Word: upwind
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...second race. Just before the start, as Australia II jibed to block Liberty, a 24.6-knot gust smacked the challenger, snapping a pin that holds the mainsail to the halyard and dropping the sail 18 in. Despite this handicap, Bertrand beat the U.S. yacht on the first upwind leg by 50 sec., a remarkable margin that displayed his boat's inherent speed. Unable to match his opponent in tacking duels, Bertrand decided to go off in search of a breeze. Left alone, it was Conner who found the wind-and won, by 1 min. 33 sec. "God smiled...
...midsummer, however, the basic features of the keel were common knowledge around Newport: the unusual appendage rakes forward under the hull into a bulb, then sweeps aft into two delta-shaped wings designed to give the boat an advantage while heeled over sailing upwind (see diagram). The exact dimensions of the keel were well known to the International Yacht Racing Union's Measurement Committee, which had formally examined Australia II for conformity to the complicated 12-meter standards well before the racing began...
Supported by Herreshoff's argument that the Aussie keel fins give the boat added draft, or depth, upwind, thus making it a 12.5-meter or 12.8-meter yacht in those conditions, the N.Y.Y.C. asked the Measurement (TM) Committee to reconsider its earlier O.K. Last week the I.Y.R.U. officials responded with a unanimous no. But that did not end the matter...
...busy recalling all the old familiar whiny excuses, among them the "She can only move in light air" ploy. Shamelessly followed this summer by its corollary: "She can only move in heavy air." As the two boats-Australia 44 sec. back-beat up toward the spectator fleet, now placed upwind of the first mark, the word goes round. "Forty-four seconds behind! That's her best first leg ever...
Frigid Sorties. North relies on read-outs from on-board computers and the advice of two additional helmsmen -one for upwind legs, another for downwind-in devising racing strategy. Says North: "I do things more by what seems to be right by testing and not by how it feels. I'm an analytical sailor." But his restlessness on board and his penchant for consulting everyone on tactical decisions rattled his sailors. Enterprise Crewman Andy MacGowan explains: "The problem with North's style is that things happen so fast in a race. You haven't got the luxury...