Artemis Racing officially launches Blue Boat

by Artemis Racing on 23 Jul 2013
Before a crowd of almost 300 members of Artemis Racing, including team members, family and friends, the team officially launched their second AC72 this morning during a private christening ceremony.

Artemis Racing is the Challenger of Record for the 34th America's Cup, and represents Royal Yacht Club of Sweden.

The team’s Swedish roots are recognized with the Swedish flag painted on the sterns and three crowns on the bows. The tres kronors is a national emblem of Sweden.

'This is a great day for many reasons' said Torbjörn Törnqvist, owner of Artemis Racing, who spoke before the crowd. 'It is the culmination of a heroic effort to put together this beautiful boat.... The shore team has put so much into this, and now for our sailing team to get out there and give her justice. I am proud to share with you this great moment.'

The Blue Boat, christened 'Artemis Racing', will now be fixed with Wing #3 and undergo the dock tune process, which will set the boat up for sailing. This mainly consists of mounting the wing and adjusting all the rigging to proper tensions and lengths. There is also an in-the-water run through of the onboard systems, including wing control, daggerboards, steering, etc.

Artemis Racing suffered an accident on May 9 in which the team’s first yacht capsized and broke apart and crewman Andrew Simpson perished. That accident was just two and a half months ago, and since then the team has been working many hours to get back on the water.

'I don’t think anyone fully appreciates the hill Artemis Racing has climbed to get to this point,' said Regatta Director Iain Murray. 'It’s a substantial rebuild of the team in terms of building the confidence back, the morale, and I’ve seen the momentum gathering. They’ve worked tirelessly, and I have my admiration for the way they’ve gone about it.'

The team said that the yacht, dubbed 'Big Blue,' will undergo dock tuning in an effort to get it ready for sailing. That process is expected to be followed by a tow test, then sailing trials before she is able to commence racing.

Certainly the outcome of the Round Robin Series for the Louis Vuitton Cup will be known before she is able to race, and it is likely that she will progress straight to the Semi-Finals of the Louis Vuitton Cup for her first racing Artemis Racing website