Marine

Radical America's Cup concept promises faster, safer yacht racing

Radical America's Cup concept promises faster, safer yacht racing
Emirates Team New Zealand says the AC75 yacht design will make for great match racing
Emirates Team New Zealand says the AC75 yacht design will make for great match racing
View 34 Images
Emirates Team New Zealand says the AC75 yacht design will make for great match racing
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Emirates Team New Zealand says the AC75 yacht design will make for great match racing
Looking beyond the America's Cup, Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa are looking at ways the AC75's innovating foiling system can be adapted to other sailing classes and yachts
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Looking beyond the America's Cup, Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa are looking at ways the AC75's innovating foiling system can be adapted to other sailing classes and yachts
Defending champions Emirates Team New Zealand got together with challenger Luna Rossa over a period of four months to look at a variety of monohull concepts for their upcoming tussle
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Defending champions Emirates Team New Zealand got together with challenger Luna Rossa over a period of four months to look at a variety of monohull concepts for their upcoming tussle
Emirates Team New Zealand says the AC75 yacht design will make for great match racing
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Emirates Team New Zealand says the AC75 yacht design will make for great match racing
According to early simulations, the AC75 could outperform the multi-hull catamarans to feature in recent America's Cups
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According to early simulations, the AC75 could outperform the multi-hull catamarans to feature in recent America's Cups
Emirates Team New Zealand says the AC75 yacht design will make for great match racing
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Emirates Team New Zealand says the AC75 yacht design will make for great match racing
Looking beyond the America's Cup, Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa are looking at ways the AC75's innovating foiling system can be adapted to other sailing classes and yachts
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Looking beyond the America's Cup, Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa are looking at ways the AC75's innovating foiling system can be adapted to other sailing classes and yachts
According to early simulations, the AC75 could outperform the multi-hull catamarans to feature in recent America's Cups
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According to early simulations, the AC75 could outperform the multi-hull catamarans to feature in recent America's Cups
Defending champions Emirates Team New Zealand got together with challenger Luna Rossa over a period of four months to look at a variety of monohull concepts for their upcoming tussle
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Defending champions Emirates Team New Zealand got together with challenger Luna Rossa over a period of four months to look at a variety of monohull concepts for their upcoming tussle
Emirates Team New Zealand says the AC75 yacht design will make for great match racing
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Emirates Team New Zealand says the AC75 yacht design will make for great match racing
Emirates Team New Zealand says the AC75 yacht design will make for great match racing
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Emirates Team New Zealand says the AC75 yacht design will make for great match racing
Looking beyond the America's Cup, Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa are looking at ways the AC75's innovating foiling system can be adapted to other sailing classes and yachts
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Looking beyond the America's Cup, Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa are looking at ways the AC75's innovating foiling system can be adapted to other sailing classes and yachts
The AC75 racing yacht concept for the America's Cup uses twin canting T-foils
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The AC75 racing yacht concept for the America's Cup uses twin canting T-foils
During maneuvers and when negotiating rough sea conditions, both of the AC75's foils can be lowered for more stability
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During maneuvers and when negotiating rough sea conditions, both of the AC75's foils can be lowered for more stability
Defending champions Emirates Team New Zealand got together with challenger Luna Rossa over a period of four months to look at a variety of monohull concepts for their upcoming tussle
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Defending champions Emirates Team New Zealand got together with challenger Luna Rossa over a period of four months to look at a variety of monohull concepts for their upcoming tussle
Emirates Team New Zealand says the AC75 yacht design will make for great match racing
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Emirates Team New Zealand says the AC75 yacht design will make for great match racing
Emirates Team New Zealand says the AC75 yacht design will make for great match racing
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Emirates Team New Zealand says the AC75 yacht design will make for great match racing
During maneuvers and when negotiating rough sea conditions, both of the AC75's foils can be lowered for more stability
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During maneuvers and when negotiating rough sea conditions, both of the AC75's foils can be lowered for more stability
Looking beyond the America's Cup, Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa are looking at ways the AC75's innovating foiling system can be adapted to other sailing classes and yachts
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Looking beyond the America's Cup, Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa are looking at ways the AC75's innovating foiling system can be adapted to other sailing classes and yachts
According to early simulations, the AC75 could outperform the multi-hull catamarans to feature in recent America's Cups
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According to early simulations, the AC75 could outperform the multi-hull catamarans to feature in recent America's Cups
Defending champions Emirates Team New Zealand got together with challenger Luna Rossa over a period of four months to look at a variety of monohull concepts for their upcoming tussle
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Defending champions Emirates Team New Zealand got together with challenger Luna Rossa over a period of four months to look at a variety of monohull concepts for their upcoming tussle
The AC75 racing yacht concept for the America's Cup uses twin canting T-foils
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The AC75 racing yacht concept for the America's Cup uses twin canting T-foils
During maneuvers and when negotiating rough sea conditions, both of the AC75's foils can be lowered for more stability
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During maneuvers and when negotiating rough sea conditions, both of the AC75's foils can be lowered for more stability
Emirates Team New Zealand says the AC75 yacht design will make for great match racing
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Emirates Team New Zealand says the AC75 yacht design will make for great match racing
Looking beyond the America's Cup, Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa are looking at ways the AC75's innovating foiling system can be adapted to other sailing classes and yachts
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Looking beyond the America's Cup, Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa are looking at ways the AC75's innovating foiling system can be adapted to other sailing classes and yachts
Defending champions Emirates Team New Zealand got together with challenger Luna Rossa over a period of four months to look at a variety of monohull concepts for their upcoming tussle
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Defending champions Emirates Team New Zealand got together with challenger Luna Rossa over a period of four months to look at a variety of monohull concepts for their upcoming tussle
Emirates Team New Zealand says the AC75 yacht design will make for great match racing
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Emirates Team New Zealand says the AC75 yacht design will make for great match racing
The AC75 racing yacht concept for the America's Cup uses twin canting T-foils
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The AC75 racing yacht concept for the America's Cup uses twin canting T-foils
During maneuvers and when negotiating rough sea conditions, both of the AC75's foils can be lowered for more stability
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During maneuvers and when negotiating rough sea conditions, both of the AC75's foils can be lowered for more stability
Rendering of the AC75's shape when docked in a marina
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Rendering of the AC75's shape when docked in a marina
Defending champions Emirates Team New Zealand got together with challenger Luna Rossa over a period of four months to look at a variety of monohull concepts for their upcoming tussle
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Defending champions Emirates Team New Zealand got together with challenger Luna Rossa over a period of four months to look at a variety of monohull concepts for their upcoming tussle
Rendering of the AC75 racing yacht
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Rendering of the AC75 racing yacht
Looking beyond the America's Cup, Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa are looking at ways the AC75's innovating foiling system can be adapted to other sailing classes and yachts
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Looking beyond the America's Cup, Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa are looking at ways the AC75's innovating foiling system can be adapted to other sailing classes and yachts
The AC75 racing yacht concept for the America's Cup uses twin canting T-foils
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The AC75 racing yacht concept for the America's Cup uses twin canting T-foils
View gallery - 34 images

