INEOS Britannia, the British Challenger of Record representing Royal Yacht Squadron Ltd for the 37th America’s Cup, has revealed its AC75 race boat for the very first time.
The 75ft vessel, code-named RB3, emerged from the INEOS Britannia base in Barcelona on Saturday 20 April for rig stepping and checking in preparation for her first sail. It was the first time the race boat had been in public view after two-and-a-half years of design, build and fit-out.
Up until this point, RB3 had been shrouded in secrecy and was kept under wraps for its 1,000 mile journey from its UK base in Northamptonshire to Barcelona earlier this month. Preparations are now underway for RB3’s first sailing day, as well as its official naming ceremony.
INEOS Britannia Team Principal and Skipper Sir Ben Ainslie said: “This is a big day for the team. We have been keeping RB3 under wraps for such a long time that it’s almost surreal to see her out of the shed and in public view here in Barcelona. Thousands of hours of work have gone into this boat and so it’s great to finally reveal her to the world. Things are really stepping up in the campaign now, and we are looking forward to launching RB3 and getting out on the water very soon.”
RB3 began its lifecycle with INEOS Britannia’s design and engineering team, which is based at the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team site in Brackley, Northamptonshire. INEOS Britannia partnered with the F1 Team’s Applied Science division to bring together some of the best talent from the high-performance marine and automotive industries for its America’s Cup Campaign. The initial build took place at Carrington Boats in Hythe, Hampshire, before it was then transported to the INEOS Britannia team at Turweston in Northamptonshire for structural and load testing. On 2 April, RB3 left Turweston for its journey to Spain, arriving at the INEOS Britannia Barcelona base on 6 April.
The most obvious talking point is the hull form. What the British have gone for is a step-on from their prototype boat ‘T6’ with a voluminous, integrated bustle in the bow with a small chine leading back along the keel-line to a razor-sharp edged lower bustle that stops a few feet from the stern.
The flaring at the bow is somewhere mid-way between the Kiwis and Italians. Ending the bustle before the transom leaves presumably the majority of the rudder mechanics above deck on the gantry so there’s an aero trade-off with a considerable, but beautifully sculpted, stern gantry that screams Formula 1 design. The almost dead flat stern run off is an area unlikely to be touching water in flight – that’s the thinking at least – and is similar to what we have seen elsewhere.
The area of much interest in this Cup cycle is the aero moulding of the deck. Similar in form to both Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli but with perhaps slightly more ‘tunnel’, the deck run off aft is highly aero optimised. The cyclor pods end with a gradual pinch that flows all the way to the transom and the four pods either side look to again be a big nod to aero – we will see more when RB3 is launched. Up on the bow there is considerable moulding that appears drop-nosed in form, undoubtedly the result of endless hours in the simulations to create the perfect flow into the jibs.
INEOS Britannia has become the fourth team to reveal their AC75, with just two teams left to showcase their race boats – American Magic and Orient Express Racing Team.
All six AC75s will be racing for the first time in Barcelona for the Preliminary Regatta on 22 – 25 August. The five challenging teams will then battle it out in The Louis Vuitton Cup (Challenger Selections Series 29 Aug – 7 Oct) to win the right to take on defenders Emirates Team New Zealand in the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup match (12 – 27 October).
