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The Most Insane Yacht on Earth Just Got Even Insaner

As far as sporting trophies go, it's hard to find any older than the America's Cup . Sailing teams have been fighting over the ornate, sterling silver ewer since 1851. But while Queen Victoria would recognize "Auld Mug" today, she likely wouldn't even register the watercraft racing after it as boats.

These vessels are like luxury yachts the way Formula 1 cars are like family sedans: They drive, and the similarities stop there. The folks eager to win sailing's greatest prize sink fortunes on the latest modern technology and materials, yielding vessels that don't so much plow through the water as fly above it.

In February, America's Cup defending champion Oracle Team USA unveiled the boat it would take to the briny deep in 2017. It looks like two black and red missiles, bound together with a lattice of carbon fiber tubing, and towered over by a fabric sail---the only conventional element. If it seems ready to take flight, it might be because Oracle tapped aviation giant Airbus to fine tune the design.

This yacht, dubbed AC50, is in some ways a tamer version of the design that won the last America's Cup, but was criticized for being so powerful, even pro sailors had trouble handling it. In the 2013 races in San Francisco, several boats crashed; one sailor died . So this newcomer is 50 feet long instead of 72, and demands a crew of six, not 11. (Every competing yacht uses the same basic design, which the defending champion selects.)

Modern catamarans generate lift with a hydrofoil suspended under the hull. It boosts the boat out of the waves, like an underwater wing. Flying above the water for most of the race cuts drag and raises speeds.

But the heart of what makes these yachts so fierce has only been strengthened. America’s Cup Class catamarans use lift generated over a hydrofoil suspended under the hull---like a wing under water---to boost the boat up out of the waves and make it fly. Instead of pushing its hull through the water, the yacht skims the surface, riding on what look like little feet.

"You just have this little hokey stick foil section cutting through the water,” says Aaron Perry, Oracle Team USA designer, who has spent the last year and a half in Bermuda developing the new boat. Less drag equals more speed, which is why velocities have doubled since yachts started using hydrofoils. In 2013, Team Emirates topped 50 mph. Despite the smaller boats, this year’s racers are likely to go even faster.

There's not much room for creativity to make that happen. The 50-page design guidelines demand every boat be identical, save a few key elements, including the hydrofoil shape and control systems. So that's where Airbus engineers focused their aerodynamics expertise. "What is amazing for an aeronautical engineer like me is that the technology used to design these flying boats is very similar to the ones we’re using to develop and test aircraft,” says Pierre Marie Belleau, Airbus' head of business development and a keen sailor himself.

The planemaker even invited Oracle to experiment with its foils at its Hamburg testing facilities. They put them through some vibration, torsion, and bending tests, as well as a pressure test to breaking point---treatment usually reserved for commercial airliner wings.

The result? Where the old boat could only "fly" when going downwind, Oracle has nearly perfected how to rest on its foils no matter the conditions. "The boats are completing practice races without coming off the foils," Perry says. "The hulls are now almost irrelevant."

The defending champions, not wanting to leave anything to chance, also worked with BMW to integrate a steering system derived from touring car racing. Applying the semi-automated systems designed for automotive applications, the engineers made a yacht that responds to a turn of the wheel nearly instantaneously---instead of taking two seconds.

Even with all the technology and trials, on race day, it will come down to human factors. “It’s been a combination of getting time on the water, and really good crew work," says Perry. "To get around the racecourse without touching down off the foils requires a kind of a symphony." Everything has to happen with perfect timing, adjusting and trimming on the fly. The sailors still matter.

And they're in for a challenge. Oracle Team USA will face challenges from teams from the UK, France, Sweden, New Zealand, and Japan, vying for the chance to wrest the ancient trophy away when qualifiers start in May.

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The $10 Million Boat That Will Win the America’s Cup

The five things you should know about the tech competing in this great, intense sailing race

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Think of the America’s Cup as the Indy 500 on water. Yes, it’s a boat race, but calling these things “boats” is like calling Elon Musk’s Hyperloop a choo-choo train. These are some of most advanced racing vessels on earth, capable of speeds in excess of 55 miles per hour. In fact, thanks to the technology that lifts the boats above the surface of the water (more on that later), they can actually travel faster than the wind. With another race in the lead-up series happening on June 11-12 in Chicago , and the main event set for next summer in Bermuda , now is the perfect time to get up to speed. Here’s what you need to know about the technology used to compete in the greatest show on two hulls.

I’m Guessing It’s Expensive to Race?

In a word: Yes. The boats alone cost between $8 million to $10 million, and most teams have a backup just in case. However, the boats are only part of the story, because you also have to take into account the entry fee ($3 million), the staff (Oracle Team USA had 130 people in 2013), the cost of shipping all that sailing equipment around the world, plus costs of maintenance, operations, and incidentals. It has been estimated that mounting a successful America’s Cup campaign costs over $100 million. Larry Ellison may have spent $250 million to $300 million defending the title in 2013.

