Thursday, July 26, 2007

World Sailing League 70ft Catamarans




Today, the World Sailing League (WSL) unveiled the innovative design for their futuristic 70 ft catamarans that will be raced in the new global Grand Prix series, the premier annual sailing competition. The spectacular speed-machines represent the next evolution of sailing and will be the fastest one design boats ever built.

With towering masts of over 98 ft and foiled hulls sitting at almost 40 ft wide, these catamarans represent the forefront of design technology. The boats will be crewed by nine professional sailors and one select guest and will be capable of speeds up to 40 knots,

Designer Vincent Lauriot Prévost of VPLP explained the design philosophy: “We are very excited about this catamaran because she represents a step towards the future of racing. If we consider that monohulls were the racing standard, then multihull design has stretched the performance possibilities and now ‘outmodes’ the mono. Now these multihulls armed with foils will be the next generation that will overtake the conventional multihull. WSL will spearhead this new evolution.”

With the design now finalised, fourteen of these spectacular catamarans will be built in Portugal, with the first due for completion in June 2008. The remaining boats will be built over the following 18 months, in time for promotional regattas around the world in 2009 and the first full year of the World Sailing League in 2010.

The name of this exciting new class will be announced at the unveiling of the first boat in July next year.