Training has begun for the next America’s Cup, which will be held in Bermuda in 2017, and the teams are honing their skills aboard AC45S training catamarans.
Traditionalists who prefer the monohulls of the Cup’s glory years might turn their noses up at these foiling multihulls, but the appeal of the new cats is their speed.
With great speed, however, margin for error is much thinner.
Defending champion Oracle Team USA became the first America’s Cup team to capsize while training in Bermuda.
There were no injuries, and damage to the boat was minimal.
“The boys had been sailing for a while, probably about 18 to 20 knots of breeze,” said helmsman Tom Slingsby. “We went into a bear-away, all good; we went through a full foiling gybe. But as I was crossing I saw we were getting too much heel on the boat.”
Expect more of these in the weeks and months ahead.
