00:01Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada
00:31So, Billy was just saying to me there that it's virtually impossible to get the amount of variables, the differences
00:36in the wind, the way the wind shifts, the wind speeds and how it varies up and down throughout a
00:41race, programmed in exactly like it's going to be on the race weekend.
00:45Whereas on an F1 simulator, for example, all you've got to worry about is a fixed track. So all the
00:51tracks are exactly as they are. They don't change, they don't move.
00:53But for something like a sailing simulator, it's virtually impossible to replicate exactly what it's like on the water. But
00:59he was saying how far it's come. It looks fun, to say the least.
01:11So, Billy, we just saw you in there on the simulator. Got a few questions about it. We had a
01:15brief chat. How important is the simulator to the development of your team?
01:19Well, it's one of those things. We get so little time on the water that for upskilling new people and
01:25the next generation of athletes for SailGP, we need to have a way for them to basically get stick time
01:30without actually having to put the boat in the water.
01:33And that's what the simulator does for us. It gives us the ability to put new people in different roles
01:38all over the boat.
01:39So we have redundancy and backups for our sort of our prime sailing team, but then also bringing new people
01:44in and we get them sort of some real world action without having to have full real world action.
01:49And you mentioned the development of it since the first iteration. How important is your role and your team's role
01:55in the development of the kit and the technology?
01:58Because I saw you talking to the SailGP Technologies team in there afterwards, giving a bit of feedback.
02:02Yeah. Well, I mean, I think it's one of those things is that the more feedback we give, the better
02:05it is for everybody.
02:07As an athlete, we want our sport to keep progressing and everybody to get better.
02:10So every time you use something, obviously something has always changed.
02:14And so it's really important to give that feedback as one of the athletes who does it in real world
02:17to let them know what has sort of gotten better since the last time you used it and what maybe
02:22needs sort of attention for the next go around.
02:24Just because the more real world specific it is, the more in depth we can use it for the more
02:30higher level stuff.
02:31And then, you know, also the data on the simulator isn't put out league wide, so we can try stuff
02:35in the simulator and that data maybe doesn't go towards everybody in the league.
02:39Super protective, like undercover, get out of my room. Yeah. Anyway, go well this weekend. Thank you for your time.
02:44This development isn't just about the athletes that are on the roster right now. It's also about developing the next
02:50generation of talent that are coming through.
02:53Cool. Shall I try the leg numbers?
02:55The simulator was first developed back when the league was founded. It has come on leaps and bounds since it
03:00was first used and the minds at SailGP Technologies have taken it to the next level.
03:04I'm interested to see what it's like going into a jibe from here. What's your foiling?
03:08It's a critical piece of the puzzle for new athletes to get their heads around the boat before they get
03:12their F50 licence. Staff at the UK facility have been going through another round of testing before the Auckland event,
03:18a crucial process to getting the sim at its best.
03:21Using the new board drop autopilot functionality. So you want me to do a jibe? Yeah.
03:27The thing is, if you toggle the helm here, then you start, then you can...
03:33We've got a lot of new features that we're working on. We're improving the physics. There's a new sim that's
03:38going to be built, which is a lot more immersive, it's got higher fidelity, using projectors, much more professional really.
03:48There'll be virtual reality headsets to allow deeper immersion. All the data is going to be going into the same
03:53place. The coaches and teams will use that.
03:56And there's some really kind of quite impressive pieces of work that are going on. But really, it's just a
04:03continual development to try and get the sim as close to reality as possible.
04:09OK, I think I can see your session.
04:11Do you think we should just start?
04:12Yeah, start.
04:15It's just insane the amount of work that has gone into making the simulator as good as it is from
04:20those over at SailGP Technologies.
04:22It makes people who are coming into the league, it makes their life a lot easier. And one of those
04:26teams is Artemis SailGP.
04:35OK, I'm here with Artemis driver Nathan Alteridge. Nathan, you've been here from the very beginning, even from the testing
04:42days of the F-50. How useful would it have been to have a sim back then?
04:46Yeah, the sims would have been really handy about six years ago when we were trying to work out how
04:51to get the systems up and running in these boats.
04:54So I think what the sim does these days is it teaches the sailors about the user input devices, what
04:59all the buttons and switches do in the boat, gives you that muscle memory that you need when you're out
05:03there racing around.
05:04And for the developing athletes coming through, how critical is it to get that time kind of off the water
05:09in before they step on the boat themselves?
05:12It's actually really essential. You know, as we've seen, these boats are really challenging to sail. There's a lot of
05:18incidents that happen on the water, but there's a lot more that are happening in the sim, which is good
05:23because that's where you learn about how the boats actually operate, how they behave.
