’2017 Is The Year Of The 35th America’s Cup’

January 1, 2017

“2017 is the year of the 35th America’s Cup. The oldest trophy in international sport and a competition that will see six teams fighting it out on Bermuda’s Great Sound for the ultimate prize in sailing, and, arguably, the hardest trophy to win in sport,” the America’s Cup said.

“Over 2015 and 2016 the teams battled tooth and nail around the world in the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series, finally won at the last round in Fukuoka, Japan by the British Land Rover BAR team. Throughout the series, all the teams were racing AC45F boats, foiling catamarans described by Emirates Team New Zealand Skipper Glenn Ashby as “brutal”.

“As mighty as the AC45Fs are, they are the precursor to what comes next in 2017 – the frankly astounding America’s Cup Class boats, known as ACC boats, carbon-fibre, hydrofoiling catamarans capable of up to 90kmh and sailed by a crew of six.

Bart's Bash - ORACLE TEAM USA training in Bermuda for the AC45S

“This is the heart of the America’s Cup. Teams designing and building their own boats within a set of rules that presents scope for individual design genius, but creates a relatively level playing field that maximizes the competition between all the teams.

“So far, as of date of this publication, none of the teams’ ACC boats have seen the light of day, but glimpses have been given as to what lies ahead. All the teams, whether in Bermuda, France, the UK or Bermuda, have been testing interim versions of the race boats they will campaign in 2017, AC45s with parts from their ACC boats added so they can be tried and tested, adopted or dumped as performance data dictates. These test platforms have been variously referred to as AC45T [turbo] boats, AC45S [surrogate] boats, or, simply, test boats, but from early 2017 the teams’ focus will be 100% on their ACC boats as they perfect systems and designs for the real action in May and June 2017.

“One major difference between the ACC boats and the AC45Fs is how they are powered. Both boats need grinders on board to turn over the winches that operate systems. For the uninitiated, grinders are the muscle on board the boats, supremely powerful athletes capable of sustained bursts of energy that is used to operate sails or lift daggerboards. Well, that was until the ACC boats came along….

“Now, a grinder’s role is to build up hydraulic reserves that are used by the Skipper to operate the primary systems on board a boat. In short, the grinders are the engines of the boat, so their ability to generate power will directly influence the boat speed, and speed gives the tacticians on board what they crave, the power to make decisions and act on them faster and more effectively than the competition.

“This change in how race boats are operated is monumental. It is helping to increase the speed of the boats exponentially, hand in hand with vastly more intelligent understanding of hydrodynamics and the optimal use of foils, boat aerodynamics and a whole world of science that is translated into pure sporting heaven for the fans.

“The teams will start to launch their boats in early 2017, and they will be out on the water testing them as much as they can, every single day if possible, between launch date and the start of racing in Bermuda on May 26th 2017.

“The boats are going to be spectacular. The racing will be awesome. The athletes will be supreme, and the eyes of the world will be watching. Now comes the era of the ACC boat, and fast may its reign be!”

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Comments (7)

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  1. Triangle Drifter says:

    A boater I am. A sailor I am not. That does not matter. This is about things that go fast. Does not matter that they are not powered by an internal combustion engine. Does not matter if all but the most basic of rules are not understood.

    This is going to be an aquatic spectacle on a scale that Bermuda has never dreamed of before. Between Tall Ships, J Boats, Super Yachts, Youth Regatta, Marion Bermuda Race & AC35, have I missed any, there will be something for even the most devoted land hugger to get excited about.

  2. Paradise Reclaimed says:

    Time for Bermuda to come together and shine.

  3. Onion Juice says:

    Meanwhile political and social tensions are sensitve on de island, and Trump will be de new Sheriff in town whose famous words are “Bomb de S!@# out off them”, I grab women by de p—- and I can walk down 5th Ave and shoot someone and my supporters will still vote for me.
    2017 will be very intereresting.

    • Crying Wolf! says:

      Onion Juice, you do realize that Bermuda is not in the USA? Why do always comment on, and care so much about what Trump said? Some might respect you more, if you were as vocal when your own leader said “We had to deceive you”.

      • Bermuda Rocks says:

        You are clueless to The Truth wolf.

      • Bermuda Rocks says:

        And WHY do you read OJ’s comments if you don’t respect him/her??? No respect for yourself, sounds like.

  4. Crying Wolf! says:

    I was just passing thru Toronto last week and picked up a copy of the Toronto Sun. In the travel section there was an article which listed the top places to go in 2017 based on suggestion from places like Travel & Leisure, Fodors, Frommers and many others. Out of the seven or eight major travel reporters, five listed as Bermuda as a place to go in 2017 because of AC.

    This is our country and our chance to shine on a world stage so that those that can not come this year might consider it in 2018 and so on.