Artemis Racing christens its AC72

Check out the nice curved boards...

The launch of Artemis Racing’s first AC72 catamaran marks a major milestone in the team’s quest for the America’s Cup. Thousands of design and build hours came together today when the Artemis Racing AC72 was launched at the team’s base in Alameda.

Barbro Osher, Consul General of Sweden in San Francisco and Godmother of Artemis, christened the AC72 in the presence of the entire team and their families.

Building an AC72 is an incredible design and construction feat, incorporating leading edge technology and materials. The Challenger of Record’s hulls were built in Sweden, trucked to the base in Valencia in spring of this year and then travelled by cargo ship to San Francisco only to arrive in August. The team’s first AC72 wing was built and tested in Spain but suffered significant damage in May during training. Artemis Racing overcame this setback and it is the rebuilt wing in its entirety, and it is this wing which will power the AC72.

Designed by Juan Kouyoumidjian and his team in Valencia, this is the first of two AC72 catamarans for Artemis Racing. From here the research and development will continue with the valuable input generated from training on the San Francisco Bay. Standing alongside the AC72, Kouyoumidjian said, “We are extremely excited to get out sailing with this first boat and the learning opportunity that it represents. Sailing here, in the realities of San Francisco Bay, makes the lessons hard, but extremely relevant.”

The first day of sailing for the Swedish team is likely to be next week. The team has completed its relocation from its first training site in Spain and is now 80 strong in Alameda.

“It’s been a tremendous team effort to design, build and launch the AC72. We are looking forward to valuable training time on the Bay in the coming weeks,” said team CEO Paul Cayard.