INEOS Britannia’s race boat for the 37th America’s Cup has made the 1,000 mile journey from its UK base in Northamptonshire to Barcelona, Spain.
- INEOS Britannia’s AC75 completes 1,000 mile journey from Northamptonshire to Barcelona
- The AC75, known as RB3, travelled by land and sea during four-day voyage
- Its arrival in Spain follows two-and-a-half years of design, build and fit-out in the UK
The British Challenger’s AC75 left Turweston Airfield on Tuesday 2 April and travelled by road to Portsmouth, where it began its sea crossing to Bilbao on a ferry.
The race boat, known as RB3, was then transported by road to INEOS Britannia’s Barcelona base, arriving on Saturday 6 April.
INEOS Britannia Team Principal and Skipper Sir Ben Ainslie said it was “a relief” to have RB3 arrive in Barcelona.
“It’s been a tense few days tracking the route of RB3 from a small Northamptonshire village to the busy city of Barcelona.”
“The entire INEOS Britannia team and our partners have worked tirelessly to get us to this point, and so it’s great to have RB3 arrive at its new home.”
“Although it’s a relief to have the race boat in Barcelona, the work doesn’t stop. Our focus will now be on launching the boat and getting some good sailing hours in ahead of the preliminary regatta in August.”
The initial build took place at Carrington Boats in Hythe, Hampshire, which is where the team’s boat for the 36th America’s Cup was also built.
The hull and deck were built separately at Carrington Boats before being joined together. Structural work then took place before an army of painters descended to brand the boat.
RB3 then travelled to Turweston Airfield in Northamptonshire, where it underwent structural and load testing. The team at Turweston worked day and night to ensure RB3 was ready to begin its journey to Barcelona on 2 April.
The AC37 event programme and activities officially start on the 22 August ahead of the final Preliminary Regatta which runs through to the 25 August.
This event will feature the AC37 team’s sailing fleet races against one another in their new AC75 designs, the first chance to see the yachts in real action.
The Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup will take place between August and October 2024 in Barcelona.
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