Images Chris Cameron/ETNZ

Emirates Team New Zealand are claiming that their AC72 came close to topping 40 knots of boats speed in around 20 knots of wind on the Hauraki Gulf (off the coast of Auckland) yesterday.


It was the 4th day of testing and ETNZ veterans were adamant that none of the team’s boats had ever been this fast before. The AC72 returned to base with no damage, and the test sail was deemed a big step forward by MD Grant Dalton, who was aboard the tender after returning from the World Series in San Francisco.

What of the other teams with AC72’s?
Oracle Team USA have fitted their wing but postponed a scheduled launch today in San Francisco.
Artemis Racing are commissioning their ASC72, which was unloaded in San Francisco last week, but the team broke their first wingsail while testing on an ORMA60 in Valencia.
Luna Rossa are assembling their first, and only, AC72 in Auckland with a launch expected in late September or October.