The next America's Cup which will take place in Bermuda from May 26th to June 27th 2017 will be raced on AC50 catamarans, which are closer to F1 than to our yachts, these machines fly on their foils as soon as the wind picks up.
On board, all manoeuvres are now hydraulic. Whether to raise or lower the foils, to adjust their angles of attack or also to tuck the sails or to adjust the flaps of the wing that makes up the mainsail.
The regulation prohibits taking an engine on board to operate the hydraulic power plant. Therefore, human energy must be used. Rather than using coffee grinders that are operated with arms, New Zealanders have preferred to install bicycles for their crew members. Four bikes one behind the other for the 4 crew members who are trimmers (plus a helmsman and a mainsail trimmer to make up the crew). Of these 4 athletes, 2 are only used to monitor the energy level on board. They will therefore spend their entire race pedalling. With just one hull change during tacking!
While it is not obvious that the use of the legs is more powerful than that of the arms, the sitting position obviously offers better air penetration. Just a few hundredths of a knot to scratch..
With less than 100 days to go before the start of the race, it seems difficult for the other five competing teams to develop the same system. Unless one of them has thought of it as well? We'll find out as we go along with the next launches.