That said, organizers are attempting to reduce costs. For 2017, competitors will race a smaller class of boat called the AC45, which is 45 feet long, rather than the AC62, which is 62 feet long. (Boat size had been previously reduced in 2013 from 72 feet to 62 feet.) Typically, smaller boats can be developed faster, require smaller crews, and cost less to transport.

How Do They Get the Boats from Race to Race?

At one point you had to sail your competition boat to the race, but today’s vessels just aren’t made for that kind of mileage. Teams typically disassemble them, package them up, and ship them on larger boats or planes to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars in transport and insurance fees.

How High-Tech Are These Boats?

Each team designs and develops its own boat and tries to keep the proprietary technology secret from other teams (despite the best efforts at spying when competitors are practicing on open water). What we do know is that everyone will be racing a twin-hulled catamaran that uses a hydrofoil to lift itself out of the water at speed. Of course, there are hundreds of nerdy boat rules that teams have to follow, but specifics around materials and drag-reducing technologies to provide an edge are kept under wraps. Various teams partner with aerospace companies like Red Bull Advanced Technologies, Airbus, and Cosworth to develop the technology.

What Makes the Boats Unique?

For starters, the hulls are made of honeycombed aluminum (so they’re light as can be) and the fixed-wing sail is made of Kevlar and carbon fiber instead of a flappy fabric sheet. But the biggest difference is in how they move. Where a traditional boat muscles through water or skips across the surface, an America’s Cup boat barely even touches it. This is made possible by L-shaped hydrofoils or “daggerboards” that lift the hull completely out of the water at speed. Since the introduction of hydrofoil technologies, race speeds have literally doubled.

What Other Technologies Do the Teams Use?

In 2013, the name of the game was live performance data. According to Forbes , Team Oracle USA’s winning boat had over 300 sensors analyzing 3000 variables ten times per second—things like mast strain and sail effectiveness. Meanwhile, video feeds monitored every detail and course adjustment. This boat collected 200 gigabytes of data per day. Just imagine how far these kinds of data collection methods have advanced in the four years since the last America’s Cup. (To put things in perspective: during the last event you were likely rocking an iPhone 4 or 4S, maybe the 5 if you were an early adopter.)

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The yachts of America’s Cup are faster and weirder than ever

Thanks to science (and a lot of money).

By Tamara Warren

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When I think of yachts, there are billowing white sails helmed by a steady skipper from the stern, smart deck shoes, and Hemingway’s macho protagonists who toil under harsh conditions in briny sea air as they muse, "A man is never lost at sea."

My vision stands in sharp contrast to the current state of elite sailing at the America’s Cup. The 165-year-old contest is yachting on the next level, a cross between X Games adrenaline and a Formula One face-off. Much like modern day motorsports, sailing is a sport steeped in science.

I recently had an up-close view of the Cup’s yachts, among the most technically advanced in the world, in New York City. From the vantage point of Battery Park in lower Manhattan, I watched Team Oracle USA’s crew, dressed in snug nylon uniforms stamped with sponsor emblems, hurriedly prepping a sleek space-aged AC 45 catamaran to compete in a weekend regatta. Their coordinated movements had an almost mathematical heave-ho rhythm in the sloshing salt and fresh waters. The 45-foot boats (hence the "AC 45" moniker) were all hard lines — their tall, angular sails were menacing; their edges sharp, the space-age hydrofoils jutting like vampire teeth.

The extraordinary design of these boats is not for looks, but to maximize aerodynamics, giving them the supernatural ability to skip along the water like a school of feasting barracudas. The sport of sailing has undergone massive transformation in recent years, largely due to the advent of hydrofoils known as "daggerboards." By minimizing drag and engaging power, these daggerboards lift the hull out of the water, speed increases, and the boat starts to skim the surface and basically fly through the air, riding waves and wind. (At full tilt, it’s almost unfair to call these flying machines "boats.") Speeds have doubled since the America’s Cup added daggerboards into the rulebook and they continue to increase.

In 2013, Team Oracle USA, founded by the modern-day yachtsman and internet billionaire Larry Ellison, took foil design to the next level in its 72-foot catamarans and is going into the current Cup race as the defending champion. The next America’s Cup final will be held in 2017 in Bermuda. (Costs for the 2017 will actually be about half, due to the smaller boats that measure 50 feet instead of the previous 72 feet.) The sailing teams are currently in the midst of World Series races in 45-foot yachts that impact position and qualifying for the final, where 50-foot yachts will be raced.

"In the one design, it’s not so much about technology. It’s more about sailing and how you use the equipment," says Grant Simmer, Team Oracle USA’s Chief Operating Officer. "In the final match, it will be about how good is our development program and how good is our sailing team to compete to make the right tactical decisions and the right performance decisions."

