00:00Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada
00:30We know that there's a lot more that goes into it, especially at this level.
00:33Maybe talk us through what are you actually trying to achieve as a wing trimmer?
00:36Red Bull Italy have nailed their first manoeuvre.
00:39The big thing is focusing on the speed, so you've got to have a good feeling.
00:42You've obviously got instrumentation there to help you see what the speeds are,
00:45but it's a lot about your feeling, you know, when the boat accelerates,
00:48how much of an adjustment you need to make on the wing sheet or the twist control,
00:53and kind of really trying to predict what's coming with the wind.
00:56So when the gust is hitting the boat, trying to anticipate how strong that wind is
01:02or how light it's getting, and that will determine how big a change you make.
01:06It's a drag versus power trade-off.
01:09So we're trying to reduce as much drag as possible,
01:11but not so much that the hull is hitting the water,
01:14because then we need to generate more power,
01:16and then when you generate power, it's drag.
01:18Oh, well, let's pop up in the boat and see where all that data input and feel comes in.
01:22Perfect, let's go.
01:24Okay, so this is where you're sitting.
01:26You've got your wing sheet here.
01:27Tell us how much you can feel in that.
01:29What does that do as a wing trimmer to understand the power?
01:32Yeah, so you've got the wing sheet in your hand,
01:34and basically you'll see on the camera is the wing moving backwards and forwards, up and down,
01:39and that's basically this rope being let out and being pulled on.
01:43But we can't pull it on by ourselves, so we've got two grinders,
01:45and they're powering this winch, spinning the winch around,
01:48and that allows us to pull it back on.
01:50When you pull it on, you generate more power.
01:52When you let it down, you lose power.
01:54That combination of the work between the driver, the wing trimmer, and the flight controller,
01:59you have to be so ashamed to let the boat take off well.
02:01Obviously, you've got to work pretty closely with the grinders,
02:03so if it does touch down, it's not their fault,
02:05or you're always talking to them about what you need, what's coming up ahead?
02:08Got a nice gap here, no one behind, no threats right now.
02:11All lefty coming, just be careful, we're getting stuck low.
02:16It's the grinders and the wing trimmer who's trimming the boat.
02:19It's not just the responsibility of the wing trimmer,
02:21because without the grinders, we can't sail.
02:23So it's really a lot of teamwork there,
02:26and what's important is to have the same feel.
02:28So when the hull's coming down, what is the moment you start grinding?
02:33Because we have two ways to generate power.
02:35One is with the wing sheet, but the other one is with the twist as well.
02:38And so the coordination between the grinders and the wing trimmer,
02:40whether you're using the sheet or the twist,
02:42that needs to be unspoken,
02:44because we don't have the time to communicate that.
02:46So, you know, that relationship is hugely important.
02:49There's so much information that you're inputting.
02:51Obviously, you've got the wing sheet in your hand,
02:53you've got the data that's coming at you,
02:54and obviously using your eyes.
02:56Just talk us through, what are you kind of processing in real time
02:59to help optimise performance?
03:01I think the best sensor on board is the people,
03:05and so your feeling is always number one,
03:07but it's important that you back that up and validate that with data.
03:10So we have the boat speed,
03:12which is probably the number one thing that I'm looking at,
03:14and also your angle to the wind.
03:16And so you want to be as high to the wind and as fast as possible,
03:20and you're using your feeling,
03:21and then you're always checking in with the data.
03:24Because if you're just sailing along, not looking at the data,
03:27it may feel great,
03:28but then your competitor will come ripping past you,
03:30and you'll realise,
03:31oh, actually, we could have done something differently.
03:32So it's always important to trust your feel,
03:35but be open with the data
03:37to make sure that you're checking in with where you're at.
03:39Got it, drive speed.
03:40And board, yeah.
03:41Three, two, five.
03:44Turning, H1 exit.
03:45Going to be H2 here.
03:47We hear you talking those numbers all the time.
03:49Obviously, you talk about boat speed, angle,
03:52and that's really critical, I guess, in the foiling, not foiling.
03:55We hear you call modes like H1, H2 foiling.
03:58As a wing trimmer, does that responsibility rely on you
04:00because you've got, I guess, the most connection
04:03between, I guess, the front of the boat,
04:04the back of the boat, and the wing sail?
04:06The trimmer has the best feel of the power,
04:08and it's hard for the, without the rope in your hand,
04:11you can actually feel the load changing.
04:12So when you have a lot of power,
04:14this gets heavier and gets harder to hold.
