The America’s Cup ushered in a new era this month. There has been a transition to a smaller class of boat. A rule change to introduce a new class of boat was passed by the America’s Cup Competitor Forum. This Forum comprises the six teams currently entered in the America’s Cup. It includes the British team, Ben Ainslie Racing (BAR). BAR has a design team of some 20 people working on its America’s Cup boat’s design. at its base in Portsmouth Harbour.
The new class rules have already been published, and the BAR team has already examined the new rules looking for design, technology and innovation opportunities.
The new boats will be able to achieve speeds of close to 50 miles an hour, far faster than any other current racing series in global sailing, and a match for the 72 foot boats that raced so spectacularly at the 34th America’s Cup in San Francisco in 2013.
The America’s Cup spectacle comes to Portsmouth in July this year. The Regatta for the newly approved boats will be held in the Solent off of Southsea seafront from Thursday 23rd - Sunday 26th July 2015. Up to 500,000 visitors are expected to attend. The four day sporting and entertainment spectacular will provide awe-inspiring opportunities to watch the world’s best sailors battling it out in the new high speed AC45 foiling catamarans. The spectator experience will cater for all tastes with both free-to-view and paid ticket options. For the event news visit: http://acws-portsmouth.americascup.com/en/home
At the beginning of the year, Ben Ainslie Racing announced a new project with City College Southampton to build two specialised docking ribs for the new foiling catamarans. A team of 80 apprentices are working hard on the project at the College’s Marine Skills Centre.