The AC72 cat of the official Cup challenger Artemis is not sailing under a good star. In other words, it is not sailing at all. In May, the Wing was damaged during test runs on a converted Orma 60 in Valencia. This has since been repaired. But now the wingless catamaran has undergone unspecified "valuable structural tests" in San Francisco, during which the front beam was apparently damaged to such an extent that the first day of sailing has had to be postponed indefinitely. The boat has been craned and is currently being examined by chief designer Juan Kouyoumdjian.
"We are only obliged to send these boats out once every point on the checklist regarding safety and structural stability has been worked through," explains Laurent Esquivier from the team management. And team boss Paul Cayard added: "Everyone will have to accept setbacks, but the decisive factor will be which team recovers from them the fastest." There is of course a fair amount of optimism in this, but the fact is that both Orcle and Artemis have to tinker while the schedule actually includes training on the water. Luna Rossa is still working on its boat, only Team New Zealand seems to be going through its training programme with the AC72 without too much drama. It will be interesting to see how this will affect the actual competition next summer.
More on the Artemis team page
