Bob Fisher Opinion

The hull for the new America’s Cup class is 75ft long and the rig far taller than the AC50. The foils will hold the key but, with the class rule due this month, nothing is set in stone

I feel battered by the constant reference to ‘technology’ when I research the next America’s Cup, so it was heartening for me to listen to the latest personnel acquisition of Land Rover BAR, Nick Holroyd, the new head of design when he said: “The power consumption, and the mechanics of the catamaran are one thing, and this boat will be different.” The initial differences are easy to see, but the details are not.

True, there is only one hull this time, but it is 75 foot long and it supports a wing-masted rig far taller (and heavier) than that of the AC50 catamaran. But the biggest difference is in the foils and their operation. “One of the things to be careful with here is not to fall into the trap of fighting yesterday’s war. We need to look at this class rule very carefully when it comes out [at the end of March],” said Nick. “You need to look at the boat and sit down with the sailing team in the right way and you can’t have people predicting their jobs, or their roles or anything like that. You need to look at how are we going to sail this boat. What is the most efficient way of sailing this boat?”