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America's Cup showcases latest sailing technology
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America's Cup showcases latest sailing technology
AFP - Sunday, February 14
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US challenger Oracle's giant trimaran sails during the opening race of the 33rd America's Cup off Valencia's coast, on February 12. When Australian helmsman James Spithill steers Oracle's giant trimaran, he wears futuristic dark glasses linked to a small laptop and battery which he carries in a small backpack that make him look like "RoboCop".
VALENCIA, Spain (AFP) - – When Australian helmsman James Spithill steers Oracle's giant trimaran, he wears futuristic dark glasses linked to a small laptop and battery which he carries in a small backpack that make him look like "RoboCop".
The high-tech glasses allow him to see vital information on wind, sail loads and other topics from wherever he stands on the boat, in addition to deflecting any glare from the Mediterranean Sea in Valencia where Oracle is facing defending champions Alinghi's catamaran in the 33rd America's Cup.
"The first time I used them I had a really difficult time. It actually takes a fair bit of your vision away. Like anything though once you start it you get used to it," the 30-year-old said.
"It is amazing what you can do with them. It has been fantastic, it is a really cool tool and I think it is the future."
The glasses, made by the defence industry, helped Oracle defeat Alinghi in the first of their best-of-three race series on Saturday by 15:28 minutes, the biggest winning margin since the 27th edition of the America's Cup in 1988 when the US catamaran Stars & Stripes defeated New Zealand's KZ1 monohull.
They are perhaps the most visible display of how the two sides have employed the latest technology on their boats - the biggest, fastest and most expensive entries in the 159-year history of sailing most prestigious competition.
Oracle, backed by US software tycoon Larry Ellison, and Alinghi, backed by Swiss biotech tycoon Ernesto Bertarelli, have reportedly spent more than 100 million euros (138 million US dollars) each on this campaign.
They have employed specialists in fields ranging from aeronautics to electronics and materials science and all types of engineering have contributed to the design and build of the boats.
The boats they have developed can travel at three times the speed of the wind and can go from speeds of zero to 25 knots in just a few seconds.
Oracle's trimaran, the USA, features an innovative solid vertical wingspan of 68 metres - more than twice the length of the wing of a Boeing 747.
The boat has 250 sensors strategically placed all over it which allow for real-time monitoring of the structure.
"It gives us a whole new insight into how the structure is performing," said Oracle's Australian design coordinator Ian Burns.
"We handle a huge amount of data but we can crunch it down to one number: was it better today than yesterday? And more, we can tell why and how, its a whole new step for us. It's impressive."
Alinghi has fibre-optic sensors placed on 150 locations of its catamaran, the Alinghi 5.
"This is a yacht race that is about technology more than before," said Bertarelli, who shares helming duties on the boat with France's Loick Peyron.
The use of movable water ballast and powered winches has done away with the need to use muscular crew members known as "grinders" to adjust the sails.
Critics charge the yacht's use of technology takes away the human element and hurts the character of the competition.
"This is not a tactician's race. This is Buck Rogers," the president of US Sailing, Gary Jobson, told US public radio NPR earlier this month, referring to the science fiction character.
Oracle argues the America's Cup has always been about using the latest sailing technology.
It points out that the America, the schooner for which the trophy is named, won the first version of the event held around the Isle of Wight in England in 1851 because it has a more efficient hull shape and better sail cloth.
"The America's Cup is more than just a boat race or a technology race, although both os those things are very important. In the end, a Cup team is successful because of its people and I think that we have put together a very strong team here," said Oracle team CEO Russell Coutts.
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