Video: Oracle Team Sailing Training Continues
Oracle Team USA recently continued its training, posting a video of their efforts on YouTube, following up on a similar video from last month.
In the video, skipper and helmsman Jimmy Spithill says, “The first half of June has been very light, but the second half has been incredible. Today we had 20 knots at times, so it’s just fantastic.”
Sailing team manager Tom Slingsby says, “It’s great; in San Francisco, we had one condition we had to learn – here we have to learn how to move about in lighter breeze, medium breeze, strong breeze. So we are challenged; this is a really challenging venue and we love it.”
Oracle said they are shifting focus to the race program as the first event of the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series takes place in Portsmouth in two weeks.
The team said, “But the AC45 the team has been testing this year is now being disassembled and will be in the boat-shed for modifications for most of the summer. A second AC45 test boat is being shipped to Bermuda from New Zealand and is expected to arrive in about six weeks. Both the new boat, and the modified AC45 are scheduled to be sailing in Bermuda in September.”
“This has been a very productive session for the team,” said general manager Grant Simmer. “We’ve learned a lot about our boat, about the venue here in Bermuda, and about the range of conditions we are likely to see.”
Work continues on Oracle’s base at the Royal Naval Dockyard where the large boat shed is being duplicated next door. The second big shed that is under construction will serve as the storage and workspace for the wingsails, while the current shed will be for the catamaran platforms.
“We’ve had nothing but good experiences with the local workforce and contractors who have been building our team base,” Oracle said.
“We’re the first team here, but we’re just one of six teams who will be moving here over the next year or so. There is going to be plenty more work on the horizon. The in-fill project here to create the land for some of the bases and the America’s Cup Village will be massive too.”
Oracle will announce its sailing team for the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series in Portsmouth next week. The sailors are expected to start training on the Solent race course area as early as Tuesday July 14.
Bie’ this latest video is something else! I’m just wetting my shorts (That’s “Bermuda shorts”)