The America's Cup, the oldest trophy in international sport, has been contested over a period of 160 years and until recently, was always done so in monohull sailing yachts. Following a flirtation with larger multi-hull yachts over the past seven years, the Cup is returning to its roots for the 36th installment, and we've just gotten our first look at what this next generation of monohull racers might look like.

Defending champions Emirates Team New Zealand got together with challenger Luna Rossa over a period of four months to look at a variety of monohull concepts for their upcoming tussle. The pair has revealed the AC75 concept this week, which outlines the class of boat to be sailed in the upcoming America's Cup, taking place in Auckland over 2020-2021.

The boat will use twin canting T-foils, one of which is lowered beneath the surface to lift the hull out of the water and the other sticking out sideways to keep it balanced and cut down on drag. That's in normal sailing mode, but during pre-starts, maneuvers and when negotiating rough sea conditions, both can be lowered for extra stability.

The AC75 racing yacht concept for the America's Cup uses twin canting T-foils
The AC75 racing yacht concept for the America's Cup uses twin canting T-foils

Emirates Team New Zealand says this will make for great match racing, but also better safety. Because the T-foils are ballasted, the boat is able to right itself in the event of a capsize and benefits from better roll stability at low speeds. In the shed and at the dock, both foils rest directly beneath the hull in a way that provides stability and enables the yacht to slot into a standard marina berth.

Looking beyond the America's Cup, Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa are looking at ways this innovating foiling system can be adapted to other sailing classes and yachts. They also say that according to early simulations, the AC75 could outperform the AC50 catamarans featured in recent events.

Emirates Team New Zealand says the AC75 yacht design will make for great match racing
Emirates Team New Zealand says the AC75 yacht design will make for great match racing

"We are really proud to present the concept of the AC75 today," says Grant Dalton, CEO of Emirates Team New Zealand. "It has been a phenomenal effort by Dan and the guys together with Luna Rossa design team and there is a lot of excitement building around the boat in the development and getting to this point. Our analysis of the performance of the foiling monohulls tells us that once the boat is up and foiling, the boat has the potential to be faster than an AC50 both upwind and downwind. Auckland is in for a highly competitive summer of racing in 2020 / 2021."

Check out the video below to get an idea of how AC75 will behave in the water.

Source: Emirates Team New Zealand

The America's Cup AC75 boat concept revealed.

View gallery - 34 images
5 comments
5 comments
Ed Llorca
going to be a bit ugly with a foil always stick out on one side. Hul to hull action may result in busted foils too. this is not terribly appealing...
Aross
Sailing used to be about getting the best out of a boat. This is just ugly. It looks more like a video game and that is where I think it should stay.
Bob
So, it's no longer the best boat hull design but the best hydrofoil design? Does it take a computer to run it or are there any real sailors left? Just turn each boat into a computerized drone. It's no longer a sport of skill and design.
ozboy61
The Americas Cup, once the badsportsmen of the rules committee of the US yacht club were finally taken out of the loop, has always been about the million dollar budgets and technology. May as well complain about the carbon fibre, NASA designed catamarans and go back to standardised trailor sailers if you whingers have your way. This is an evolution. How fast, cool (and unstable) will these sailing hydrofoils be. Remember, the cup holder gets to set the rules. If the Kiwis lose to the Japanese, Spanish or Norwegians, who knows what the new class will be. We could be sailing plastic, square rigged whaling boats.
spyinthesky
I am all for innovation but one thing concerns me here. It says 'Defending champions Emirates Team New Zealand got together with challenger Luna Rossa'.
Now fair enough the holder dictates the new design for the next series but what I can't get my head around is why it should be allowed for a 'challenger' to play a role in that design at the whim of the holder or indeed anyone else. That surely is likely to give a potential advantage to not only the holder (who one could argue may deserve it on past deeds) but also to a selected challenger which will potentially put a barrier up to others participating on equal terms. Either the holder should alone state the terms, or an international committee with their involvement (or not) should do so as in F1, so that all contenders have an equal base (are most importantly are seen to have an equal base) from which to work.
The Americas Cup was nothing when it was a one to one contest it would be sad to return to such a contrived position again.