona. John Bertrand, who, along with Andoo founder John Winning, is one of the team patrons, is clear about the importance of this upcoming Cup attempt. “Our Andoo America’s Cup challenge is extremely important. Our Youth and Women’s teams will be thrown into the international cauldron. They will learn, they will thrive. This is a very important part of the journey. Yes, go Australia!” John Winning echoes Bertrand’s sentiment on the importance of investing in sailing at the highest level, saying, “This sponsorship supports a significant step back into the America’s Cup for Australia after decades of absence. Australia is the nation that broke the longest sporting winning streak in the world when John Bertrand led the Australia II team to win the Auld Mug off the Americans.”
Technology — just like it did in 1983 — is playing a key role in the path to victory. The Australian team in Barcelona will be racing in AC40s, a boat that squad member George Richardson says represents a “completely new evolution in hydrofoiling boats. They are a scaled version of the 76-footers sailed in the Open Cup, and they push new levels of speed and manoeuvrability.” Richardson goes on to note that it isn’t just the design of these boats that makes them next-gen racers — it’s the technology on board, too. “One development in this class is the use of super-high-density lithium batteries to replace the human grinders in supplying the hydraulic power required to actuate the various controls. This allows only four sailors to sail a 40-foot boat at over 80 kilometres per hour with no ropes in their hands. On top of that, this class makes use of an autopilot to control the foils. The development of this style of human in-the-loop control in the dynamic environment of sailing is a massive breakthrough for the sport. Teams can now push the boats harder than ever.”
It’s not just the new yachts pushing the race forward — it’s the sailors themselves. Barcelona will witness the first Women’s America’s Cup, a move that Olympian and Team Australia member Nina Curtis thinks is part of something bigger. “It’s been a long battle towards equity for females in the sport in terms of opportunities, pathways, representation and accessibility,” Curtis says. “You can really feel the wave of increased connection to women’s sport. We’re filling stadiums, people are tuning in to watch and the interest is building. This race opens pathways for female sailors in professional sailing leagues, and, while it’s a shame it’s taken so long, it’s a huge step in the right direction, and it’s an exciting time to be a female sailor.”
Changing times and traditions make for a steeper learning curve for sailors. Luckily, there’s also a suite of new tools available to optimise the squad’s performance. Deep Sphere is one of them — a data-driven assessment tool intended to help unlock potential. Team Australia has been using Deep Sphere as part of its preparation. Richardson is positive about his experience with the tool: “One of the challenges of this campaign is the limited amount of high-pressure racing available to us in the lead-up to the event. Without hundreds of hours racing together to adjust to how each other performs under pressure, Deep Sphere is aiming to accelerate this process, allowing us to learn about each other on a cognitive level before we step foot in the boat. This knowledge has proved extremely useful in conflict resolution and has ensured that the environment we create allows every individual to make their greatest possible contribution to the team.”
Another innovative tool the team is making use of is simulators. The AC40s are a comparatively new design, first hitting the water in 2022. For Andoo Team Australia’s sailors, access is one of the biggest issues, with simulators playing an increasingly important role in preparing the team before they get actual time on the water. Richardson explains the importance of simulated sailing. “The simulator has transformed the way that we prepare.
We now have a full-size mockup of the cockpit in the Winnings offices with the exact arrangement of controls on the real boat. We then use these to race our virtual boat on the computer, much like an F1 simulator. What’s most impressive is how well it models the complicated interactions between the wind and the water, allowing us to practise our skills either by ourselves or with racing teams around the world. All without ever leaving Waterloo [in Sydney].”
While simulation is a powerful tool, sailing via screen isn’t a replacement for real wind and water. “Of course, it takes some adjustment to get used to the firehose of water that hits your face sailing an actual boat at 40 knots, but it has been amazing how well the skills developed in the sim are transferring to real-world conditions,” Richardson says.
Andoo Team Australia is part of a long legacy of sailing excellence and, with such talent at the helm, the future of Australian sailing looks bright.
This is an extract from an article that appears in print in our thirteenth edition, Page 30 of Winning Magazine with the headline: “Smooth sailing”. Subscribe to Winning Magazine today.
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