Howdy folks, Buff Staysail here! Buff by name and Buff by nature!Yup, you read that right, ol' Buff has got himself over to Valencia to report on the one, the only, yes, its America's Cup 33!
And what a show it will be, two monster multi-hulls both styled in gun metal carbon fibre, two beasts hunger for the prize, battle it out under the Spanish sun!!
Your's truly is right in the centre of things, having had a beer with the brother of the security guard at the BMW Oracle yard. Turns out they have a secret weapon, and at the press conference I was all prepared with the question of the moment.
"How do BMW Oracle sailors keep their hats on?"
I mean, have a look at the picture above. Here's the rocket ship powering away at 30 knots or something and the crewman's hat is still on his head.
From past experience those baseball hats are the first thing to go in a race, and it's a bit of a palaver to go round and pick the darn thing up (though JP will insist its good man overboard practice).
Alas the BMW Oracle team were keeping mum but there's clearly secrets in that camp that have yet to be told!!
Watch this space for a Buff special update!
2 comments:
They may look like ordinary baseball caps, Buff, but remember, this is the America's Cup.
The hats are fabricated from unidirectional carbon fiber, custom formed for each crew member, and coated with a special aerophilic nanoparticle coating that reduces aerodynamic drag to three percent of normal baseball caps. Underbrim NACA ducting draws air from inside the cap as the boat accelerates, reducing internal air pressure. The resultant differential with atmospheric pressure exerts a downforce of 27 pounds in an apparent wind of eight knots (for a headsize of eight and a half). The base cost of the hats is $37,000 each, before the telemetry sensors are installed.
But, Buff, here's something of a lead for you to check out - find out in what country the hats are made.
This is hot stuff O Docker!
I put Buff on the case, so expect developments shortly.
Or maybe not.
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