America's Cup - First AC50 arrives in Bermuda - practice racing starts

by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World.com on 12 Oct 2016 Oracle Team USA have confirmed the arrival of their AC50 at the team's base in Bermuda, just ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Nicole due to hit around noon on Thursday.

The AC50 was part of a consignment of parts from Core Builders Composites in Warkworth, New Zealand, that arrived in two containers. The bows of the AC50 were built in Anacortes, Washington to comply with the Constructed in Country requirements of the protocol governing the 35th America's Cup. Only 2.7metres of the bow section of each hull has to be laid up in the country of the challenging/defending teams club to comply with the watered down requirement which previously that the whole boat be built in the country of origin.

Softbank Team Japan's AC50 will also be built by Core Builders Composites with the bow section required to be built in Japan.

Assembly and fit-out of the AC50 will take two months in Bermuda.

'It's always exciting when a new boat arrives,' says Brad Webb, the Boat Systems Manager for Oracle Team USA, in a statement issued by the team.

'Everything we've learned, all of the work we've done, everything we've collaborated on, even all the mistakes we've learned from over the past two years come together with this boat... We'll keep learning and making changes, but this is the boat that we're taking to the America's Cup.'

With the major components on site, the shore team will begins assembling the boat and then adding all of the control systems.

'There's still a good ten week or so of work to do,' says Mark Turner, Boat Building Manager.

Major components were built at Core Builders Composites in New Zealand with the bows built in Anacortes, Washington. Everything is shipped to Bermuda for assembly and finishing.

'All the big jobs are done but now there is a million little jobs to install systems and electronics and hydraulics and fittings. But we're tinkerers. This is what we like doing, putting it all together into a package that is going to go out and try and win the Cup again.'

Under the Protocol, Oracle Team USA is permitted to build two AC50's with the Challengers only one each. However it is believed that the Defender will only build one AC50.

Meanwhile Royal Gazette in Bermuda is reporting that three America's Cup teams could line up against each other for practice racing on Bermuda sound, next week.

'It is understood plans are in the works for Oracle Team USA, the defender, and challengers Artemis Racing and SoftBank Team Japan to participate in “informal practice races” together in their AC45S foiling catamarans.'

A fourth team Land Rover BAR (GBR) will relocate to Bermuda at the end of the year, and will sail for another month in UK.

There is no update on when Emirates Team New Zealand and Groupama Team France will set up in Bermuda. Emirates Team NZ is expected to launch their AC50 in New Zealand in January before shipping/flying to Bermuda.