Why are the sailors no longer sitting on the windward rail in this America's Cup?

Question

Now they all seem to be crouched down in the cockpit instead of sitting on the rail. Is the extra weight on the windward side not important any more? Is there too much windage? When did they start crouching down instead of sitting on the rail?

Answer 1

I got this from a sailing enthusiast at work...

Sailors historically sat to windward to help the boat sail faster by acting as movable ballast. One guess is that AC boat design rules and ballast system have now incorporated water ballast tanks below decks where water can be pumped from one side to the other to provide the same effect and without the wind drag that all those bulky bodies produced. Movable seawater ballast has been used on ocean racers for a few years, so maybe it’s now allowed on AC boats.

Also, three rules about sailing:

You can’t sail into the wind

You can’t breathe water

Everything else is an opinion.

Answer 2

This was discussed on during one of the races, and according to the announcer, during the kind of wind conditions they were having in Valencia, the crew crouches down to minimize the wind resistance of the boat.