[Source: 52 Super Series] Azzurra, the 2012 52 SUPER SERIES champions, proved they are in close to perfect shape as they start out in Barcelona on the European stages of the 52 SUPER SERIES when they lead Wednesday’s official practice race right up to the finish line.

That they chose to bypass the finish line, passing half a metre outside of it, bowed to the prevailing superstitions of the perhaps more vociferous Latinos on board, believing it is unlucky to win the practice race.

But, after having established a decent lead by the first windward mark, the champions were not challenged again.

Quantum Racing were second all the way around the course, gliding across the line to accept the first gun. With their brand new afterguard line up, Terry Hutchinson as tactician and 1992 Olympic gold medallist and America’s Cup winner Jordi Calafat as strategist, they proved that they are not short of pace in the 10-12 knots breeze, but they might still need just a little more time together to finesse their starting.

Azzurra, with skipper-helm Guille Parada (ARG) steering, may have made the early jump in the practice race but it was evident that racing between the seven 52’s will be very close. There was very little separating the fleet at the first turn and it is clear that even those who have just joined the circuit recently have the potential to win races.

The fleet has grown in size since this time last year and while it is still the circuit and class of choice for some of the very top names in world sailing, so too there are more amateur, Corinthian sailors enjoying their racing here than for many years.

Those returning stars with an America’s Cup history include Dee Smith (USA) who sails as tactician on Manouch Moshayedi’s Rio (USA), John Cutler (NZL) previously tactician with Spain’s Desafio is tactician on Austin and Gwen Fragomen’s Interlodge (USA).

And on Quantum Racing Terry Hutchinson, new tactician, finds himself as the only former Team New Zealand sailor among an afterguard which is otherwise all derived from Alinghi, the team which eclipsed him and his ETNZ contemporaries to win the 32nd America’s Cup.

Hutchinson fits into the all star ex Alinghi posse including skipper-helm Baird, navigator Juan Vila also now Jordi Calafat as strategist, and admits that he is taking some preliminary ribbing from the former Alinghi sailors.

While the sport’s big names are still visibly loving their racing with the flourishing 52’s so too in the fleet there are a big number of hard working ‘amateur’ sailors – that is to say those who do not derive their main income from racing sailboats. Tony Langley, owner-skipper-helm of Gladiator (GBR) still enjoys having a couple of good sailing friends sail with his crew. And on Rio, as well as on Ergin Imre’s Turkish flagged Provezza, which is steered by double Olympic silver medallist Nick Rogers (GBR) with Tony Rey (USA) as tactician, both crews are composed of somewhere around 50-55 percent of ‘amateur’ sailors.

While the smart money is probably still riding on Azzurra, on Niklas Zennström’s Rán Racing, the recently crowned world champions, or on Quantum Racing to win overall across the four regatta 52 SUPER SERIES in Europe, today’s evidence showed again that all have the potential to win races, and in time perhaps regattas.

Barcelona, and the Conde de Godo regatta in particular, opens the European season with a particular challenge. The early season Garbi sea-breeze can be erratic, the winds are seldom well mixed and settled and the influence of the nearby cityscape and interesting topography can all come into play and the tacticians and afterguards be well tested.

Quotes:

Terry Hutchinson (USA), tactician Quantum Racing (USA): “ It feels great to be back. It’s such a different world to what we have been involved in for the last couple of years, but the competition is as good as ever so its a pleasure to be back and take it all on. Now, having been racing around in the 7 knot range for the last couple of months, where things happen a lot slower, racing in the 14 knot range you have to be very methodical about where you want to be and how you get there. Whereas in the multi-hull you are 2-3 knots faster and all of a sudden you get to a spot a lot quicker”

On fitting back into the team:
“ It’s a bit of mixing Team New Zealand with the Alinghi mafia! so every so often ‘ribbing’ takes place! Jordi spends some time up the rig and its simply a matter of gathering the infomation. Then about 7-8 minutes before the start we decide what we want to do in the race and decide the plan. Jordi’s looking up the race course looking where the boat needs to be whilst I am more the ‘boat on boat’ man and Juan helps get the boat off the start line quickly and will help with the lay-lines. At the moment we are stepping on each others toes a bit but we are evolving and I am quite confident we will get there.”

