Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton admits there's an air of trepidation to the next phase of their America's Cup campaign.
The holders of the 'Auld Mug' launched their first AC75 boat in Auckland on Friday and they're about to find out whether they've pushed the boat out too far.
For months, it was merely an concept on a screen - now, reality has sunk in. The thinkers are ready to handover to the doers.
"Now it's their turn to come up with the goods and figure out how to sail it," says Team NZ chief operations officer Kevin Shoebridge.
They're not 100 percent sure how or if this radical design will work. The first step will be collecting as much data as possible, then making tweaks, depending on what they find.
But Dalton has complete faith in his team.
"Boy, oh boy, I hope they're right," he laughs.
The boats used in Bermuda two years ago reached speeds of 87kph, but this one's expected to get closer to 100kph.
"This boat's been built to be a lot more durable and a lot safer in that particular scenario," says helmsman Peter Burling.
That means - hopefully - there'll be no capsizing. They'll actually be in more danger when they're going slow.
"In its slow form, it doesn't have a lot of stability," says Dalton.
Design head Dan Bernasconi confirms: "These boats are going be harder to accelerate from 0-15 knots."
That's why a lot of focus is on the hull. Minimising the drag will enable the boat to get up on its foils quicker.
"It needs to be going, so you can't flop around in it and play around," says Dalton, "Once you pull the trigger, it's off and you don't want to do that in too much wind, because, boy, it will be off.
"The last thing we need to do is wash up on the Devonport Naval Base with the tide going out."
And from there, it effectively transforms into a plane, with aerodynamics now the focus.
"There's a bit of trepidation in that, but these guys are amazing," says Dalton. "I mean they're Formula One pilots."
And the race is on, with challengers expected to unveil their boats in the coming weeks.
"Game on, really," observes Shoebridge.
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