It’s the blend of cutting-edge and historical pedigree that give sailing its cultural distinction

It’s the blend of cutting-edge and historical pedigree that give sailing its cultural distinction. Surrounded by giant skyscrapers, New York City has a particularly illustrious history in the sport. Dutch seamen sailed as a pastime in the 17th century, the same era that Dutch settlers first landed in New York Harbor. From the very beginning, yachting was a sport for the upper crust, and its exclusivity was part of its attraction. A 1914 issue of The Lotus Magazine , a New York-based art and culture publication, described its origins : "But let there be no mistake about this word yacht. Of Dutch derivation and related to the Norwegian word jaegt, the word in the XVII century signified a transport for royalty or someone of distinguished rank."

But despite its history as a sport for the wealthy, real sailors aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty. Sailing is a pastime that gets in the blood; the competition fuels technological advances, which fuels even more exciting competition, and so on, in a perpetual cycle of adrenaline. Ian Burns, the Australian-born director of performance for Team Oracle USA, has been sailing for over 50 years. He was enthusiastic about racing in New York City, where the America’s Cup was first conceived. "The original challenge of the America’s Cup that went over to England was from the New York Yacht Club," he says. "It was a bunch of guys who got this boat they thought was pretty good. They gave 13 of the best British yachts a thorough thrashing. That story is what the America’s Cup is today. The queen asked who’s second, and her footman said, ‘There is no second.’"

Some things in the sport haven’t changed — sailing remains a high-cost endeavor, but instead of royalty, its purveyors are now simply rich. Much like the NFL, yachting relies on the investment of results-driven billionaires. The boat that Team Oracle is using in the World Series has a $1.1 million price tag, and the boat in the final will cost upwards of $6 million. (This figure is actually half of the cost of the bigger boats used in 2013.)

The Verge first visited with Team Oracle USA during the the 2013 America’s Cup final . It was a dramatic moment in the sport as the ultra-fast new boat designs tested the limits of safety and the interpretation of the rulebook. One British sailor, an Olympic gold medalist for Swedish team Artemis Racing, died in a tragic accident after his boat capsized during testing in the San Francisco Bay. Later, Team Oracle was docked points for its weight distribution. However, when the final results were tallied, Team Oracle USA walked away victorious. Subsequent safety measures were put into place. Crew members now carry air, knives, and body armor that can help save them in the event of an accident.

Yet the danger is still real as speeds continue to rise. Burns notes that sailors have broken the 50-knot barrier, which is about 55 to 56 miles per hour. "To achieve that speed is testimony to these high-efficiency, high-power boats that we’ve got," he says. (To put this gain in perspective: in 2013, boats were shattering records at 40 knots.)

Burns is not nostalgic for the old ways of boat building. Like many of the sailors I spoke to, it’s the bleeding edge that captivates him. Team Oracle’s 15-person design team is half made up of PhDs who have no sailing background. "In the olden days, in previous Cups, we’d be lucky to make a one percent gain. We’re talking about 10 percent a year, maybe 20 percent between the cups. It’s an incredible change and that’s because we’re in this new whole way of sailing the boats."

Several of the yachting teams have turned to the automotive industry to boost performance. Sir Ben Ainslie, the well known English sailing champion, fielded the British Land Rover BAR Team. Team Oracle worked with engineering experts from BMW, a team sponsor, to get access to the company’s wind tunnel, 3D-simulation capabilities, and software to study turbulence and airflow. BMW also helped perfect the design of the crossbeams of the hulls. "The boats are very powerful, but the actual weight of the boats is very low, which means they’ve got a great power-to-weight ratio. That’s what allows them to fly," Burns says.

Even with the science, the crew members must face the intangible elements of planning

Even with the science, the crew members must face the intangible elements of planning — the precarious nature of the weather, for instance. When the New York races got underway, the winds shifted constantly. That day, the luck of the sea was not on Team Oracle USA’s side, as Emirates Team New Zealand took the win.

There’s still time for Team Oracle to catch up for the final in Bermuda next year. The stakes will be higher, the boats will be bigger, and the speeds will continue to break new records. "In the one design, it’s not so much about technology," says Simmer. "It’s more about sailing and how you use the equipment. In the final match, it will be about how good is our development program and how good is our sailing team to compete to make the right tactical decisions, the right performance decisions."

The World Series makes its next stop in Chicago June 10th. Meanwhile, the 50-foot carbon fiber catamarans that will be used in the final are still in development. If all goes according to plan, the day of the final in Bermuda will be the day boats can fly.

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Video: Oracle Team USA explains the foiling tack

Hot on the heels of America’s Cup rivals SoftBank Team Japan, the Defender Oracle Team USA has shown off its first foiling tack.

As the video below explains, the American team carried out this manoeuvre just a few days after the Japanese team’s foiling tack breakthrough back in April.

Tom Slingsby, sailing team manager and tactician at Oracle Team USA, said: “We had some big crashes in our first attempts, but we got there and were able to do it.”

He adds that the difference between a team that can execute a foiling tack and team that cannot could be anywhere from 50 to 200 metres, depending on the prevailing wind conditions.

