It’s called Patriot and has the cyclors lying down and facing astern and helmsmen and It’s called Patriot, it has the cyclors lying down and facing aft and the helmsman and related trimmer are next to each other. It is the new AC75 for the America’s Cup from American Magic which made its official appearance last May 8th complete with mast, foil and rudder and completed its first voyages in front of Barcelona. The launching ceremony of Patriot began at 5.45am with Clare Harrington, Vice-Commodore of the New York Yacht Club, who broke the traditional bottle of champagne on the boat. Then the launch and the discovery of the many new features of this AC75, the result of the work of the design team led by Design Coordinator Scott Ferguson. (here all our posts about America’s Cup)
New solutions for cyclor and foil
After the launch, Patriot made a sea trial showing, as is mandatory with the new AC75s, a very low trim on the water. The first innovation is the cyclors that work lying down and facing aft, a solution never seen before on board an AC75 and which will certainly start a debate on the greater power that can be developed in this way as well as on load peaks. Another novelty, helmsman and trimmer side by side and in a forward position while for the foils the American Magic team has chosen for this first set a slightly curved design with a straight terminal and for the arms three sectors with the lower one having a camera inserted .
America’s Cup: the others continue testing
With Patriot’s first sea test, there are now five protagonists of the 37th Americas’ Cup underway. With Taihoro, the AC75 of Emirates Tema New Zealand which is about to conclude its tests in Auckland and which is preparing to be embarked on a ship to reach, after a month (barring unforeseen events), Barcelona. For its part, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli is continuing its tests in Cagliari where it also carried out tests with 20 knots of wind, being able to test a new, practically flat foil which has literally impressed with the performance it allows to obtain.
Alinghi Red Bull Racing and its Martian hull
As the days go by and the outings go by, it is increasingly possible to appreciate the true forms of Alinghi Red Bull Racing’s BoatOne; shapes that had already aroused much curiosity in the spectacular unveiling of last April 5th. With the boat in flight, the design of the hull which at the stern presents a real “terrace” that detaches from the central hull becomes evident and shows the result of the design team led by Marcelino Botin and who was able to count on the contribution of Adrian Martin Newey, technical director of the Red Bull Formula 1 team since 2006 and from next year of Ferrari.
America’s Cup: even an UFO in the INEOS Britannia tests
In the test series of the four AC75s already in Barcelona, there was a first accident due to debris found in the sea in front of the city. BR3 pays the price. The INEOS Britannia AC 75 was forced to interrupt an exit at sea and return to tow to the base due to the collision with a UFO on the elevator.
And speaking of elevators, BR3 in one of its tests featured a new rudder with a larger elevator area that resulted in a higher ride on the water than previously seen. But given that each team has the possibility of having 4 rudders, it is likely that other solutions will be seen.
All this while waiting for the presentation of the Orient Express Racing Team’s AC75 which arrived in Barcelona on 6 April. That day the team announced that the boat would be ready within two months. We are therefore waiting for the end of May-early June to discover the last challenger at the 37th America’s Cup.
Emilio Martinelli
