Green Comm's maiden voyage

Luca Devoti's team take to their AC45

Green Comm Racing today successfully launched its brand new AC45 catamaran which Luca Devoti's team took for a first sail off Cascais Marina.

Conditions during the day just couldn't have been any better for a team that made its debut on the solid wingsail AC45 catamaran. Starting at 0700, the crew rolled the platform and wing out of the shed and by 10am they were out on the water sailing. The very light breeze made handling the giant wing much easier and the first miles under sail very smooth.

As the team started building its confidence, the clouds and fog dissipated, giving way to sunny skies and a nice breeze that topped 15 knots. Despite having spent a mere three hours on its new AC45 yacht, the crew had no problems pushing her up to 22 knots of speed.

Paul Hobson, team coach, took the opportunity to rotate the crew during the six hour long sail, giving them the chance to test the systems and enjoy a first taste of this new generation of multihulls.

Testing and training will continue on Wednesday and with official racing starting on Saturday, every minute counts for Green Comm Racing.

Helmsman Vasilij Zbogar commented: “We were very lucky today as we started with very light winds that built up in the afternoon and as result we could test the boat in ideal conditions. The entire team is very happy with how things turned out. We didn't commit any errors and our maneuvers and boat handling were very good.

"This is of course the very first time I helm an AC45 but after all it's another boat. For sure it's going to be tougher in stronger winds and we haven't tested ourselves yet against the other teams but I'm confident about what we can achieve.

"These boats are very fast but I, honestly, didn't have the opportunity to check our speed. I was very concentrated and focused on steering well.”

British Finn sailor Ed Wright added: “We were pretty lucky today with the weather. We had pretty light winds at the beginning and then a very nice breeze, so we were able to go into it nice and slowly. We are all happy with what we achieved. These yachts are fun to sail but also extremely physical and I'm sure that when the breeze really builds up it will be really tough.”