33rd AC

24.01.2010 (17:09 CET) - Valencia, Spain - Alinghi

Weather stops play in Valencia

(Photo credit: George Johns / Alinghi)

With just a fortnight to go to the Match, race training is key; it seems though that the weather gods have other plans for the Defender over the next few days in Valencia. Alinghi.com checked in with Jon Bilger from the weather team for a forecast of what is to come.

“We're expecting very strong north-easterlies tomorrow and potentially for the next three maybe four days so it’s unlikely that we are going to be able to get any sailing in. It's unfortunate but expected at this time of the year... it's an interesting place to have an America's Cup in February!”

North-easterly conditions usually mean waves which might have a longer term effect on the sailing programme than the wind, “the waves are going to be constantly building throughout this three day period; it will probably be a day after the winds die down that the waves will calm down, so we could well be looking at the second half of next week before it becomes sailable again,” said Bilger.

The Notice of Race for the 33rd America's Cup clearly sets out a weather window with a maximum wind speed of 15 knots at 60 metres; and a wave height of one metre. Safety is the driving factor here, Alinghi 5 has a very specific weather window in which the yacht and crew are safe to sail.

“These boats are highly powered up and flying a hull in eight to 10 knots, so by 15 knots the crew is trying to depower a lot; the loads on these multihulls are horrendous,” said Bilger. As a comparison, during the last Cup, five knots was a reasonable variation range but in these boats two or three knots is critical, these boats are even more sensitive to the forecast.

The long term view in the work up to the Cup? In winter time, in Europe, there are a lot of low and high pressures going through and when there is low pressure it gets too windy especially in the Mediterranean where it's fairly open. Jack Katzfey, meteorologist for the team, explains: “It is a question of picking those windows when the wind is not too strong because a low pressure is nearby, or too weak when there is a big high. It is too cold most times for the sea breeze to help, so you're trying to find those little windows of opportunity when the wind conditions are suitable for sailing; not too strong and not too light.”