The starting speeds, average distances and fly times of Christchurch’s three-boat, winner-takes-all Final have been revealed - and show that Canada crucially performed one less maneuver than the Kiwis and Aussies.
Data provided by the three cutting-edge F50s prove that Canada picked up the highest average speed - 59.3 km/h - and top speed overall - 84.2 km/h - in comparison to Australia and New Zealand.
While New Zealand narrowly sailed the shortest distance overall - a total of 11,098m in comparison to Canada’s 11,112m and Australia’s 11,310m, Canada performed seven maneuvers compared to New Zealand and Australia’s eight.
The crucial moment unfolded on the sixth leg of the race when an unforced error by Canada saw the team pick up a boundary penalty. This required the team to drop 20m relative to New Zealand but also meant the team performed just one maneuver throughout the leg. By comparison, the Kiwis executed three.
While New Zealand sailed a shorter distance overall, the Canadians therefore sailed a shorter distance in the sixth leg - 2,073m compared to New Zealand’s 2,122m. This was a theme repeated in the final reach to the finish, which saw Canada cover a distance of 176.5m compared to New Zealand’s 204.2m.
Across other metrics, the three teams were evenly matched. New Zealand had the highest fly time - foiling for 99.8% of the Final, while Canada had the second highest of 98.9% due to falling off the foils on the fourth leg of the race. Australia’s fly time meanwhile weighed in at 97.8%.
Australia was closest to the start line at the gun - just 5.2m away compared to New Zealand’s 9.6m and Canada’s 9.4m. But it was the Kiwis who had the quickest start - a speed of 75 km/h in comparison to Canada’s 68.7 km/h and Australia’s 71.7 km/h.
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