The manoeuvre, which involves turning the AC45 catamaran into the wind while flying on its four foils, has been described as a game changer, with the team that perfects it likely to take home the 35th America’s Cup following next summer’s sailing showdown in Bermuda.

Grant Simmer, general manager of Oracle Team USA, added: “The reality is that the Japanese led the way a little bit with that, and I quite liked watching us figuring it out and being able to match them in a matter of days. It’s a thing that was really important to the team”

Oracle Team USA will be hoping to show off their foiling tack later this month at the  America’s Cup World Series Toulon , although they may have to do so without their skipper Jimmy Spithill, who is currently recovering from elbow surgery .

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Raw 100: Oracle Team USA

Training for the america's cup.

Take a ride with elite sailing crew, Oracle Team USA, during training for the America's Cup and get as close to the action as possible without wearing a life jacket.

Ride along with Oracle Team USA during their intensely precise and demanding practice for the America's Cup.

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Hydrofoil sailing boats in the moth class sailing world championships changed the America's Cup forever

Topic: Sport

When Brett Burvill won two races at the moth class sailing world championships in Perth almost 20 years ago, he could not have known how a small change he made to his boat would reverberate around the world.

"He finished 10th [overall], which is pretty good for a crazy new development, but he won at least two of the races I think," recalled friend and fellow boat builder John Ilett.

"They were really spectacular, because he would not go very well at the first part of the race, and then the next part he would pass 20 boats, and then another 20 boats.

"He was just twice the speed."

Next week, more than 100 competitors will return to the Mounts Bay Sailing Club for the 2019 World Championships, two decades after Burvill unveiled his revolutionary innovation.

He had attached a hydrofoil to his boat, which provided lift, reduced drag and dramatically increased his speed.

Moth boats use a hydrofoil to skim through the water off the surface. ( ABC News: Tom Wildie )

It also set in motion innovations which made their way to the biggest race in global yachting.

Superfast hydrofoil caused a stir

Burvill wasn't the first person to put hydrofoils on a boat, but he was the first to successfully race them.

"There were ones done in the 1970s, with moths, and ones in the 1990s, but these were never sort of proven in racing," said Ilett, who was an early adopter of hydrofoils.

"People experimented with it but until you actually sail around a course and win a race or win a regatta, then that's when the concepts are proven and adopted.

Moth racers Brett Burvill (left) and John Ilett show off the hydrofoil that is the key to the moth boat's speed. ( ABC News: Tom Wildie )

"I think it was just the inspiration of other crazy boats flying around, because it had been done to other craft but it had not been done in the moth class.

"The moth class is open to any new development, so if you can make them go faster, then we gave it a try."

The attachment of foils to the moth boats brought plenty of resistance, with some competitors concerned the increased speed and difficulty of control would kill the class.

"There was a lot of backlash to it in the beginning," Ilett said.

"The class wanted to ban it, some people wanting to ban it, people walking away from the class and saying I'm never coming back, so there was a lot of fuss about it."

So how do hydrofoils actually work?

Hydrofoils are not a new invention, with their use first recorded 150 years ago when a British patent was granted to Frenchman Emmanuel Denis Farcot.

He claimed that adapting to the sides and bottom of a vessel a series of inclined planes or wedge-formed pieces would have the affect of lifting it in the water and reducing the drag as it went forward.

Inventor Alexander Graham Bell, who is best known for the telephone, also built a foiled boat called a HD-4, which set a marine speed record of 114 kilometres per hour in 1919.

Since then, the technology has been used in military and passenger capabilities, but there prevalence has declined over time, with the foils susceptible to impact and also posing a risk to marine life.

Hydrofoils work in essentially the same way as aeroplane wings.

As the boat moves forward, the hydrofoil travels through the water, but the water that travels over the top does so at a faster speed.

The faster the water travels, the lower the pressure, resulting in an area of low pressure above the foil and high pressure below the foil.

The difference in pressure creates lift, allowing the boat to rise out of the water.

With the hull of the boat out of the water, drag is reduced, and vessels can reach higher speeds.

Making it to the America's Cup

The successful application of hydrofoils in the moth class demonstrated their value to racing and saw them adopted across numerous sailing classes.

But it was their use in arguably the world's most prestigious race that completed their emergence in mainstream racing.

"It's pretty cool," Ilett reflected.

"I think it probably seemed inevitable. I think I'm right that in the early days of the America's Cup they did try to stop the hydrofoil developments, but like the America's Cup do, they found a way around it."

Those changes were implemented in 2013, when America's Team Oracle completed a remarkable 1-8 comeback to claim the event 9-8 over Team New Zealand, with the yachts reaching speeds of about 80kph.

Oracle Team USA successfully defended the America's Cup on a hydrofoil-powered ship in 2013. ( Reuters: Peter Andrews )

The adoption of the hydrofoil in the Cup has a benefit for those who still race the moths, with successful skippers often hired to compete in the big race.

"It's put a lot of America's Cup sailors into the moths class because it's easier to get the guys out on one of of these more often — for training, for learning and getting a feel for flying," Ilett said.

