America's Cup moves into a new era of 'flying' boats with AC75s

"This is the new era of the America's Cup, where we're not floating, we're flying." David 'Freddie' Carr of INEOS TEAM UK has not muddled his words, he's spot on.

In the 36th America's Cup, when the warm-up races begin on December 17, INEOS TEAM UK, Emirates Team New Zealand, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team and American Magic will all be racing AC75s.

AC75s are 75ft foiling monoholls and these vessells have the ability to fly, as seven tonnes of boat launches up a few metres above the water and accelerates out to speeds of around 60 miles per hour.

This style of boat was developed and selected for this America's Cup campaign by the defender Emirates Team New Zealand alongside the Challenger of Record, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team.

The fact that the winner of the last Cup, leads the creation of the rules and parameters for the next, is a unique part of the America's Cup competition.

"As defender, there's an element of risk in whichever path you go down," Dan Bernasconi, head of design at Emirates Team New Zealand, said.

"We had a lot of experience and knowledge about how to make an AC50 optimal but everyone else had seen what we'd done.

"We're really proud of the innovation we put into the last Cup. We believe in our team's ability to innovate, and by opening the playing field we're playing to our strengths.

"When we developed the Class Rule, we wanted it to really be quite open, so designers have a much bigger area in which to play.

"We wanted to allow space for innovation and different teams to design different hull shapes, ways of controlling the sails and different foils and rudders."

The challenge is that it's completely new, no-one had ever seen such a boat on the water. It's not only a new rule, it's a new type of boat that the world has not seen before.

Foiling aka flying explained...

So, how exactly will these 75ft boats do the unfathomable and fly just above the water at speeds of around 60mph?

David 'Freddie' Carr, who is at the heart of INEOS TEAM UK's campaign and is one of the British teams' most experienced team members, explains.

"We use the same technology as an aircraft but our wings, or hydrofoils, are under the water.

"As an aeroplane would use the wind moving over the wings to generate lift, we use water over the hydrofoil to release the hull and get the boat out of the water. The design and shape of the hydrofoil is key to the boat's performance."

You are doing 50 knots across the water, supported by something the size of an ironing board which is keeping you foiling. When you put it like that, it's absolute nonsense really, isn't it? But, its good fun...

"The AC75 is the first monohull that is going to be flying above the water," Carr added.

"BRITANNIA can reach speeds of 50 knots (60 mph). Those speeds are fast for power boats, and until now, unheard of for sailing boats and there are no engines in sight.

"Foiling is what has allowed us to make this quantum leap in speed; by reducing the contact surface with the water the drag is hugely reduced."

How does takeoff work?

The next question, how on earth do you get a seven-tonne boat to lift up out of the water in the first place?

Well, in the same way that a plane has to get up to speed before it departs from a runway, an AC75 needs to reach about 14 knots in order for the foils to get the force required to the boat up.

"Our 87ft main sail provides the thrust to get us going," Carr explains. "It uses forces in the same way as an aeroplane would, but it's stood upright,

"The wind passing over it provides the forward motion and when the boat reaches speeds for around 14 knots, the hydrofoils kick into action and foiling occurs."

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Using all of the technology available, INEOS TEAM UK are able to travel at four times the speed of the wind.

"In short, in a race scenario, the earlier you foil, the higher your top end speed and the greater the chance you have of winning that race."

When does the racing start?

INEOS TEAM UK, American Magic, Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team, will all face each other for the first time, live on Sky Sports from December 17-20.

The four days on the Waitemata Harbour and the Hauraki Gulf will feature the PRADA America's Cup World Series Auckland and the PRADA Christmas Race.

It will be the only time that all three challengers - Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team, INEOS TEAM UK and American Magic - are able to compete against the defender of the America's Cup.

The opening race of this warm-up series will feature Emirates Team New Zealand taking on Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team. The second pairing pitches INEOS TEAM UK against American Magic.

During the first three days there will be four races per day in a round-robin competition. Then, on day four, the PRADA Christmas Race will take place, and that will comprise of two knockout stages.

Watch every moment of the America's Cup challenge, live on Sky Sports. Coverage starts with the America's Cup World Series on December 17.