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SVN Solovelanet Global
T
he America's Cup has always been re-
volutionary, by introducing at each and
every edition new concepts which en-
ded up setting the bar every time hi-
gher. Worth of mention was the 33rd
edition (Valencia 2010), where the rigid wingsail
was introduced for the first time, multihulls were
used, and a massive dose of technology was in-
volved. Since then, a large focus has been put
into adrenaline and show, making speed and bre-
athtaking action the main drivers. The same trend
can be seen in other racing sports too, like For-
mula 1 and MotoGP. There, engines have been
made more powerful along the last few years,
and elements like the DRS have been introduced.
Although this strike for awesomeness may seem
attractive for most of the audience, many other
traditionalists raise their eyebrows.
We first encountered the foiling concept during
the 34th America's Cup (San Francisco, 2013),
where the huge AC72 catamarans were involved.
In the following edition (Bermuda, 2017) these ca
-
tamarans were shortened to 50 feet (AC50), the
crew reduced from 11 to 6, and the boats made
globally safer. If, generally speaking, that transi-
tion was not revolutionary in terms of boat's sha-
pe, the next edition will definitely
be. The 36th America's Cup
takes place in Auckland
in 2021 and shifts back to
monohulls, which, ho-
wever, are everything
but traditional.
The main novelties
are probably two.
by Daniele Cirigliano