"Even the guys on the America's Cup boats that don't do particular jobs, they all sail on these boats too."

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Sailing’s Hydrofoiling Revolution

• By Herb McCormick
• January 18, 2023

There’s a revolution underway in the sport of sailing, and it can be summed up in one simple word: foiling.

More specifically, we’re talking about hydrofoils , the winglike appendages mounted beneath the hull of a vessel that, at a certain speed, lift the hull clear of the water. When this happens, the foiling sailboats can reach speeds two or even three times faster than possible in “displacement” mode.

And sailboats are just one element of the foiling revolution: Surfboards, paddleboards and powerboats are also getting in on the act.

An Italian naval architect named Enrico Forlanini is credited with developing the first waterborne hydrofoils, which he affixed to a 60 hp, airscrew-driven craft that topped off at 36.9 knots back in 1906. In the century that followed, a series of would-be inventors took a swing at the concept with varying degrees of success. Foiling sailboats finally ascended into the mainstream during the 2013 America’s Cup, when Oracle Team USA beat Emirates Team New Zealand in a match between foiling 72-foot catamarans (the Cup has been contested in foiling cats ever since).

Surprisingly enough, my first foiling experience happened some three decades ago, aboard something called a Hobie TriFoiler, from the popular manufacturer of Hobie surfboards, beach cats and kayaks. The TriFoiler, basically a 22-foot trimaran with a central pod and a pair of mainsails stepped on the twin outriggers, was invented by a fanatical California engineer named Greg Ketterman. The sail controls were laid out just forward of the tiny airplane-style cockpit; you steered with foot pedals. It was so ridiculously easy that even a gremmie like me had the thing foiling within moments of getting in and reaching off.

But after the initial thrill, it was actually kind of boring. Which, I believe, is why it went out of production soon after. The TriFoiler was, unfortunately, way ahead of its time.

Such was the extent of my personal foiling experience until this past summer, when a new class of foiling monohull skiffs called Persico 69Fs rolled into my home waters for a series of races among youth squads in the class’s inaugural season. I got an invitation to take a spin.

After donning my helmet, wetsuit and life jacket, I was handed the helm with a pair of skilled young sailors on board. At 25 knots, we were towed into Narragansett Bay behind a powerful RIB, foiling all the way. It was terrifying. And a preview of coming attractions.

Once the tow dropped us, the sails went up and we bore off. I skied the tiller extension while scrambling out onto the hiking racks. Which sent us off on a screaming reach. Which flipped the 22-foot-7-inch carbon rocket ship.

Twenty seconds into foiling, and I’d capsized the bloody thing. How embarrassing.

The kids, bless them, were kind and patient. We got the whole shooting match, including ourselves, back upright and tried again. The mainsail trimmer sheeted it home, we started to accelerate, and he said: “Here we go! You’re up. You’re flying!” Indeed, we were.

Hard on the breeze in the 12-knot southwesterly, things unfolded quickly. Spray was flying, and I took more than one solid wave to the kisser. I was mostly too frightened to concentrate on anything but driving, but I did glance at the speedo once: 17.4 knots. (I felt pretty chuffed until later learning a 69F’s top speed is 34 knots. Ugh.)

However, I guess I’d proved the point: With a couple of sailors who know what they’re doing, foiling is for everyone. From now on, just call me Mr. Foiler.

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Oracle Team USA caps stunning comeback to win America's Cup

September 25, 2013 / 6:58 PM EDT / CBS/AP

SAN FRANCISCO Skipper Jimmy Spithill and Oracle Team USA won the America's Cup on Wednesday with one of the greatest comebacks in sports history.

Spithill steered Oracle's space-age, 72-foot catamaran to its eighth straight victory, speeding past Dean Barker and Emirates Team New Zealand in the winner-take-all Race 19 on San Francisco Bay to keep the oldest trophy in international sports in the United States.

All but defeated a week ago, the 34-year-old Australian and his international crew twice rallied from seven-point deficits to win 9-8. Owned by software billionaire Larry Ellison, Oracle Team USA was docked two points for illegally modifying boats in warmup regattas and had to win 11 races to keep the Auld Mug.

After almost dunking its chances when it buried its bows in a wave shortly after the start, Oracle's hulking black catamaran - with a big No. 17 on each hull - showed its incredible speed when it reeled in the Kiwis while the boats zigzagged toward the Golden Gate Bridge on the windward third leg.

They fly across the water thanks to underwater wings called hydrofoils, reports CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker.

"You're hitting near freeway speed - over 50 miles an hour," San Francisco sailor Kimball Livingston told Whitaker. "These are the fastest boats ever built. We've never seen anything like this in any kind of sailing boat, much less the America's cup."

They don't just look spectacular, they're spectacularly expensive - $100-million to build and operate, Whitaker reports.

The New Zealanders were game despite being stranded on match point for a week. Spithill and crew still had to sail their best to end the longest, fastest and by far wildest America's Cup on a course between the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island.

