We outline the development of a model for predicting the outcome of a yacht match race between two competing designs. The model is a fixed-time-increment simulation that accounts for the dynamic performance of each yacht. The wind speed and direction are modelled using hidden Markov chain models. Each yacht is assumed to follow a fixed sailing strategy determined by a set of simple decision rul...

The steady and unsteady aerodynamic behaviour of a sailing yacht is investigated in this work by using full-scale testing on a Stewart 34. The aerodynamic forces developed by the yacht in real time are derived from knowledge of the differential pressures across the sails and the sail shape. Experimental results are compared with numerical computation and good agreement was found.

Due to the strong nonlinearity and uncertainty, the impact on autopilot dynamic constraints, and wave interference, So it is a formidable task to designed yacht course controller with excellent performance. To solve this problem, a nonlinear control strategy of active disturbance rejection is suggested, and the adaptive ability of the auto disturbance rejection controller is improved on line by...

We consider the problem of finding a route that minimises the expected sailing time between two points on the ocean under uncertain weather conditions. This has applications in long distance offshore yacht racing. The uncertainty in the weather is modelled by a branching scenario tree that captures the serial correlation inherent in the evolution of weather systems over time. The stochastic sol...

The 1998 Sydney-Hobart yacht race was affected by storm-force winds on the afternoon of 27 December 1998. Of the 115 yachts that contested the race, 71 retired, six were abandoned, and five sank. Fifty-five crew were rescued, and six lives were lost (see Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) 1999). These storm-force winds were associated with a mesoscale extratropical cyclone that developed d...

OBJECTIVES To quantify the incidence and type of medical problem arising during an amateur circumnavigation yacht race, the BT Global Challenge. METHODS All cases from 14 participating yachts in a confidential medical log completed by an appointed medic were reported. RESULTS A total of 685 cases were reported, of which 299 (43.6%) were injuries and 386 (56.4%) illnesses. The subtype of inj...

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The aerodynamic behavior of a 48’ yacht rig 3D scale model was characterized by means of wind tunnel tests. The experimental program, performed in the Politecnico di Milano Twisted Flow Wind Tunnel, allowed the aerodynamic forces to be characterized using forced motion tests and the aeroelastic behavior of the sail plan to be studied. Preliminary results are presented with reference to the typi...

We describe some applications of mathematical optimization techniques to yacht performance analysis. Applications include sail trim optimization in wind tunnels, match race modelling under uncertainty, and America’s Cup design optimization under uncertain weather conditions.

This work presents a full scale experimental study on the aero-elastic wind/sails/rig interaction in real navigation conditions with the aim to give an experimental validation of unsteady Fluid Structure Interaction (FSI) models applied to yacht sails. An inboard instrumentation system has been developed on a J80 yacht to simultaneously and dynamically measure the navigation parameters, yacht’s...