Sunday on Sydney Harbour

[khiemtran]

It's a brilliant Sunday in Sydney and we're out with my sister and family, keen sailing fans, on Sydney Harbour.



Why?

Because guess who else has come to Sydney?



It's Oracle Team USA, here with an AC45 to train with Team Australia, the Challenger of Record for the next America's Cup.



And here's the challenger...



These AC45s are the little sisters of the AC72 used for the actual America's Cup showdown. But up close, they still look big and fast. These things can easily go twice as fast as the wind.



The two boats racing together. It's easy to imagine how exciting it would be seeing the full-size AC72 up on their foils.



And, of course, just how far the crew would have to fall if they were to flip.



The Harbour was filled with boats. There were at least three races going on at any given time and innumerable pleasure craft between them. Not to mention the ferries ploughing their way through.



But the AC45s sliced effortlessly through the pack.



After stopping a break and some fishing off the alarmingly named Shark Beach (no sharks encountered), we had just enough time to catch Sydney's famous 18 foot skiffs in full flight.



This is the start of the last race of the JJ Giltinan Trophy, the premier event of the year. These boats are amazing to watch, just as long as you can stay out of their way...



Heading back after a long day on the water...

Comments

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

Indeed a great day for taking to the water. You must have seen some impressive maneuvering!

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Yes, it was amazing to watch! We also got to have a nice picnic lunch on the water in one of the little bays just past the Harbour Bridge. I guess it's the sort of thing that tourists assume Sydneysiders do all the time.

[soon_lee]

Looks a beautiful day on the water.

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

It was! Definitely one to remember...

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Wonderful photography! I love the shot of the crew out on the outrigger portions of that one boat in particular. And oh that scarlet sail!

And you know what I realized? The sails, with words and logos on them, remind me of the upright portion of an airplane's tail fin. In fact, for a moment that's what I thought I was seeing in the second photo: the tail of a plane.

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Well spotted! They are actually are wings on the AC45s (technically "wingsails"). That's part of the reason they were designed - to give crews a chance to practice sailing using wingsails before moving on to the larger AC72s (which are used in the America's Cup). The AC72s also have lifting foils under their beams (hulls) so both beams can rise up out of the water.