Team New Zealand had the lead the first time the boats crossed on opposite tacks. By the time they crossed again, the American boat - with only one American on its 11-man crew - had the lead.

As Oracle worked to stay ahead, tactician Ben Ainslie, a four-time Olympic gold medalist from Britain, implored his mates by saying, "This is it. This is it. Working your (rears) off."

It had to have been a gut-wrenching moment in New Zealand, which has been on edge for a week as the Kiwis failed to close out the victory on a warm, sunny afternoon.

The Kiwis had been faster upwind in running away with races early, but Oracle constantly made changes to make its cat a speed freak.

As Spithill rounded the third mark onto the downwind fourth leg, his catamaran sprang onto its hydrofoils at 35 mph, its hulls completely out of the water, and headed for history.

There were hugs and handshakes after he steered the cat across the finish line, 44 seconds ahead of Team New Zealand. Ellison, who has spent an estimated $500 million the last 11 years in pursuing, winning and now defending the silver trophy, hopped on board and the crew sprayed him with champagne.

It wasn't always so jubilant, of course, but Spithill refused to let his team fold after the penalties were announced four days before racing started.

How big was this win?

In sailing terms, it was the equivalent of the Boston Red Sox sweeping the final four games of the 2004 ALCS over the New York Yankees, the only 3-0 comeback in major league history. It's also comparable to the Philadelphia Flyers overcoming a 0-3 deficit to beat the Boston Bruins in the 2010 NHL playoffs.

As stirring of a comeback as it was for Spithill and his mates, it was a staggering loss for Team New Zealand. Barker, 41, was looking for redemption after losing the America's Cup to Alinghi of Switzerland in 2003 and then steering the losing boat in 2007, also against Alinghi.

Team New Zealand was funded in part by its government.

This was the first time the America's Cup was raced inshore and San Francisco Bay provided a breathtaking racecourse.

The catamarans were the vision of Ellison and his sailing team CEO, Russell Coutts, who is now a five-time America's Cup winner.

Powered by a 131-foot wing sail, the cats have hit 50 mph, faster than the speed limit on the Golden Gate Bridge.

After Artemis Racing's Andrew "Bart" Simpson was killed in a capsize on May 9, sailors began wearing body armor, knives, an air tank and breathing tube, self-lowering equipment and underwater locator devices.

The new, cutting-edge boats are not without criticism and Ellison defended what some call risky engineering and sailing tactics in an interview with CBS News' Charlie Rose last month .

"People really criticize professional athletes going into the Olympics," Ellison told Rose. "People don't like change. A bunch of people don't like the Olympics now because we've added skateboarding. ... We're modernizing the sport."

Ellison added: "We're competing with other sports to get kids attention. We've got to make our sport exciting and we've got to modernize it. ... It can't be unchanged since 1851."

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Foiling technology: everything you need to know about hydrofoils

Fitting foils to powerboats is all the rage, but how do they work and why is foiling back in fashion?

What is foiling?

Foiling refers to the use of hydrofoils attached to the hull of fast boats, which provides additional lift at planing speeds – often enough to lift the hull completely clear of the water.

What is the benefit of this?

Efficiency. The enemy of fast boats is the amount of effort required to push them through the water. Planing boats go some way to addressing this by rising up over their own bow wave and skimming across the surface, but the stern sections are still immersed, creating significant hydrodynamic drag. It follows that if you can lift the boat completely clear of the water, hydrodynamic drag is only acting on the foils themselves and the sterngear that propels and steers it.

Any advantages beyond efficiency?

Lifting the boat clear of the surface can reduce the disturbance of waves, smoothing the ride, but only up to a point. It’s not just about lift though – active foils can also be used to improve stability or handling and in some circumstances, can improve efficiency even without lifting the boat.

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How do foils work.

Foils work in a similar way to aircraft wings. In simple terms, as they move through the water they deflect the flow, which exerts a force on the foil. If that force is upward, the faster they move, the greater the lift.

So why are they so much smaller than aircraft wings?

Because water is much denser than air – almost 800 times, in fact. The foils have far more to push against than aircraft wings, so don’t require the same surface area.

Is this new technology?

Far from it. Foiling technology can be traced back to 1898 when Italian inventor Enrico Forlanini began work on a ‘ladder’ foil system, obtaining patents in both the UK and the USA. He had a prototype operating on Lake Maggiore soon after. British boat designer John Thornycroft followed up with a series of scale models featuring stepped hulls and a single foil, and by 1909 had a full-scale 22ft prototype running. During WWII, the German military developed a 17-tonne foiling mine layer that was tested in the Baltic at speeds of up to 47 knots. By the early 1950s, the first commercial hydrofoil ferry was running between Italy and Switzerland and a decade later, a private hydrofoil yacht featured in the Bond movie Thunderball.

Why did they never catch on in production boating?

