America’s Cup: AC75, Designed to Fly

It was August 2012 when the sailing world was turned upside down by a 72-foot catamaran flying in the Hauraki Gulf. Emirates Team New Zealand had brought foiling to the America’s Cup and changed the face of top-level yacht racing forever.

Since then the increase in performance for America’s Cup boats has been greater than at any point in the 170-year history of the event.

Six years later, in 2018, the publication of the AC75 Class rule marked the beginning of a new sailing era. Nowadays foils are commonplace, but the engineering and sailing techniques needed to get the AC75 to fly are completely different from anything seen before.

To start with, the AC75 is big – 75-feet long and 16-feet wide – but, it’s also light, which is crucial, because the AC75 is designed to fly. It’s also different – rather than a keel, a brand new concept keeps it standing. Foil Cant Arms move under, or outside, the boat to provide the leverage it needs to stay upright.

Some parts of the boat are supplied or specified – the mast tube, rigging, foil-cant arms and their hydraulics are all stock components. But, there are still plenty of areas that designers can experiment with to find a race-winning edge.

To start with, the AC75 is big – 75-feet long and 16-feet wide – but, it’s also light, which is crucial, because the AC75 is designed to fly. It’s also different – rather than a keel, a brand new concept keeps it standing. Foil Cant Arms move under, or outside, the boat to provide the leverage it needs to stay upright.

Some parts of the boat are supplied or specified – the mast tube, rigging, foil-cant arms and their hydraulics are all stock components. But, there are still plenty of areas that designers can experiment with to find a race-winning edge.

Video uploaded Aug 2, 2020.

Source: America’s Cup

Details: www.americascup.com

36th America’s Cup
In addition to Challenges from Italy, USA, and Great Britain that were accepted during the initial entry period (January 1 to June 30, 2018), eight additional Notices of Challenge were received by the late entry deadline on November 30, 2018. Of those eight submittals, entries from Malta, USA, and the Netherlands were also accepted. Here’s the list:

Defender:
• Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL)

Challengers:
• Luna Rossa (ITA) – Challenger of Record
• American Magic (USA)
• INEOS Team UK (GBR)
• Malta Altus Challenge (MLT) – WITHDRAW
• Stars + Stripes Team USA (USA)
• DutchSail (NED) – WITHDRAW

Of the three late entries, only Stars+Stripes USA remains committed, however, it is unclear what entry payments have been made, nor is there knowledge of a boat being actively built or sailing team assembled.

Key America’s Cup dates:
✔ September 28, 2017: 36th America’s Cup Protocol released
✔ November 30, 2017: AC75 Class concepts released to key stakeholders
✔ January 1, 2018: Entries for Challengers open
✔ March 31, 2018: AC75 Class Rule published
✔ June 30, 2018: Entries for Challengers close
✔ August 31, 2018: Location of the America’s Cup Match and The PRADA Cup confirmed
✔ August 31, 2018: Specific race course area confirmed
✔ November 30, 2018: Late entries deadline
✔ March 31, 2019: Boat 1 can be launched (DELAYED)
✔ 2nd half of 2019: 2 x America’s Cup World Series events (CANCELLED)
✔ October 1, 2019: US$1million late entry fee deadline (NOT KNOWN)
✔ February 1, 2020: Boat 2 can be launched (DELAYED)
✔ April 23-26, 2020: First (1/3) America’s Cup World Series event in Cagliari, Sardinia (CANCELLED)
✔ June 4-7, 2020: Second (2/3) America’s Cup World Series event in Portsmouth, England (CANCELLED)
• December 17-20, 2020: Third (3/3) America’s Cup World Series event in Auckland, New Zealand
• January 15-February 22, 2021: The PRADA Cup Challenger Selection Series
• March 6-15, 2021: The America’s Cup Match

Youth America’s Cup Competition
• February 18-23, 2021
• March 1-5, 2021
• March 8-12, 2021

AC75 launch dates:
September 6 – Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Boat 1
September 10 – American Magic (USA), Boat 1; actual launch date earlier but not released
October 2 – Luna Rossa (ITA), Boat 1
October 4 – INEOS Team UK (GBR), Boat 1

Details: www.americascup.com