America's Cup: Artemis presents first AC-72 wing

The 40 metre high and 260 square metre wing, made almost entirely of carbon fibre, is not only visually impressive. It also instils respect in the designers. "It was unique to see the wing on the water for the first time," said Juan Kouyoumdjian, the designer responsible for the design. "It looks great, but also a little scary," continued the Argentinian. "Over the next few days, we'll be carrying out a few structural tests."

Judging by the first pictures, the wing has three vertical elements (instead of two for BMW Oracle Racing in the last Cup): a rigid main mast, a centre section and six attached flaps. An additional centre section allows better control of large profile depths, while the flaps are used to adjust the profile depth and twist. In addition, conventional headsails are apparently to be used. These are a particular challenge for the designers because they compress the wing rig considerably due to the necessary forestay tension.

Artemis Racing, Oracle Racing's first challenger, is pursuing a slightly different preparation strategy than the other challengers, according to its team boss Paul Cayard. For the time being, they are training with smaller rigs on AC-45 and SL-33 catamarans. "We have opted for the original size strategy," says the US American. "It takes a little more time, but it allows us to learn how to handle this powerful wing. The safety of our team comes before speed."

The floating base for the wing is a former Orma-60 trimaran, which has apparently been heavily modified.

"For the designers, it is now becoming clear whether their load assumptions were correct," says Thomas Hahn about the next test phase. The Munich-based designer was one of the structural specialists at BMW Oracle Racing at the last Cup. "These wing masts are still a major technological challenge, and Oracle Racing has most of the expertise in this area," says Hahn.

The Swedish team Artemis Racing was therefore involved early on with Paul Bieker strengthened. The German-born American was one of the designers of the gigantic BMW Oracle wing and is regarded as the guru of I-14 ski development.