Traditionally, high-speed hydrofoils used large V-shaped foils that jutted out beyond the boat’s beam. This made berthing tricky and increased the draught. They were also costly to construct, vulnerable to damage and difficult to power, as the propellers of conventional shaftdrives would be clear of the water once foiling. Lastly, although hydrofoils were often more efficient than monohulls, high-speed cats could usually match the efficiency without the drawbacks.

Why are they back in the news?

Foiling technology came back into public focus when the 2013 America’s Cup contenders started to use foil-shaped daggerboards to hit speeds of more than 40 knots. Ben Ainslie’s spectacular last-gasp victory for the Oracle USA team and his subsequent BAR Land Rover Cup Challenger brought foiling to a global audience. More recently, we’ve seen the emergence of several foiling motor boats, including the SEAir RIB and the Sunreef Open 40 Power. More exciting still is the news that Princess will use an advanced Active Foil System on its new R Class superboat .

What has changed?

Technology has overcome many of the shortfalls of older systems. Simon Schofield, chief technology officer at BAR Technologies, told MBY the real game changer has been the adoption of ‘Dalí’ foils. Instead of two fixed V-shape foils, Dalí foils use four independent L-shaped blades that stick out of the hull at an angle before curving up like Salvador Dalí’s famous moustache. They are far more efficient and can be retracted, solving the berthing and draught issues. In addition, computer-controlled active systems allow the foils to be adjusted to suit speed and sea conditions. This doesn’t just improve efficiency, it can enhance the ride and handling too. When cornering, for example, a traditional hydrofoil boat doesn’t lean into the turn, making it uncomfortable for passengers. An active system can adjust each foil to induce the correct degree of lean. Modern materials also reduce drag and cavitation.

How about propulsion?

The Enata Foiler uses twin BMW diesel 320hp engines, but instead of being connected to the propellers with hefty drag-inducing shafts and gearboxes, these generate electric power which can be sent down a thin flexible cable to slender electric motors mounted on the retractable rear foils.

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Hydrofoils: Boats That Fly

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Hydrofoils make everything from water skis to sailboats to giant ferries faster (much faster). But how the heck do they work?

Oracle Team USA's AC50 "flying" at nearly 50 mph. (Photo: Ricardo Pinto)

Ever wonder why a sleek, powerful recreational boat is not even as fast as a typical economy car? It has to do with friction. An economy car needs a little over 100 horsepower to speed by at 100 mph, but pushing a boat through the water that fast takes several hundred horsepower. The reason is that water is almost 800 times denser than air.

Imagine standing on your dock in a 10-knot wind — it's not hard to do. Now imagine being in a river trying to stand up to a 10-knot current. The water is so much denser that no matter how strong you are, you'd be swept away. A boat hull has to push through all that dense water while a car can slip through the air much easier.

Planing boats are able to go faster than displacement boats because they lift part of their hull out of the water as they race over their bow wave, but there's still a lot of friction from the water on the rest of the hull. If you could get the hull all the way out of the water, you'd eliminate that friction, and the boat could go faster with the same amount of power.

The Science

Most of us have a pretty good understanding of how an airplane flies. As air flows over and under the wings (also called airfoils), it creates lift. Once an airplane is going fast enough, the lift that the wings create allow it to rise above the earth.

If you were to mount a wing or two (called hydrofoils) under a boat, all that dense water can be put to good use by pushing the boat's hull out of the water. Then friction only acts on the small foils, not on the whole hull, which is why a 130-foot hydrofoiling sailboat can "fly" at over 50 knots. Powerboats have added friction from the propulsion system that has to remain in the water, but even then, large hydrofoiling ferries can exceed 45 knots.

Speed is not the only advantage that hydrofoils give boats. Because the hull is out of the water, all the energy from waves that would normally pound against the boat pass harmlessly underneath it, creating an eerily smooth ride. Even so, hydrofoiling is typically best in somewhat protected waters.

Don't look for hydrofoils on your next runabout anytime soon because they're much more difficult to engineer and typically triple the cost of a boat. The good news is that there are other ways to 'foil that are affordable — see "Experience Hydrofoiling For Yourself" at below.

Experience Hydrofoiling For Yourself

Hydrofoil kiteboards.

If you've even seen a kiteboard zooming in a strong breeze, you know they're plenty fast. Add a hydrofoil, and suddenly you add a new dimension. These boards take lots of skill and practice to master, but the ride is said to be much smoother and even faster than a conventional kiteboard. Cost starts at around $1,000.

Hydrofoil Waterskis

These single-ski hydrofoils are really a sit-on-ski, and once you've mastered the technique, the foils will lift you up and you'll be "flying." Unlike conventional skis, these aren't designed for speed, and 18 mph is where they typically "liftoff' and suggested top speed is about 25 mph. It's also important not to ski in shallow water due to the depth of the foils. Cost is typically $1,500 and up.

Hydrofoil Windsurfers

Not content to take a surfboard and add a sail, windsurfers developed foils that allow the board to "levitate." The biggest advantage is the smoothness of the ride — a real benefit because these rigs usually sail in very strong winds with plenty of chop. Cost is about $2,500 to get started.