04:16So when we're sailing in a windy venue,
04:18this is actually really difficult to hold onto this rope
04:20because there's so much load through it.
04:21So you can feel the power,
04:22whereas the helm can't feel that power in their hand.
04:26And so it's important that you're kind of the link
04:27between the feel that they have on the wheel
04:30and on the rudder and the power available in the sail.
04:40And there's a strong trend that the faster you enter a manoeuvre,
04:43the better the manoeuvre will be.
04:44And so with these courses being so short and narrow
04:48that the manoeuvre loss is huge.
04:52So if you can be gaining 5 metres, 10 metres in every manoeuvre,
04:56then that's going to put you to the front of the leaderboard,
04:58whereas the differences in straight line
05:00are typically not so much,
05:01but it's really the manoeuvres
05:02where carrying a bit of extra speed into that manoeuvre,
05:06yeah, it's big gains.
05:08Coming up now.
05:10Coming up.
05:11Trim, Trim, Trim, Yana, Trim, please.
05:13There's a lot of pressure when it's those foiling,
05:15not foiling manoeuvres.
05:16As a wing trimmer,
05:16how much are you sort of calling that mode out of it,
05:19foiling touch and go sort of things,
05:21like how much pressure is on you to make that call?
05:24Yeah, I mean, every team does it differently
05:25on who's actually determining that call,
05:27but I mean, the key bits of information
05:29are what's your speed going into it,
05:31how efficient is the board dropping into the water,
05:33because if it's a bad board drop,
05:35the boat will slow down,
05:36which means that when you get to the end of the turn,
05:38you'll be even slower,
05:38so you could be on the cusp of foiling or not foiling.
05:41So it's really a lot of feel
05:43and also looking at the wind,
05:45because you need to know how much power
05:46you're going to have available on exit
05:48with what's coming with the breeze.
05:52One of the things that is obviously so critical
05:54in the F50 is popping on the foils.
05:56Maybe talk us through your role as a wing trimmer
05:58to get the boat flying.
05:59Go full trim.
06:00Or down if you want.
06:01Go Yana, go hard, go hard.
06:02Full gas.
06:04Go foiling straight away here.
06:05Yeah, so the popping on the foils
06:07is a really important part of this, obviously,
06:11you know, especially in the marginal conditions.
06:12And the teams that do it best will win the race
06:14because you accelerate, you know,
06:1515, 20, 30 kilometres as soon as you're up in the foil.
06:18And so for me, my focus is on the heel.
06:21So I keep the, you know, to go from H2 to H1,
06:24that's the hull coming out of the water.
06:26That's just monitoring the power in the wing.
06:28And then when you're popping onto the foils,
06:30it's all about reducing drag.
06:31So we're also, you know, when the hull comes out of the water,
06:34it's reducing drag on the hull.
06:36But we're also wanting to reduce aero drag.
06:38And it's really that balance between power and drag.
06:42You don't want to touch down on the windward hull
06:44when you pop on the foil.
06:46So, but you want to reduce as much drag as possible,
06:48which means losing power.
06:49So it's just a matter of finding that balance
06:52and, you know, making sure this windward hull
06:54never touches the water during a takeoff.
06:56The other thing that happens as you accelerate,
06:58the wind flowing across the wing,
06:59I imagine changes a lot as well.
07:01Let's get it foiling.
07:02Change of page.
07:04It's got to invest you guys.
07:05Popping, 30.
07:07Yeah, it's massive.
07:08And I mean, the drag is going up massively.
07:11The power is going up with the apparent wind speed.
07:13And so, you know, you can be sailing in,
07:16you know, 15 kilometres of wind speed.
07:19But then as soon as you start foiling,
07:21that wind speed that you feel on the boat will be 60.
07:24So the apparent wind speed
07:26and the massive changes in shape to the sail you have to make
07:30through these controls,
07:31this control panel is quite massive.
07:34The other thing that I love watching
07:35is obviously the pre-start.
07:36And you've got the driver
07:37that's trying to thread the needle here
07:39or lead the fleet in.
07:40And that really, I guess,
07:41changes the way that you as a wing trimmer have to respond.
07:43How much, I guess, role does a wing trimmer play
07:47in a start in managing that acceleration
07:49when, you know, it's really in your hand?
07:51I'm 50, a little early.
07:53Probably do a similar approach,
07:54but just to try get a bit lower.
07:55You really need to know what the driver's thinking.
07:57And at times, it's not easy for the driver
08:00to communicate what they want to do
08:02because the boats are travelling so quickly
08:04and the gap that they're going for
08:05may not be there in a second.
