RACING NEWS
Words by Mark Orr
Spectacular
A class catamarans of
which Mr Bertarelli is a
fan. The final selection
Alinghi cat
of rig will depend on
the location for the 33rd
America’s Cup and the
predicted wind speeds
unveiled
and sea states likely. No
doubt we will see several
different rigs on the boat
before the final rig is
90 feet long, with a selected.
huge bowsprit likely
to take its overall In the meantime the team
length to 120ft, will have to get used top
Alinghi have unveiled sailing this boat. There are
their monster cat few people in the world
that is likely to be with the experience of this
developed further size of high performance
and optimised to catamaran. The speed potential is huge , the acceleration will
meet BMW Oracle be awe inspiring and therefore the development of apparent
early next year at a venue yet to be agreed. wind shocking. As soon as the boat starts moving it will
After secrecy and a ‘spy scandal’ Alinghi unveiled their accelerate very quickly pulling the wind forward very quickly
catamaran to the media on Friday 3 July at the team’s until it will spend almost all of its time beating. However as
build centre at Villeneuve in Switzerland. The cat is to be soon as it slows it will decelerate quickly, the apparent wind
launched, like their D35s, by helicopter into Lake Geneva – will move aft very quickly and it will take time to accelerate
I guess they will require a day with little wind! again.
The catamaran is a clear development of the D35 and
other lightweight lake racers. These are very familiar to There are rumours that BMW Oracle are disappointed with
Alinghi chief, Ernesto Bertarelli who plays a most active their trimaran, it appears not to be as fast as expected and
part in the team’s D35 campaign, currently top of the is slow to tack and gybe and this is felt to be an Achilles heel
leaderboard. . They are rumoured to be developing a huge catamaran of
their own – we shall see. Certainly if the race series is next
So how will the boat look? There are many thoughts. It is February then this is possible. The venue is thought to be
likely that initially the boat will have a very tall rotating wing either Valencia in Spain, Dubai or Abu Dhabi.
mast with a high aspect mainsail, small jib and a range of Watch this space!!
close reaching sails for light winds. These may be replaced
with a solid high aspect wing, similar to those used on More details from:
www.alinghi.com
L’Hydroptere and SailRocket get ready for
the next round of record attempting
Alain Thebault and his L’Hydroptere team went back on Paul on his last record attempt). It is thought that they will be
the water on 17 June and undertook sea trials on the 19 heading back to Namibia to have another attempt shortly.
and again on the 23 June. The trials will enable the crew
to get used to the boat after an extensive rebuild and
More details from:
www.sailrocket.com and
refit following their spectacular crash at high speed in
www.hydroptere.com
December 2008.
The modifications have changed the foils shape, deck
layout and have further reduced the weight of the
structure. In 15 knot winds the boat easily reached 30 – 35
knots. With new sails and a modified wing mast they are
working on sail combinations.
Meanwhile Paul Larsen and his Vestas SailRocket team
have been back in the UK (see last issue for a full report by
44 MULTIHULL REVIEW : JULY 2009
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