The sober Spithill: “This is the boat we will use to win the America’s Cup.” Oracle launches the AC50
THE PERFECT GIFT!
Give or treat yourself to a subscription to the print + digital Journal of Sailing and for only 69 euros a year you get the magazine at home plus read it on your PC, smartphone and tablet. With a sea of advantages.
Back-and-forth. Team New Zealand launches its “pedal-powered” AC50, Oracle retaliates with the “bluster” of James Spithill, who at the launch of the new catamaran declares,“This is the boat we will use to win the America’s Cup.” The start of the Bermuda America’s Cup is still more than three months away, but the mood is already psychological warfare.
In the usual star-studded ceremony, defender Oracle Team USA unveiled its new AC50 to the sailing world. A small crowd of journalists gathered outside a hangar, a sliding door opens, and the silhouette of the new flying catamaran emerges among the scenic smoke. Then the Australian helmsman’s muscular and forceful announcements: this is how Oracle responds, with typical defender rhetoric, to Team New Zealand’s design innovations. In defiance of sailor superstition, the new AC50 has been renamed “17.”
Amid so much “smoke,” the most interesting fact from the ceremony held at the U.S. base in Bermuda is one: the U.S. boat has classic coffee grinders. So among the three top teams (the Defender, Land Rover BAR Racing and Emirates Team New Zealand), the only ones to have chosen a different design path are the Kiwis. In the few weeks left before the start of racing, it is to be ruled out that BAR Racing may change its approach and “copy” the New Zealanders, assuming the Kiwi choice proves successful. Different is the case for the defender, who will have more time before the final challenge to be able to study the challengers and may, but it appears difficult, change something in the process.
In this regard, Scott Ferguson, Oracle design team coordinator, pointed out, “Most of the design decisions have been made and are already visible this evening.” The AC50 will go into the water immediately for the first speed tests, we will know more in the coming days.
Mauro Giuffrè
Share:
Are you already a subscriber?
Ultimi annunci
Our social
Sign up for our Newsletter
We give you a gift
Sailing, its stories, all boats, accessories. Sign up now for our free newsletter and receive the best news selected by the Sailing Newspaper editorial staff each week. Plus we give you one month of GdV digitally on PC, Tablet, Smartphone. Enter your email below, agree to the Privacy Policy and click the “sign me up” button. You will receive a code to activate your month of GdV for free!
You may also be interested in.
Loro Piana Giraglia, Ker 40 Vito 2 on its way to overall victory
The final arrivals of the Loro Piana Giraglia are underway in Genoa, an edition of the offshore race marked by very light winds, which put a strain on the more than 100 participants. So many retirements due to the becalmed
Loro Piana Giraglia: war of nerves and no wind, Scallywag first in Genoa
From last year’s 35-knot Mistral to this year’s almost total lack of wind, the Loro Piana Giraglia is like that, and that is why it remains one of the most fascinating offshore races in the Mediterranean. It may not be
Loro Piana Giraglia: the long one started, it will be war of nerves in the light wind
With high pressure and light winds looming over the fleet, the offshore race of the Loro Piana Giraglia started from Saint Tropez. A total of 107 boats are taking part in the Giraglia offshore race, divided between ORC (52) and
Vaurien, the historical dinghy that brings back the purity of sailing
From July 13 to 19 in the waters of Bracciano (Rome) the 2025 World Championship dedicated to the Vaurien takes place. A prestigious and extremely competitive event, however, which takes place under the banner of a spirit that rewards sailing