Green Comm Racing, the 34th America’s Cup challenger, took its brand new AC45 for her first sail on Tuesday. Vasilij Zbogar, helmsman, and the rest of the crew slowly pushed the catamaran to a speed peak of 22 knots in ideal conditions.
Green Comm Racing, the 34th America’s Cup challenger, reached another milestone on Tuesday with the successful launch of its brand new AC45 yacht and a smooth first sail off the the Cascais Marina.
Conditions during the day just couldn’t be any better for a team that made its debut on the powered up AC45 catamarans. Starting at 7am, the entire 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 wing handling 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 6-hour 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.