Vasco Vascotto (ITA) tactician Azzurra (ITA): “ I hope that we will do better here than the last two years. Today we did quite well and we hope that this is only the start of a good week for us. Obviously there are always some problems with a southerly here, you are expecting the local Barcelona breeze the ‘Garbi’ to blow in and it arrives and then just as suddenly, it disappers. All the boats this year have improved, Quantum already had an amazing campaign in the winter (in the USA 52 Super Series), they are already a fantastic team and now Terry is back so potentially they are very strong. We are the opposite, we have the same team so we are looking forward to a great friendship and competition here.”

Jules Salter (GBR) navigator Rán Racing (SWE): “The seebreeze is quite intense here. It shifts a bit, its quite different each day. We are still learning, Miami was very good but we need to maintain that performance here and we have to start again. There are some new boats here and everone is stepping up a gear. For the overall series you just need to take it race by race. We have a couple of new sails but all the same team.”

[Source: 52 Super Series] “We want to win the European 52 SUPER SERIES.”

That is the stark, keynote objective for the coming months, as stated by Ed Reynolds (USA) director of the Quantum Racing 52 programme, and as the American flagged team complete their final days of training off Barcelona this week in preparation for Thursday’s start to the Trofeo de Vela Conde de Godo, it is clear the highly motivated crew are ready to rise to this challenge.

Two significant changes bolster the team line up. Terry Hutchinson (USA), who skippered Quantum Racing to win the MedCup title in 2008 and lead the crew through until 2011, returns to the line up, this time in the role of tactician.

He will be joined by 1992 Barcelona Olympic gold medallist and America’s Cup winner Jordi Calafat (ESP) who sails as Quantum Racing’s strategist.

Even as experienced and honoured as they both are, integrating the two new afterguard members has been one of the primary goals of the pre-regatta training period. Although of course Baird (USA) and Calafat sailed together as America’s Cup winners with Alinghi, Hutchinson and Baird are new to each other and so have been putting in some racing hours to optimise their partnership.

In mid April Baird and Hutchinson sailed together at the Congressional Cup off Long Beach finishing second. In fact that was Ed Baird’s first monohull match racing event since July 3rd 2007 when he drove Alinghi to win the 32rd America’s Cup against Emirates Team New Zealand on which Hutchinson was tactician.

Quantum Racing will aim at winning the European 52 Super Series in 2013

“This is going to be really fun to be back with the guys on Quantum Racing,” Hutchinson smiles, “I was a little bit involved at the end of the World Championships in Miami when I watched them racing there. There are some very high quality teams as we saw there, like Azzurra and Rán Racing as examples which for the most part have shown they are capable of winning, and so I cannot wait to get out there and get racing in the fleet again.”

“I am looking to just help along the great work that Ed Baird has been doing. We jump started things by doing the Congressional Cup together and that was really good. We were mainly looking at developing our communications, getting to know how Ed likes things to be communicated as things unfold. My impression is that he is very comfortable with the boat and the way things are going, but the biggest challenge will be integrating us into the sailing team. The new appendages on the boat seemed to be working and for us it will be about not upsetting the applecart. This is a great team with a good track record and my role is to help and support where I can, maybe making sure eyes are guided where they should be if I see particular things I think can help.”

“I have the impression from Miami that Ed drives the boat very well, keeping it fast all the time. That may sound simplistic but it is very easy to get bogged down from time to time in this fleet. We worked on our communication and I understand more clearly what he wants, narrowing down 10 or 12 words to two or three words, short quick conversations is the big thing for us.”

Although Quantum Racing have not won a 52 regatta since Sardinia last year, Hutchinson says he does not feel any additional pressure coming back into the team to find a win.

“I always want to win, I always crack the whip to win and want no more or less. The thing that stood out for me in Miami was that at certain times the boat could sail out of bad situations. It looked like the boat is going really well.”

