Australian team a series of match races SailGP launched cruise catamaran F50, which plans to participate in this international regatta. 28 November, eyewitnesses could observe how the 15-meter boat with a giant gold kangaroo on sail “flying” over the waters of the Bay Wangara in the North of New Zealand.
“To participate in the series and especially in the first stage in the Bay of Sydney is a cause for national pride for me and the team, and we want the boat showed it,” says skipper Tom Slingsby (Tom Slingsby), who was personally involved in the design.
Although the series SailGP will be held for the first time, she already boasts an interesting history.
Series established by the owner of the American team the America’s Cup Oracle Team USA ‘s Larry Ellison (Larry Ellison) as a kind of analogue of this oldest regatta in the world.
After the American team lost the Cup to new Zealanders and those on the rights of the defenders of the Cup decided to abandon catamarans in favor of monotypes, Ellison announced that in this case, it organizes its own international series of regattas, where all is still.
Winged catamaran F50 is, in fact, seriously modified the class AC50, familiar to fans of the America’s Cup.
Over the class for a year working new Zealanders from Core Builders Composites. The resulting boat is 12-15% faster than its progenitor AC50, and a top speed of 53 knots.
“It’s good to feel this new, incredibly fast the boat approaches the limits of the possible. Now, after we practiced all together, I rate our chances as pretty good. It’s hard to say who will win the series and who will win the first stage in Sydney, but I think our chances are really good. All boats are the same, all boils down to which team is better work with each other. The issue of communication and ethics,” says Slingsby.
No wonder skipper the Australians appreciated the chances of his team — almost the entire crew SailGP Australia fought as part of Oracle Team USA in the America’s Cup in 2013 and 2017, so that the experience harmony and they do not occupy.
F50 width — 8.8 metres. The height of the sail — from 18 to 28 metres, depending on type of weapons: storm or weak winds. To sail on a catamaran will be the team of five people. As told to British newspaper the Telegraph sir Russell Coutts (Russell Coutts Sir), ex-Director of team Oracle and co-organizer SailGP, in the future, the catamarans of all teams participating in the new series will be regularly updated “centrally”.
“This will give us the confidence that the team can compete on an equal footing, and will also reduce the upgrade cost”, — he said.
SailGP race will start on 15 February 2019. The first of five three-day stages will take place in Sydney, then in the course of the year will be followed by a regatta in San Francisco, new York and Cowes (UK). Series will end in Marseille, September 20-22.
Rivals Australians in the competition will be teams from the UK, USA, France, China and Japan. They will compete for a cash prize of one million dollars. The first and only woman participating in SailGP, will be the French style Marie (Marie Riou) — “Yachtswomen 2018,” according to the World Sailing Awards. She will play for France.
The audience SailGP at least during the first stage of the competition in Sydney will be a unique opportunity to look “behind the scenes” of the race. Island Cockatoo island, which will be based the technical team has already been declared open to the visitors area. From January there will be an observation deck, where fans will be able to see to all the arrangements of boats for training and competition. In addition, for visitors from February 1, will be organized special tours, which will explore the cuisine of the teams.
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