Thursday, September 26, 2013

America’s Cup - Interactive Feature - NYTimes.com

America’s Cup - Interactive Feature - NYTimes.com:



'via Blog this'

Tactics, Not Speed Won the America's Cup

Jesse Fradkin reports:

Many if not most of the pundits are proclaiming that Oracle's superior boat speed won this race and the series. Here's the data from the final race. Oracle's average boat speed is exactly, I repeat exactly the same as ETNZ's. ETNZ's top speed was faster. The race was won by tactics.

It is no coincidence that the change of tactician to the 5 time Olympic Gold Medal winner Sir Ben Ainslie about faced Oracle's racing from losing to winning. His leadership, expertise, decisions and determination greatly helped to shape the turn of the tide in Oracle's complete favor. 


Update: BUT Jerome Tauber argues that Oracle was pointing higher, thus sailing a shorter course.  And that makes it the faster boat!

Race 19 Performance Data
Course: 5 Legs/10.07 nautical miles
Elapsed Time: OTUSA – 23:24, ETNZ – 24:08
Delta: OTUSA +:44
Total distance sailed: OTUSA – 11.9 NM, ETNZ – 12.2 NM

Average Speed: OTUSA – 30.55 knots (35 mph), ETNZ – 30.55 knots (35 mph)
Top Speed: OTUSA – 44.33 knots (51 mph), ETNZ – 45.72 knots (53 mph)

Windspeed: Average – 18.2 knots, Peak – 21.3 knots
Number of Tacks/Jibes: OTUSA – 9/7, ETNZ – 9/7