Wow, It's a Tri!

Wow! Its hard not to get excited about the possibilities for the next America’s Cup after the unveiling of BMW Oracle’s powerful new 90 ft. composite trimaran. Under wraps for the better part of nine months in Anacortes, Washington at the team’s construction facility, the new multihull will be rigged up before it hits the rugged waters in the Straits of Juan de Fuca.
With its baptism a few weeks away, the America’s Cups most expensive (checking in at a possible, yet implausible 100 million dollars) and most technologically advanced racing machine ever built, will spend a short time sailing in the Pacific Northwest before the late autumn weather becomes more inclement for testing, and more conducive for carving jack-o-lanterns than gliding thru the schizophrenic currents of the Rosario Straits.
The sleek 90 X 90 ft. trimaran is the most sophisticated multihull ever constructed in the United States. Most of the expertise in multiple hulls comes from Europe, most notably France. The custom facility in Anacortes is located in the epicenter of America’s aerospace and computer Shangri La with corporations Boeing, Janicki Industries and Microsoft Inc. all headquartered nearby.
Designed by the French naval engineers Van Peteghem/Lauriot Prevost (VPLP) and Groupama 3 skipper Franck Cammas, the boat was built specifically to challenge for the 33rd America’s Cup against the Swiss yacht club Societe’ Nautique de Geneva and its racing team, Alinghi. VPLP as a design team is responsible for some of the fastest multi-hulls in the world. Their creation l’Hydroptere is on the threshold of breaking the 50 knot barrier in France as we speak clocking in at 46.7 knots on August 8th off Napoleon Beach in the ‘louis-du Rhone and the mega trimaran Banque Populaire V will launched shortly. These hi-tech carbon trimarans will make rubic cubes attempts at speed records in a variety of races ranging from the Route du Rhum to the Jules Verne around-the-world trophy.
The construction team was led by Mark Turner and Tim Smyth, who worked wonders in a 20,000 square foot canvas cavernous tent of the likes that Barnum and Bailey’s Circus could never have imagined.
The BMW Oracle sailing team is led by 3-time America’s Cup champion Russell “just a helmsmen” Coutts, Cammas and helmsmen James Spithill. BMW-Oracle is competing this summer in Europe on the I-Shares Cup circuit in 40 ft. high tech catamarans, as is Team Alinghi, in preparation for a potential Deed of Gift, New York Court ordered America’s Cup next year, most likely in Valencia, Spain.
“This is a very special boat and represents a special achievement by a hugely committed team who are among the world’s best at what they do,” Coutts said. We have learned a lot in getting to this point and now we are looking forward to testing it on the water.”
BMW Oracle represents the Golden Gate Yacht Club in San Francisco, California and is led by multi-billionaire Larry Ellison, who recently was named as the highest paid CEO in the United States at over $84.6 million dollars this year. Ironically, Ellison is probably bankrolling this challenge to the tune of over 200 million and has probably spent close to a half a billion dollars for his effort to land the America’s Cup….yea!