08:07So you need to have the instinct of the driver.
08:09So we spend a lot of time talking about the starts.
08:11I'm trying to get into Phil's head
08:13with what he's trying to achieve
08:14so I can kind of give him the platform
08:16to do whatever he wants, basically.
08:25He can do that turn or he can, you know, come up.
08:29And so you're trying to be always ahead of the game
08:31because as soon as you're reactionary, you're behind.
08:33It is Red Bull Italy with Phil Robertson out in front
08:36as they are looking for their first win here this weekend.
08:39It's always fun being out in front
08:40because you've got what we call clear air.
08:41but when you're kind of in the pack, there's disturbed air.
08:44How does that impact you as a wing trimmer?
08:45Can you feel that or is that getting relayed in the data?
08:48The first way you see it is on the wind speed.
08:50So the, you know, the true wind speed that we see on board,
08:53you know, you get to the end of the race
08:54and if our true wind speed is lower than our competitors,
08:56we've clearly been sailing in less breeze than them.
09:00So, which means that we've been in bad air or disturbed air
09:02and you can definitely feel it on board.
09:04I mean, the performance of the boat just doesn't go,
09:07you know, so that disturbed air is huge
09:09and we basically spend all of our time,
09:11particularly with the mark-rounding decision,
09:13trying to decide, you know, where is the clear air going to be
09:16and trying to avoid the bad air as much as possible.
09:19One other variable you've got to play with
09:21is you've got three different wing sizes.
09:23So how does it change for you
09:25when you go from an 18 to 24 to maybe a 27 and a half
09:27in terms of the way that you might do your job?
09:31The performance of the wings is massively different
09:33and again, it's due to drag.
09:35So the 18 metre wing is, you know, we think it's tiny,
09:38you know, and we love using that wing
09:39because when you tack with that wing
09:41in the middle of the manoeuvre
09:43where you're not generating any power
09:44and it's all drag,
09:45you just coast through that middle part of the turn
09:48compared to the 27 metre wing
09:49where it's a lot more drag through the manoeuvre.
09:51So, yeah, it changes your take-off speeds,
09:54your manoeuvre entry speeds
09:56and also your moding as well.
09:57When you have the big wing on and it's a lot of drag,
10:00we don't necessarily go to a fast reaching mode upwind
10:03because there's diminished returns
10:05because there's so much drag
10:06that you actually don't accelerate and go any faster
10:08whereas the little wing,
10:09it's not good to stay high and slow
10:11because you lack power.
10:13So you want to get the boat ripping
10:15and get the apparaid going.
10:18The other thing that really, I guess, impacts you
10:20is the type of race course.
10:22So, for example, the reader,
10:23a longer race course, more consistent breeze
10:25whereas if you go to a harbour course,
10:27it's gusty, it's shifty.
10:28How much harder does that make your role
10:31when you're in those sort of gusty venues?
10:33The gusty venues mean the coordination
10:35between the grinders, the wing trimmer,
10:37the wing trimmer, the flight controller,
10:38wing trimmer and helm
10:39is that much more important
10:41and everything's a lot more critical.
10:42So to keep the boat sailing at 100%,
10:44then that coordination needs to be flawless.
10:48Two, one coming up now.
10:53Sharp gusts coming
10:54and you need to react quickly.
10:56That's where really the good teams come out on top.
11:00Fast mode.
11:01Up here.
11:02Oh, yeah.
11:02Red Bull Italy in a tight one right now
11:05with Everest TBR.
11:06I guess in all your years tripping a wing,
11:08what's the one thing that, you know,
11:10has really stuck with you
11:11that really, no matter what,
11:12that's the basic that you've got to nail every time?
11:15Yeah, good question.
11:17I mean, if I come in from a day
11:18and this windward hull hasn't touched the water,
11:22that's a good day.
11:22But also, we don't want it too hard
11:24because then it's, you know,
11:26it changes the cant on the foil.
11:27So, you know,
11:28if I can have good heel control for a day,
11:29then that's a win.
11:30Red Bull Italy will come across the line.
11:33They claim the victory in race three here in Rio.
11:36Awesome. Thank you so much, Kyle.
11:37I mean, I think that that was
11:38quite a lot of detail for everyone,
11:40but it just goes to show
11:41how much you're doing in real time,
11:43how much you're processing,
11:43multi-tasking
11:45and sometimes you make it look easy,
11:46but there's a lot going on on the boat.
11:48Make sure you subscribe to SailGP's YouTube channel
11:50for the most exciting race on water.