05:26You know, some of the incidents that happen on the water are error in pushing the wrong buttons because you're
05:33not familiar enough with where the buttons are and what you should be doing.
05:36So if you can have all that muscle memory all down pat before you get on the water, then you're
05:42actually in good shape.
05:43So, you know, it's been really good for us as a new team to put a bunch of our new
05:47sailors through.
05:48It's actually quite challenging to explain how to sail the boat while the boat's sailing on the water.
05:53So to be able to just hit pause, talk through a scenario and then hit play and go again has
05:57been really helpful.
05:58Amazing. Go well. Thank you for your time.
06:02Arnaud Duplanter is one of the most exciting prospects here at SailGP.
06:06He joined the Swiss team back in 2024 and has been battling to get a spot on the boat ever
06:11since.
06:12However, the journey to a spot on the F-50 is long and hard and full of sailors who have
06:16much more experience on the boats than him.
06:18So something like the simulator is essential to Arnaud Duplanter getting his place.
06:24Arnaud, how has things been since you joined the Swiss team?
06:28Well, it's been really good. Lots of improvement and lots of learning.
06:31And we're sat on the sim. I saw you doing your thing on it earlier. How important has the sim
06:36been to your development as an athlete?
06:38Important because I'm obviously not one of the athletes on board, but I'm a reserve.
06:42So I have to try and learn all these positions and, you know, like keep the muscle memory in my
06:47fingers.
06:48So in case I have to jump in, just trying to, you know, get things rolling.
06:51And when you have gone on board before, have you found that you kind of have the muscle memory and
06:57its similarities between the simulator and on board the F-50?
07:00Well, there's a few stuff that are similar, obviously, the positioning of the buttons and everything.
07:04But in the case of the reflex that you have on board, comparing the platform to what's real,
07:10and obviously all the g-force and the water you take in the face, yeah.
07:14It changes things.
07:15Yeah, yeah.
07:16In terms of roles on the boat, obviously I'm sat in the driver role.
07:20You've got wing trimmer, flight controller.
07:22What would you choose if you could pick any as the role that you take on board?
07:26Well, you've asked this question already and you said I was a bit too politically correct.
07:31Today I can say I want to be a wing trimmer.
07:32Okay, cool. So you've made your mind up. You're going for it.
07:35Getting practice on board the actual F-50 out on the water is difficult, right?
07:39Because you guys don't get a huge amount of time.
07:41So how many hours have you been putting in outside of that?
07:44In the simulator or in other elements to get those hours in?
07:48So in the simulator I'm maybe about, like, just above ten hours, possibly.
07:53But on board now, with CLGP League, trying to get, you know, the rookies in and giving us these half
07:58an hour sessions here and there.
08:00Probably two, two and a half hours. So, not a lot.
08:04Do you ever just sneak in at night and just have a go?
08:07I won't tell you.
08:08Get the keys from just in here.
08:10We can find Arno on the simulator at night, bleary-eyed when he's jet-lagged.
08:16Well, best of luck, man. Thank you for your time. Cheers.
08:20Now it's my go on the simulator.
08:23Not that I know what I'm doing or how to do this or even what any of these things do,
08:27but it's a steering wheel so I'm assuming I just aim for the finishing line to win.
08:32Oh, maybe not because we've had a shocker here.
08:34Is there anything crazy? Look, we're rocking! Now we're flying!
08:37Where does it say how fast I'm going?
08:41Okay, nice. 75.
08:43We haven't beat the speed record yet but we're going to try.
08:45This is so cool. This is like the world's best gaming console.
08:49I would love one of these at home. How much are we talking, Draken?
08:54Too much.
08:56I'm assuming you come with it.
08:59Okay, cool. I can see why it's so hard to do on the water though.
09:02And I'm only doing one job of six.
09:07Right pedal.
09:08Oh, right pedal. They're pedals.
09:12Yep, there you go.
09:14Okay, that was a bit of a stitch up because he said he was doing the boards.
09:18Can't get the crew these days.
09:20Peter Berling style, a bit of Steve with it.
09:22Apparently it's going zero miles an hour.
09:26Drop the board. Here we go. Nice.
09:29Okay, I don't need someone who needs to help me here.
09:31Someone needs to help. This has gone terribly.
09:34The simulator is absolutely vital for the teams to get their athletes to understand how the boat actually works.
09:41It's all about hours on the boat.
09:43But if you can get those hours done while staying dry off the water, who would say no to that?
