Alinghi Red Bull Racing AC40-4 Day 21 Summary

What a day, what a week, for Alinghi Red Bull Racing who have been like a charging bull out in front of the early Spring sunbathers on the Barcelonetta beachfront and today, Thursday, they put on another masterclass of up-range sailing in the team’s AC40. A crew rotation saw Maxime Bachelin and Nicolas Charbonnier take the helm supported by Yves Detrey and Nicolas Rolaz on trim and it was a blistering session conducted at rapid pace with the breeze filling in through midday and delivering a 15-18 knot ‘Garbi’ thermal and some aggressive chop to push the sailors to the max. The confidence that the team have built in recent sessions is unquestioned and the sailors are happy to push into uncomfortable scenarios more and more with plenty of practice today on the fast, single-board head-ups that more than focus attention. A terrific session on balance that proved the strength in depth that Alinghi Red Bull Racing have at their disposal and the technical foiling excellence that they are building through relentless hours on the water in Barcelona. The hugely experienced Yves Detrey speaking afterwards walked through the day saying: “Yeah pretty good day, we quickly changed to the J3 because the wind was increasing, and I think we had more than 18 knots wind speed and the sea-state was getting higher and higher but yeah pretty good day I think we reached about 40 (knots) for a while…happy with that.” Section 41. Reconnaissance a) As a campaign cost reduction measure, COR/D has mutually agreed to cooperatively implement a centralised reconnaissance programme for all teams for the reconnaissance of all Competitors’ AC75 Yachts, AC40 Yachts and LEQ12 yachts including both on-land and on-water imagery (the “Joint Recon Programme”). b) Each team is assigned a two-person Recon Unit to follow their every on-water move, but it's not that simple. The cameras are supplied and identical for all Recon Units. Drones are not allowed, and they can't get that close, plus following a boat and keeping a camera steady at 45 knots isn't that easy to begin with. c) A three minute interview follows each on water day, and teams must answer the Recon Unit's questions while trying not to give too much away. It's a raw, unedited view of the never before seen behind-the-scenes development of a team and their boat to win the oldest trophy in international sports. #AC37Recon #AmericasCup #Barcelona2024