An exciting week for America’s Cup aficionados and British Olympic sailing enthusiasts.
Both parties are in short supply in Britain and it’s unlikely that the media events this week – interesting as they are – will change that.
First up on Tuesday (1 Oct) will be the announcement of the first members of the British Sailing Team for Tokyo 2020. This important announcement is taking place at the Rockley Park Holiday Park, Poole.
These sailing team members will be the first athletes selected to Team GB by the British Olympic Association for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The actual sailing team selection is made by the RYA Olympic Selection Committee, and this first tranche is expected to name competitors for the Finn, men and women’s 470, and the men and women’s 49er events.
Following the results of the RS:X World Championships, which finished on Saturday, they might also feel ready to name the men and women’s RS:X event selections.
On Wednesday, in the slightly more extravagant surroundings of the Luna Rossa base in Cagliari, Sardinia, the much-hyped launch of the first iteration of the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team AC75 yacht will take place.
After several videos of the much wrapped and disguised hull being transported to Sardinia, the Italian Challenger of Record for the 36th America’s Cup is finally ready for the public.
This will be the third America’s Cup AC75 to be revealed, and two postponements, coupled with the Prada flair for dramatic presentations, have added to the expectations of a Grand Event.
On Friday the world’s media spotlight will return to the UK, to Old Portsmouth on the south coast of England, and the shrink-wrapped home of INEOS Team UK, the America’s Cup team of Sir Ben Ainslie.
Tucked in a corner of Portsmouth Harbour the team has maintained a low profile in the lead-up to their launch date, but finally seem ready to reveal the results of their high-profile design team to the world.
The two AC75 yachts revealed to date – from Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) and USA Challenger NYYC American Magic – have shown very different approaches to the AC75 design rule.
The most obvious feature being the bow profile and section. The Americans went with a bulbous bow and a ‘scow-like’ bow section, while the New Zealanders have gone with a more regular ‘pointy’ bow section.
They also diverge in the hull shape, the Americans have an almost flat underwater section, while the ETNZ boat has a pronounced longitudinal bulge underneath, running almost from bow to stern.
Given that the design rule for the 36th America’s Cup was a return to a monohull with a difference – being fully foiling – the foils fitted will attract a lot of attention, although they are likely to still be test versions at this stage.
So what will we see from the Italian and British teams this week, more of the same or have they found another design variation that will set the forum debates alive?
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