APPLICATION: ADCPs and the America's Cup

ADCPs™ Assist Team New Zealand Navigate the Race Course

Spring tides during the first few races of the America's Cup in Feb 2000 will produce strong tidal flows. If winds are light, knowing about these water currents will be vital competitive intelligence. Thanks to ADCP™ work by Ross Vennell at Otago University in New Zealand, the Cup defenders will have very detailed pictures of tidal current patterns around the course and through the tidal cycle. As well as strong tidal currents, Vennell's ADCP™ measurements have also shown that significant wind-driven surface currents can be found around the course during times of strong (20-knot) winds.

In the high tech world of the America's Cup yacht race, small differences in boat speed can spell victory or defeat. The highly resolved tidal maps prepared for Team New Zealand result from the merging of ADCP™ data with a computer model. The boat's crew will use this information to aid tactical decisions such as (1) timing the yacht's approach to the start line (2) choosing the more favorable side of the racecourse (3) selecting the optimal course to steer on each leg.

As well as competitive yacht racing, ADCPs™ in New Zealand are also being used in harbors to provide detailed current maps to assist pilots. This information is especially valuable for aiding pilots to maneuver vessels over 200 m long in confined ports. The ADCP™ measurements are also being used as input to computer simulators for training N.Z. harbor pilots in the virtual world.