Fans have had to wait a long time for this moment: After the Kiwi team was the first to officially christen and crown their boat last week, the Americans are sailing faster. Terry Hutchinson's American Magic team with helmsman Dean Barker have now published the first picture of the flying foiler. Somewhat monosyllabically, it was said that they were flying "stable and upright". But the first glance into the cockpit already shows differences to the New Zealanders' boat: their stern section is much steeper and rounded in order to save hull structure, while the US boat looks more conventional, with the hull sloping much less. In addition, the Kiwis extend the deck from the centre to the stern as a surface, whereas the Americans do not seem to have this as clearly, although the perspective of the photo of the stern does not allow any definitive conclusions to be drawn.
It is also interesting that the Americans are apparently still travelling with a conventional mainsail, while the first pictures of Team New Zealand are circulating in which they are already testing the "double main" but are not yet sailing. The background to this is the regulation that no fixed wings will be used in this cup, as was previously the case on the cats. Instead, two mainsails are pulled up into two mast grooves on one mast and connected at the leech. This creates a kind of soft swing. This is probably also the reason for the bridge in the centre of the cockpit of the Kiwi boat: The mainsail is probably ridden as a so-called deck sweeper, meaning that the lower leech is flush with the deck to generate aerodynamic advantages. The US team seems to be running the first tests without the double sail or simply does not want to show it yet.
Team Luna Rossa, which has postponed its launch several times, and Ben Ainslie's British team are also expected to launch their foiling boats shortly. The boats' first race will start on 23 April off Sardinia.
Andreas Fritsch
Editor Travel
