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  New VOR steeds and AC35 begins—Sailing news from the U.S. and beyond
 | | Volvo Ocean Race unveils combined Monohull-Multihull future Volvo Ocean Race |
These are exciting times to be following sailing if you're into fast boats and big adventures, as the Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) and the 35th America's Cup (AC35)-two of the sport's highest pinnacles of performance and achievement-are both generating big headlines, and for great reasons. And while one isn't slated to start until October (both of 2017 and likely that of 2019, or maybe 2020), the other begins on Friday on the crystal clear waters of Bermuda's Great Sound.
For starters, the VOR announced two new boats that will be introduced in 2019, a foil-assisted 60-footer for use on the offshore legs, and a fully foiling 32-50 foot catamaran that the teams will use for in-port racing.
 | | Mark Turner - Volvo Ocean Race Volvo Ocean Race |
“We had a lot of debate about multihull versus monohull–strong arguments in both directions. We decided on three hulls–a monohull plus catamaran!” said Volvo Ocean Race CEO Mark Turner at an official VOR press conference at the Volvo Museum in Gothenburg, Sweden.
According to reports, Guillaume Verdier (FRA) will be designing the new monohulls, which will use similar “Dali foils” as were seen on IMOCA 60 during the 2016-2017 Vendee Globe. These distinct foils help to support part of the vessel's displacement at certain points of sail. Despite some breakages due to collisions with unidentified floating objects, these foils proved convincingly quick in the last Vendee Globe, signaling a new path forward for offshore monohulls.
 | | The VPLP-Verdier boats have carbon appendages that are referred to as Dalí foils for the head-on appearance of the boats in which the thin blades turn up to a point like the mustache of the artist Salvador Dalí. Yvan Zedda/Transat Jacques Vabre |
Interestingly, the new VOR boats are being described as “turbo-charged” IMOCA 60s, and will use many of the same design elements, including a deck-spreader rig, the Dali foils, and the ability to be sailed fairly short-handed. According to the VOR, the new boats will use crews of just five to seven sailors, plus an embedded media professional (plus rule incentives for teams that sail with mixed-sex crews or with younger sailors).
For comparison, teams participating in the 2017-2018 VOR aboard the event's current-generation Volvo Ocean 65s can use teams ranging from seven (all male) to 11 (all female) sailors, with different total-crew combinations available for mixed-sex teams (e.g., five men and five women).
 | | Infographics - Volvo Ocean Race Volvo Ocean Race |
Interestingly, the new 60-footers will be designed with an eye towards allowing future owners to convert the boats into IMOCA 60s that could be taken on the Vendee Globe as singlehanded boats, potentially changing the future of sailing's two greatest offshore contests.
“I'm extremely excited to be trusted with the task of delivering the next generation of Volvo Ocean Race boat,” said Verdier. “Volvo Ocean Race sailors have a reputation as relentless athletes who push extremely hard and the future boat design reflects that.”
 | | Guillaume Verdier to create new One Design yacht for Volvo Ocean Race Amalia Infante/Volvo Ocean Race |
The new foiling catamarans will also be designed and built to strict One Design tolerances, however, the event is will be using the tender process to determine the design and build of these new in-shore foilers.
 | | Emirates Team New Zealand back sailing on the Great Sound Emirates Team New Zealand |
Speaking of foiling multi-hulls, the Louis Vuitton America's Cup Qualifiers begins on Friday, May 26, on the waters of Bermuda's Great Sound, with four races that will see Oracle Team USA take on Groupama Team France; Artemis Racing versus SoftBank Team Japan; Groupama Team France versus Emirates Team New Zealand, and Land Rover BAR versus Artemis.
Racing for the Louis Vuitton America's Cup Qualifiers continues through Saturday, June 3, with three to four races per day (editor's note: Thursday, June 1 is a lay day; also, there are two Round Robins involved during the Louis Vuitton America's Cup Qualifiers) before racing starts on Sunday June 4 for the Louis Vuitton America's Cup Challenger Playoffs Semi-Finals, which continue through June 8.
 | | Oracle Team USA - 35th America's Cup Bermuda 2017 - Practice racing week ACEA / Ricardo Pinto |
Things ramp up significantly in mid-June with the Louis Vuitton America's Cup Challenger Playoffs Final (June 10-June 12), followed by the 35th America's Cup (June 17-27, including lay days), so be sure to stay tuned to this space in the coming weeks for the latest America's Cup and VOR-news.
May the four winds blow you safely home,
David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor
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