Aussies arrive in Bristol

Australia Catamaran Challenge put their boat together ready for next week's Little America's Cup

The Australian Catamaran Challenge team have arrived in Bristol, Rhode Island with their innovative C Class Catamaran Ronstan to race against previous Little America’s Cup winner Steve Clark’s Cogito and the British Invictus syndicate, backed by the resources of Airbus.

“The C Class catamaran is at the absolute cutting edge of sailing technology,” said Damien Smith, the head of the syndicate’s design team, “The advanced wing sails, similar to an aeroplane wing, used on these boats could be the vanguard of a return to wind powered commercial vessels.” continued Smith.

For syndicate coordinator Ian Jenkins to finally have the team’s boat arrive, after some minor shipping delays, is the realisation of a long held dream. Jenkins has likened the complexity and difficulty of the project to putting a man on the moon, “There are just so many little elements of the project that could go wrong and spell disaster”.



The Award winning Ronstan will be skippered by former world champion sailor Gavin Colby and crewed by Darren Smith both from Perth, Western Australia. The regatta, affectionately known as ‘The Little America’s Cup’ will be sailed in Rhode Island from 15-26 September to decide who can design, construct and race the fastest boat on the planet.