Et Tu, Artemis?
Posted by The Mariner // October 19, 2012 // COMMENT (0 Comments)
Well, I thought I was done with AC72 disaster posts. And I was–at least when it came to Oracle Team USA.
Today's America's Cup AC72 breakage report comes courtesy of Artemis, which took their AC72 out for some tow testing, and damaged the front beam.
Artemis was already behind the curve, after breaking their AC72 wing earlier this year. And they are the only team that have yet to sail their AC72. Not surprisingly, they were very light on details regarding what happened
18 October 2012 – In preparation for sailing the Artemis Racing AC72, the team was conducting valuable structural tests afloat earlier today when damage was incurred to the front beam of the catamaran.
The AC72 has been hauled out of the water and the design team, led by Principal Designer Juan Kouyoumidjian, is on site to evaluate the damage. This setback will delay the Swedish team’s AC72 sailing program, but the team will be working hard to have the AC72 on the water and sailing as soon as possible.
"As a team, it is our responsibility not to launch these boats until every single box has been ticked in terms of safety and structural integrity. This is a key part of the due dilligence process when entering unknown territory," said Laurent Esquier, COO of Artemis Racing.
"All teams are going to face setbacks, but the determinent factor will be the team that rebounds the best," said team CEO Paul Cayard.
This is what happens when you take engineering and design into totally new territory. And that can be an exciting process because there will be surprises–both positive and negative. But you have to wonder where this America's Cup is headed when two out of the three teams that have built AC72s are in the shed (maybe we should just hand Emirates Team New Zealand the Cup now).
You'll have to imagine what is going on in this conversation:
