Dr. Ignazio Maria Viola - Chasing the Wind
The New State-of-the-Art in the America's Cup Design
The America’s Cup was sailed for the first time in 1851 at Cowes, Island of Wight, in conjunction with the largest exhibition ever held until then: the Prince Albert’s Great London Exhibition.
The Americans took the opportunity to show their advanced knowledge of naval architecture and built the schooner America for the event. America was definitively faster than the 14 other competing British yachts and won the “100 Guinea Cup,” which was subsequently renamed the America’s Cup. The Cup was then donated to the New York Yacht Club as a token of their enthusiasm for taking part in international challenges. For the following 132 years and 24 contests, the Americans remained the undefeated holders of what they now affectionately called “the Auld Mug.” Since 1983, however, the Cup has been successively won by Australia, USA, New Zealand and Switzerland, before finally being brought back to the USA in 2010 with the San Francisco Yacht Club’s victory of the 33rd America’s Cup. Today, the America’s Cup is the oldest trophy in the world and the most expensive to win. Each challenger spends tens of millions of dollars in designing, building, and sailing its boat, which represents the state-of-the-art of the worldwide marine industry.
Read the full article here from DYNAMICS, Engineering Success, Issue 3.03 pages 55-57
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published on: 15th December 2011