Russell Coutts is such an innovative bloke, you knew his plans for the next America’s Cup were going to be different – and he didn’t disappoint.
There is a lot to get our heads around, but obviously the most drastic, and most controversial, change is the move to multihulls.
The AC72 class – a super high tech wing-masted catamaran – represents a new era of America’s Cup sailing. At this stage, I guess I’m a little cautious about the move, but also hugely optimistic.
For a Team New Zealand supporter the initial reaction may have been “bugger, we’ve been gazzumped”.
Emirates Team NZ were probably a bit disappointed with the announcement, although they wouldn’t be surprised.
There’s no doubt they have dominated big-boats, whether it be the America’s Cup version 5s or TP52s, everything they’ve touched over the past couple of years, they’ve won.
But if they want to continue to play the game it’s going to have to be in multihulls, that’s the deal.
So all of Team NZ’s focus must now be on transferring their success in the monohulls to these high-tech catamarans, which I think are going to be pretty exciting. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by peterlester 
