The christening of the new boat is a respectable success, no question about it, a milestone on the way back after the disaster. Hats off to the entire team, who chose the hard, tough path and are determined to make a comeback on the water despite their almost hopeless position. They owe it to Andrew Simpson, who was fatally injured.
One mountain has been climbed, but the next is already waiting, said team boss Paul Cayard, who appeared more tired and exhausted than confident and victorious at the christening in the close circle of the team. And helmsman Nathan Outteridge got straight to the point: "We are the underdogs. We're the same as everyone else: we're wondering how we're going to cope. It could be a pleasant ride or a somewhat untamable beast..."
The blue hulls of the second boat were still visible before the crash of the red cat on 9 May, but since then a huge amount has been changed to make the boat suitable for foiling, which was not possible with the cat involved in the accident, and to bring it up to the level of the new safety regulations in order to be eligible to participate at all.
Despite the immense dedication and team spirit that has brought the Swedes to this point, and despite the top-class talent on board (alongside Outteridge, the likes of Loïck Peyron, Iain Percy, Craig Monk and Santiago Lange have sailed with them), they have so far had a botched campaign that must give cause for scepticism. Simpson's tragic death was preceded by bad decisions in boat design, but also structural problems with the first cat, which had to be repeatedly modified even before it broke apart, and a mast breakage during the test of the first Wing, which took place on an ORMA trimaran before Valencia.
Artemis baptism
Artemis is also the only team that has not yet sailed an AC72 a metre on foils, while the other two challengers Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa and Cup defender Oracle have been working on this difficult sailing technique and the associated developments in daggerboards, rudders etc. since autumn. Despite the respectful recognition of what this team has achieved since 9 May, there is little hope on paper that Artemis will be able to have a major say on the water from the beginning of August. Let's just hope that everything on the boat holds up and that everyone stays in one piece.
