BMW Oracle reveals enormous wing sail

[Source: BMW Oracle] The latest development by the BMW ORACLE Racing team was unveiled today when an enormous wing was prepared to be wheeled out of the tent at the team base in San Diego.

The wing will be tested as an option to increase performance compared with a traditional soft sail rig as previously sea-trialed on the BOR 90, the 90-foot trimaran the team has built for the 33rd America’s Cup.

BMW Oracle reveals enormous wing sail. San Diego, 8 November 2009. Photo copyright Gilles Martin-Raget / BMW Oracle

The construction of the wing took place at Core Builders, the team’s boatbuilding facility in Anacortes, Washington, with finishing work completed at the team base in San Diego.

“This was a massive undertaking,” said Tim Smyth (NZL), who, along with Mark Turner (NZL), has been overseeing the wing construction team in Anacortes and in San Diego.

“Building a wing of this size was something new for all of us, and we’re proud our guys were able to rise to the challenge.”

BMW Oracle reveals enormous wing sail. San Diego, 8 November 2009. Photo copyright Gilles Martin-Raget / BMW Oracle

A wing of this scale has never been built for a race boat. In terms of size, the wing on BOR 90 dwarfs those on modern aircraft. Towering nearly 190 ft (57 m) above the deck, it is 80 percent bigger than a wing on a 747 airplane (102 ft / 31 m).

The primary advantage of the wing over a soft sail is that it is easier to control and does not distort. This makes it easier for the trimmers on board to maintain an optimum aerofoil shape in a wide range of conditions.

Full-scale, on-the-water testing of the wing will begin later this week as the team resumes sea trials in preparation for the 33rd America’s Cup Match in February.

BMW Oracle reveals enormous wing sail. San Diego, 8 November 2009. Photo copyright Gilles Martin-Raget / BMW Oracle

BMW Oracle to resume BOR 90 testing next week

[Source: BMW Oracle] The BMW ORACLE Racing team in San Diego is bringing its full resources to bear on the effort to be ready to resume testing on the BOR 90 next week.

The shore crew and boatbuilding team have been working tirelessly to have the new rig platform ready - on schedule - for installation next week, which will allow the team to start a new phase of testing.

“Our crew has basically worked non-stop since we got here (from Anacortes) just under a month ago,” said construction team manager Tim Smyth (NZL).

“We said we'd be ready by next week and we've worked the days and hours required to hit that deadline. It’s been a long stretch but the guys are pretty motivated and enthusiastic because it's such a cool project. We're on the final strokes now.”

For its part, the sailing team is keen to get back on the water. Sailing coach Glenn Ashby (AUS) has been putting his charges through some small boat multihull sailing this week, and many of the sailors have been drafted into the maintenance programme, but the entire team is eager to get back to full-scale testing.

Video: FOX San Diego reports on BOR90's 10-million dollar broken mast

James Spithill: This is a small setback but I have no doubt the team will bounce back

[Source: BMW Oracle Blog] Spare a thought for Jimmy Spithill this evening. Moments after stepping off the boat he was front and centre for the assembled media. Here's what he said about today.

"We had a mast failure, the mast broke and came down. Nobody was hurt and that's the most important part. The crew are all safe and all of our support boats and contingencies that are built into the programme really showed today. I just commend the crew and all our support boats for swinging into action. Everyone is back on shore safe and we'll roll on forwards...

BOR90 back at the base after the incident. San Diego, 3 November 2009. Photo copyright BMW Oracle Blog

"The weather was actually quite nice. It was relatively light wind speeds and the sea state was quite flat. So until we delve into it and dig deep into our analysis tools, we don't know what the cause of the failure was...

"The real (sign of) heart in a team is the team that can come back from setbacks. This is a small setback but I have no doubt the team will bounce back… I'm sure we'll be fine for the race (in February)."

BMW Oracle's BOR 90 has dismasted

[Source: BMW Oracle Blog] UPDATE - 16:30 local time San Diego - The BOR 90 should be in around 17:00, with the support RIBs that have retrieved the mast a couple of hours behind.

Early indications are that the boat platform hasn't suffered much damage, but it will take time to do a full assessment.

The shore team is geared up to dig in to the job list right away.

UPDATE - 15:15 local time San Diego - All equipment has been secured and the BOR 90 is under tow and en route to the team base. The boat is expected dockside early this evening.

On Tuesday morning, during testing on the waters off San Diego, the BOR 90 dismasted. All of the crew on board are safe. No one was hurt in the incident.

Support craft were with the race boat at the time and are currently working to salvage the rig and get the boat back to shore.

The team is investigating the cause of the failure.

More information will follow.