America's Cup Recon: Aug 8 - Kiwis declare "new" wing foils
by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World NZ 11 Aug 14:55 BST
Emirates Team NZ - Day 18 - August 8, 2026 - Auckland, NZ © Sam Thom / America's Cup
Emirates Team NZ declared "new" wingfoil components on a sailing session on Saturday.
The "new" component declarations are (to be confirmed) the first foil change by any of the three teams sailing AC75s in this America's Cup cycle.
The change may have been made earlier than Saturday, allowing for the declaration process to take its course. Our guess is that the foils were switched while the Kiwis were in Naples for the AC40 training block, and that it took a day for the "new" set of foils to be formally advised to the ACP Recon Unit assigned to the Kiwi team.
In this America's Cup the use of the word "new" has a different meaning, in depending on the situation, from its common English usage. Its meaning also varies with the vintage of AC75 hull being sailed.
Without getting too far into the weeds, a very simple, easily understood word like "new" can get very complicated in the arcane world of the 38th America's Cup.
The subject of "new" wingfoils was not broached on Saturday during the mandatory Recon interview at the end of each sailing session. Today's "victim" was Josh Armit, who sailed on Position 6 on Saturday. He discussed the variety of jib codes (J2, J3 and J4) used during the day's sailing. He said the slow hoisting of the mainsail was due to "cold hands".
He was more forthcoming on his concurrent Olympic campaign in the iQFoil and how that worked in with his America's Cup commitments, ahead of the 2026 iQFoil Worlds, next month, in Weymouth, UK. He highlighted the valuable experience gained from older teammates in the America's Cup, which he plans to apply to his Olympic campaign.
Recon Report - 8th August 2026
Sailing Day 18 Statistics
Emirates Team New Zealand - Day 18, August 8, 2026 - Auckland, New Zealand
Crew List:
- Port Helm: Chris Draper (GBR)
- Starboard Helm: Nathan Outteridge AUS/NZL)
- Port Trimmer: Iain Jensen (AUS)
- Starboard Trimmer: Andy Maloney (NZL)
- P5: Jo Aleh (Port)
Wind & Sea Conditions:
- AM: Sunny: Wind: 6-12kts 045°(NE)
- PM: Overcast: Wind: 10-17kts 045°(NE)
- Sea State: Flat (AM) Moderate (PM)
Sailing Stats:
- Dock Out: 1000hrs
- Dock In: 1600hrs
- Time sailed: 3hrs
- Foiling time: Not reported
- Tacks: No data Gybes: No data
Recon Report - Sailing Day 18 - August 8, 2026
Key Points:
- New foil wing versions declared.
- Slow main hoist
- J2, J3 and J4 used.
Recon Report - Saturday, August 8 2026
ETNZ rolled out of the shed at 0817 Saturday morning to a light and slightly overcast day. Splashing down at 0856 and off the dock at 1000. ETNZ declaring new foil wing versions on both port and starboard of FW7-E and FW8-D. The crew consisted of Outteridge, Draper, Maloney, Jensen, Aleh and Armit.
A short tow out to Rangitoto Lighthouse ended at 1018 with the M2-0 and J2-2 being hoisted in a building 6-9 knot NE breeze. Once again the main was unusually slow to hoist with a lot of time being spent between the skins by crew members. This suggests an area of recent development by ETNZ, with whatever changes were made to this section of the main now requiring more admin during the hoist.
ETNZ then sailed onto the foil in the flat water and light breeze then proceeded to sail their way around Rangitoto Island to the other side of Motuihe Island. Conditions here were lighter, suggesting ETNZ wanted to finish testing of the J2 in this wind strength. During this session, it was very noticeable how much the boat "sits down" in the lulls. Once the puff hits, the boat rises up again and takes off in a different mode. Another observation is the recently improved stability through manoeuvres, both the platform and direction are very consistent after the tack and gybe.
With ETNZ seemingly not needing to reach away or head up to gain power after the manoeuvre, while the platform remains flat. Session 1 ended at 1146.
During the break Chase One drove large circles around the bay while ETNZ had lunch. No reason was immediately apparent for this.
ETNZ then changed to their J3-3 and sailed up onto the foil, making their way out of the inner harbour to the far side of The Noises. Once out in a stronger breeze more suited for the J3, ETNZ did long runs on either tack, then proceeded into several reaching-speed runs. Out in the channel there was no swell but a steadily building sea state. By the time ETNZ stopped for lunch at 1300 the sea state was moderate. The building sea state had no noticeable effect on ETNZ's performance.
ETNZ then changed to their J4-2 and sailed onto the foils at 1317 in a strengthening 12-17 knot NE. The session consisted of steadily tacking and gybing their way up and down the outer harbour. Despite being on their 3rd different jib size and in varying conditions, manoeuvres from ETNZ remained remarkably consistent across the day. The session ended at 1342 back down near Rangitoto Lighthouse.
After a quick VIP swap the last two sessions of the day consisted of multiple pre-starts and ETNZ throwing the boat around through a variety of manoeuvres. Choosing to bear away, round up, reach, tack or gybe in a more randomised manner. ETNZ ended the day at 1528, dropping sails just off North Head.
Overall, a high mileage day with a good range of conditions for ETNZ. Getting to test three different jib sizes across the wind range on their newly declared foil wing versions.
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