America s Cup 2021: Luna Rossa reportedly alter boat design to match Team New Zealand
3 Jan, 2021 08:10 PM
3 minutes to read
The America s Cup design warfare is in full swing with Luna Rossa altering its boat to match a Team New Zealand innovation.
The Italian sailing website
Fare Vela reported it had spotted the changes around the cockpit area of their AC75 boat over the weekend. Luna Rossa has created the fairings to optimise the aerodynamics of the deck and reduce the drag of the crew, it reported. The new measure was hypothesised by several observers after seeing the best fairing on Te Rehutai.
But
Stuff enquiries to the Challenger of Record about further action being held came back with the reply: “I inform you that no racing is planned before the Prada Cup.” Agreeing to a further block of formal racing would have required unanimous support from the four syndicates.
Fiona Goodall/Getty Images
Emirates Team New Zealand get a bit of air on board Te Rehutai during the world series regatta. They had mixed reactions to the idea when it was surprisingly raised at the press conference following the warm-up regatta. Luke-warm would best sum up the mood. Emirates Team New Zealand appeared most keen with the prospect of a further chance to line out against the challengers and check comparative data, a bonus for the defenders.
RICKY WILSON/STUFF
Emirates Team New Zealand and INEOS Team UK struggled on their hulls as winds dipped below the 6.5 knots limit.
The prospect of more official America’s Cup racing or practice before the challenger series starts mid-January has been raised, after light winds forced Sunday’s Christmas Cup to be abandoned.
Team New Zealand and INEOS Team UK failed to finish the opening race inside the 45-minute time limit as they struggled off their foils with winds dipping well below the 6.5 knots required on Course A off the East Coast Bays. It was a frustrating finish to a superb opening regatta that marked the first time the radical AC75s had been raced after world series events in Italy and England were cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic.