First day of two boat testing for American Magic

Plenty to celebrate but plenty to think about for New York Yacht Club American Magic who conducted their first day of two boat testing out on a choppy and gusty Barceloneta beachfront on Monday. Clearly delighted to be two-boating for the first time in this campaign after their AC40 ‘Magic’ was delivered directly to the team’s base at the MB92 dockyard on the southern flank of the Port Vell promontory, the team lined their tweaked-up LEQ12 with its starboard foil, running leeway-reducing winglets and beefed-up bulb against the ultimate benchmark in the AC40 in pure one design mode.

Paul Goodison and Tom Slingsby sailed on alternate boats with Bora Gulari joining Goodison and Riley Gibbs partnering with Slingsby, but it was the deep-experience International Moth double-act on the AC40 that arguably had the best of the day. ‘America’ was beset with technical problems that Andrew Campbell called “teething issues” and required chase boat assistance but once sorted, the two boats lined up for some long downwinds where the LEQ12 struggled to maintain flight, couldn’t keep in the groove on either gybe, and dropped in to windward much to the frustration of the sailors, requiring a reset to keep the boats close and the session relevant.

Upwind, the LEQ12 looked more assured. The work the team have done to beef up the bulb sidewalls on the starboard foil look to have settled the boat but, in the chop, the AC40 was quite a match especially when sailed by two of the world’s finest foiling sailors in Goodison and Gulari who were nailing the angles and clearly enjoying putting the hammer down on the newer boat. This was Bora’s first appearance in the American Magic programme in this cycle (he was part of the team in 2021) and it’s a significant signing for the team as he brings his Olympic experience in the 2016 Games in the Nacra 17 alongside being a double-winner of the International Moth World Championships in 2009 and 2013 where on both occasions he beat Nathan Outteridge to the title.

Speaking afterwards, the affable Andrew Campbell came to the recon interview buzzing after a great day on the water but clear that the team are again on the learning curve at the America’s Cup venue saying: “It was an awesome day for our team in Barcelona. We've had a long time coming to get two boats on the water together and it's a huge effort from everybody in this tent and from everybody outside of this tent as well you know getting to Barcelona, getting unpacked, getting their families here getting everybody set up here. We're obviously still getting set up but it's a massive undertaking to be here and to get to this point and this kind of milestone and get two boats in the water lined up today is a big step for our programme and it's something that I think we're all really proud of,  or we should be anyway, and you know a lot of teething issues going on today because you know two boats in the water adds a lot of complications but yeah everybody's really excited about where we're at and the gains that we're going to make now that we have two boats on the water and we're kind of getting settled here so they're big steps.”

And talking specifically about those teething issues, Andrew offered: “Well with both boats we’re learning how they work you know in the new configurations. ‘Magic’ is a brand-new boat so we're trying to kind of commission her. With ‘America’ that needs to be re-commissioned as there's some stuff that we've improved, there's some stuff that we've changed, and so you know when you make those changes the boat has to be figured out again a little bit to make sure the calibrations are right and that’s some of that teething that I'm talking about - you need to check and make sure it's alright again before you can really put it in anger next to another boat.”

When the squall came through towards the end of the day and a solid 15 knots with higher gusts filtered in, ‘America’ looked very much alive and as Andrew commented: “It’s definitely still manageable for us. Yeah, that little squall came through and when it picks up like that the sea state picks up and that's the biggest kicker for any of these boats you know the sea state makes it makes it more difficult, more complicated and even when it's not too windy for us it might be too bumpy for us. So yeah, we're trying to figure that all out and trying to explore some of the settings that make it easier for us but it was never on the edge but we were definitely having a little more fun.”

NYYC American Magic have the day off for Independence Day (4th July) but the team will be itching to get back on the water, iron out the teething issues and continue the long road of foil development and technique sailing in the testing waters of Barcelona. More to come this week from the hard-charging Americans.