ORACLE Racing team members celebrated a milestone today when the prototype AC45 catamaran hit the water for the first time in Auckland’s Viaduct Basin.
Team members featured prominently in the design, construction and outfitting of the 45-footer, slated for use in the coming America’s Cup World Series (ACWS) events.
The boat was designed by ORACLE Racing’s design team on behalf of the America’s Cup community. The prototype was built at Core Builders Composites, the team’s in-house building team headed up by Tim Smyth and Mark Turner. Sailors such as Dirk de Ridder, Matthew Mason, Joe Newton and Joe Spooner were on hand this week to assist in the final fitting out.
“The AC45 is new, it’s modern, it’s exciting,” said Iain Murray, Regatta Director of America’s Cup Race Management (ACRM). “It’s quite different to what we would understand as a catamaran that we’ve seen in the Olympics with the Tornado or the eXtreme 40. The hull looks like a little Alinghi 5 hull with a wing that’s come off BMW ORACLE Racing, all in scale from last time.”
Full story at www.OracleRacing.com
