Emirates Team New Zealand will officially launch their new America’s Cup boat on Thursday but its first appearance on Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour has already raised eyebrows.
The 50 foot America's Cup Class catamaran was spotted by sail-world.com with photos revealing the traditional arm-powered grinding pedestals replaced with cycle pedestals.
It’s a major shift in thinking to provide the hydraulic power to the boat.
Leg power could be more efficient than the traditional approach, and with teams stating the secret to success in Bermuda could be foiling around the entire race course, that makes delivering the required power to control the foils and wing even more crucial.
It’s not the first time cycle grinders have been used in the America’s Cup - they were used on the 12 Metre boats in the 1960’s before being outlawed.
The ACC boats will be largely uniform in design in a bid to reduce costs.
That means there’s less room for any unique design components, which could make a major shift away from the norm riskier but the reward even greater.
The first sail was watched closely by rival team spies, but with just over 100 days until the regatta gets underway in Bermuda there may not be time for the other teams to explore the option or change their set up.
Oracle Team USA will launch their boat in Bermuda overnight after British syndicate Land Rover BAR became the first team to launch last week.
The Kiwis were heavily criticised before the 2013 Cup in San Francisco for revealing their foiling AC72 too early, allowing Oracle to follow their thinking.
It’s understood the defenders were close to ruling out the foiling option for San Francisco before seeing Team New Zealand successfully on the foils.
With the clock ticking until Bermuda, the questions are whether Team New Zealand has discovered another design edge and whether the other teams will go with pedal power?
Newshub.
