NYYC American Magic AC40-5 Day 16 Summary

They call themselves ‘American Magic’ and after a thrilling 1st April session there was simply no doubt that technical sorcery and sailing craft of the highest order were on display out on an initially foggy, misty, spooky Pensacola Bay. No April Fools, when the mist cleared, this was top drawer sailing from two of the finest foiling sailors of a generation in Paul Goodison and Tom Slingsby who both transitioned so effortlessly to flight from a thorough and decorated schooling in displacement dinghies. Today they put everything into a session where the memo clearly stated: ‘push this to the limits.’ Paul Goodison, always a peerless interviewee, spoke to Mike Pedersen of the recon unit after sailing and contextualised the day, saying: “We wanted to push the new foil wing pretty hard and see how fast we could go, so we chose to take it on today and we’ve seen some pretty high gusts up there and doing some really nice speeds. It was really good just to get a feel for the difference between the two boards how they accelerate and their top speeds …We were seeing over 20 knots (of breeze) and we came pretty close to 50 knots just at the end there on the new foil which is pretty impressive.” 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