Meanwhile team director Ed Reynolds is delighted with the strength of the afterguard that they have for the four European regattas of the 52 SUPER SERIES :

“I just could not be more excited, I am thrilled with the team we have. There were some conflicts which necessitated changes and so we took advantage of the opportunities to do so. Terry, Ed Baird and Jordi as an afterguard should be fantastic. Jordi grew up in Palma, sailed to a gold medal here in Barcelona and probably has sailed as much as anyone in the fleet has in Ibiza so I am sure he will bring a lot of local knowledge input.” Said Reynolds,

“We are very happy with the changes we made to the boat, boatspeed is just not an issue. After the last few events we feel we have eliminated some more variables, now I will be surprised if we are not going the right way most of the time. We don’t think we have to win regattas to win the 52 SUPER SERIES, but what we want is to show absolutely top level consistency. Now, with this fleet, you have to win races and that is a change and we have changed the mode of the boat to make more sure we can do that.”

Racing starts for the 52 SUPER SERIES in Barcelona from Thursday 23rd May and runs through to Sunday 26th.

I would like to thank everybody for there encouraging words of support. I am very proud of my tenure as the skipper and helmsman of Artemis Racing. On the water I experienced an aspect of our sport that was new, exciting and this challenge culminated in the 2012 ACWS match racing championship. Ashore, I had the opportunity to work with some incredibly smart and talented people. I wish nothing but success for Artemis Racing and I thank Torbjorn Tornqvist for this opportunity.

Terry Hutchinson

Terry Hutchinson during the first sail of the Artemis AC72 yacht. San Francisco, 13 November 2012. Photo copyright Sander van der Borch / Artemis Racing

Artemis Racing AC72 First Day Sailing

The 34th America’s Cup Challenger of Record took their AC72 yachts had their second sailing session on Thursday on the San Francisco Bay. The Swedish boat flew her hull with a breeze between 10 and 12 knots.

Second sailing session of the Artemis AC72. San Francisco, 15 November 2012. Photo copyright Sander van der Borch / Artemis

Second sailing session of the Artemis AC72. San Francisco, 15 November 2012. Photo copyright Sander van der Borch / Artemis

Second sailing session of the Artemis AC72. San Francisco, 15 November 2012. Photo copyright Sander van der Borch / Artemis

Second sailing session of the Artemis AC72. San Francisco, 15 November 2012. Photo copyright Sander van der Borch / Artemis

Second sailing session of the Artemis AC72. San Francisco, 15 November 2012. Photo copyright Sander van der Borch / Artemis

The 34th America’s Cup Challenger of Record took their AC72 yachts out for her first sail on Tuesday on the San Francisco Bay. The Swedish team sailed their boat for three hours under a light breeze from 6 to 12 knots

First sail of the Artemis AC72. San Francisco, 13 November 2012. Photo copyright Sander van der Borch / Artemis

First sail of the Artemis AC72. San Francisco, 13 November 2012. Photo copyright Sander van der Borch / Artemis

First sail of the Artemis AC72. San Francisco, 13 November 2012. Photo copyright Sander van der Borch / Artemis

First sail of the Artemis AC72. San Francisco, 13 November 2012. Photo copyright Sander van der Borch / Artemis

First sail of the Artemis AC72. San Francisco, 13 November 2012. Photo copyright Sander van der Borch / Artemis

First sail of the Artemis AC72. San Francisco, 13 November 2012. Photo copyright Sander van der Borch / Artemis

First sail of the Artemis AC72. San Francisco, 13 November 2012. Photo copyright Sander van der Borch / Artemis

First sail of the Artemis AC72. San Francisco, 13 November 2012. Photo copyright Sander van der Borch / Artemis

First sail of the Artemis AC72. San Francisco, 13 November 2012. Photo copyright Sander van der Borch / Artemis

[Source: Artemis Racing] The launch of Artemis Racing’s first AC72 catamaran marks a major milestone in the team’s quest for the America’s Cup. Thousands of design and build hours came together today when the Artemis Racing AC72 was launched at the team’s base in Alameda.

Barbro Osher, Consul General of Sweden in San Francisco and Godmother of Artemis, christened the AC72 in the presence of the entire team and their families.

Building an AC72 is an incredible design and construction feat, incorporating leading edge technology and materials. The Challenger of Record’s hulls were built in Sweden, trucked to the base in Valencia in spring of this year and then travelled by cargo ship to San Francisco only to arrive in August. The team’s first AC72 wing was built and tested in Spain but suffered significant damage in May during training. Artemis Racing overcame this setback and it is the rebuilt wing in its entirety, and it is this wing which will power the AC72.

Artemis Racing launch their first AC72. Alameda, 3 November 2012. Photo copyright Sander van der Borch / Artemis Racing

Designed by Juan Kouyoumidjian and his team in Valencia, this is the first of two AC72 catamarans for Artemis Racing. From here the research and development will continue with the valuable input generated from training on the San Francisco Bay. Standing alongside the AC72, Kouyoumidjian said, “We are extremely excited to get out sailing with this first boat and the learning opportunity that it represents. Sailing here, in the realities of San Francisco Bay, makes the lessons hard, but extremely relevant.”

The first day of sailing for the Swedish team is likely to be next week. The team has completed its relocation from its first training site in Spain and is now 80 strong in Alameda.

“It’s been a tremendous team effort to design, build and launch the AC72. We are looking forward to valuable training time on the Bay in the coming weeks,” said team CEO Paul Cayard.

[Source: Artemis Racing] Artemis Racing is moving camp from Spain to San Francisco ahead of next month’s America’s Cup World Series event, becoming the second team to set up base permanently in the host city of the 34th America’s Cup.

Skipper Terry Hutchinson says his team is filtering into town over the next couple of weeks and could be sailing on the Bay as early as August 6th.

“I’m looking forward to it more than anything,” he says with enthusiasm, when asked about the move. “The fact that we’re going to the venue and that we’re going to spend the next year living in the venue, training in the venue, learning about the Bay, to me it’s a really good opportunity.”

Artemis Racing concluded a successful opening season at the AC World Series last month, winning the overall Match Racing Championship. The first racing in San Francisco, from August 21-26, marks the opening event in the 2012-13 season, and for the first time, Artemis Racing will have two crews in the competition. (Hutchinson said the team’s crew lists will be released closer to the event).

“We are going to enter two teams in San Francisco. The more I’ve seen other teams rotate (people) at the last few events, the more I’m convinced the approach we took last year with our crew rotation policy was the right one for the bigger picture,” Hutchinson said, referring to how the team consistently changed crew line-ups in an effort to get more team members experience on the AC45 catamarans.

“Now this is another way for us to expedite the sailing team’s development. What we would have done with just five people on the boat, we’re now able to do with 10 people and we’ll just get better that much faster.”

Looking ahead to August’s racing, Hutchinson says he expects big breeze and challenging conditions – typical San Francisco Bay weather, in other words.

“Sailing the AC45s in an ebb tide on the Bay is going to be something else,” he says. We’ve all researched extensively the boundaries of how hard to push and I think it’s going to create a lot of good action. As we know with everyone out there racing, we’ll all be pushing hard, so I think somebody is going to have one (capsize). The Bay has a short, sharp wave set, so I suspect we’ll be pushing that much harder. I don’t think anyone is going to be holding back.

“Personally, I’m looking forward to the opportunity to do that. We’re learning the thresholds of what we can do in these boats, so the focus from our perspective is to push hard in the racing so that when we step on the AC72s we’re more comfortable about the boundaries and how hard we can push these boats.”

The AC72s are another challenge altogether. Artemis Racing was the first team to unveil an AC72 wing and began testing it on a trimaran platform, while waiting for their AC72 catamaran to be completed. As the first team to begin sailing with the big wing, they also were the first team to suffer a setback, when the wing was damaged during a training session in May. But the team adjusted its schedule, with the earlier move to San Francisco as one of the outcomes.

“The situation with our wing presented a different opportunity and so the next six weeks or so is all about venue development and learning as much as we can about sailing on San Francisco Bay during the same time we’ll be racing in the Louis Vuitton Cup and America’s Cup next year. So to me that’s the new opportunity presented by the situation with the wing. I think this is very good use of our time and we’re going to have our hands full…

“The guys in Valencia have done good work in getting the boat to us on schedule and they’re going through it and doing as much testing as they can to the structure of the boat in Spain. We’ll get the boat packed up and shipped to San Francisco and assemble the wing and everything out there, hopefully pretty soon…

“Without question this America’s Cup is different than anything we’ve experienced in the past. The way the game is being played right now in the AC45s is going to be different in the 72s. Is San Francisco the best place to launch and develop the speed of a 72? Possibly not. But by developing our boat in the confines of the venue, we’re going to gain experience and when the other teams show up next year they’ll have to adapt to it when hopefully we’ll be hitting our stride.”