Hydrofoiling Small Sailboats

You don't have to spend millions on a boat like the America's Cup racers if you want to hydrofoil. The Waszp costs about $10,000, though even for dinghy racers, there's a learning curve to get these boats on their foils, with speeds up to 27 mph.

Note that most companies suggest wearing a helmet when using foiling products because of the speeds achievable and the hard, sharp foils these devices have.

Foiling The Competition

America's Cup boats are often what people think of when they hear the word "hydrofoil." Hal Youngren, an aeronautical engineer and one of the designers for the 2013 and 2017 America's Cup racers, says the difference in speed that foils make is impressive. The fastest nonfoiling catamarans in previous races could barely reach 35 knots, while the 2017 foiling cats hit 50 knots. Youngren says that these 50-foot cats are able to lift their hulls completely out of the water using only about three-quarters of a square meter of foil area (about the size of a medium-sized TV). Below about 15 knots, he says, the boats sail much like a nonfoiling boat with hulls in the water, but once over that speed, the boats start to "fly" and their speed dramatically increases.

The America's Cup Class AC75 Boat Concept Revealed

An exciting new era in America's Cup racing was unveiled in November 2017 as the concept for the AC75, the class of boat to be sailed in the 36th America's Cup is released illustrating a bold and modern vision for high performance fully foiling monohull racing yachts.

The America's Cup AC75 Boat Concept Revealed

The Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa design teams spent the previous four months evaluating a wide range of monohull concepts. Their goals have been to design a class that will be challenging and demanding to sail, rewarding the top level of skill for the crews; this concept could become the future of racing and even cruising monohulls beyond the America's Cup.

The AC75 combines extremely high-performance sailing and great match racing with the safety of a boat that can right itself in the event of a capsize. The groundbreaking concept is achieved through the use of twin canting T-foils, ballasted to provide righting-moment when sailing, and roll stability at low speed.

An underlying principle has been to provide affordable and sustainable technology "trickle down" to other sailing classes and yachts. While recent America's Cup multihulls have benefitted from the power and control of rigid wing sails, there has been no transfer of this technology to the rigs of other sailing classes. In tandem with the innovations of the foiling system, Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa are investigating a number of possible innovations for the AC75's rig, with the requirement that the rig need not be craned in and out each day. This research work is ongoing as different concepts are evaluated, and details will be released with the AC75 Class Rule before March 31, 2018.

The America's Cup is a match race and creating a class that will provide challenging match racing has been the goal from the start. The AC75 will foil-tack and foil-gybe with only small maneuvering losses, and given the speed and the ease at which the boats can turn the classic pre-starts of the America's Cup are set to make an exciting comeback. Sail handling will also become important, with cross-overs to code zero sails in light wind conditions.

A huge number of ideas have been considered in the quest to define a class that will be extremely exciting to sail and provide great match racing, but the final decision was an easy one: the concept being announced was a clear winner, and both teams are eager to be introducing the AC75 for the 36th America's Cup in 2021. — AmericasCup.com

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Charles Fort

Contributing Editor, BoatUS Magazine

Charles Fort is BoatUS Magazine's West Coast Editor. He often writes local news items for BoatUS Magazine's Waypoints column and contributes to Reports, in-depth tech features in every issue written to help readers avoid accidental damage to their boats. He is a member of the National Association of Marine Surveyors, he's on ABYC tech committees, and has a 100-ton U.S. Coast Guard license. He lives in California.

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THE TECHNOLOGY

Although foiling feels like a recent revolution to take the world of watersports by storm, it has been at the heart of America’s Cup racing for 10 years. It was August 2012 when the sailing world was turned upside down by a 72- foot catamaran flying in the Hauraki Gulf. Emirates Team New Zealand had brought foils to the America's Cup, changing the face of top-level yacht racing forever. Six years later, in 2018, the publication of the AC75 Class Rule marked the beginning of a new sailing era. The engineering and sailing techniques needed to get the AC75 to fly were completely different from anything seen before. During the 36th America's Cup in 2021 the AC75 proved themselves to be unique and kept millions of fans worldwide glued to their screens.

Therefore On the 15th of November 2021, eight months after Emirates Team New Zealand successfully defended the America's Cup, an updated 'Version 2' of the AC75 Class Rule was released. The foiling monohulls to be used in Barcelona in 2024, will be slightly different, with rules being tweaked partly to improve light wind performance and reduce crew numbers from 11 to 8. The move to reduce the crew means cycle power is again legalised, and the cyclors, introduced by Team New Zealand in 2017, might return in the game. But what's the technology behind the AC75?

Therefore On the 15th of November 2021, eight months after Emirates Team New Zealand successfully defended the America's Cup, an updated 'Version 2' of the AC75 Class Rule was released. The foiling monohulls to be used in Barcelona in 2024, will be slightly different, with rules being tweaked partly to improve light wind performance and reduce crew numbers from 11 to 8. The move to reduce the crew means cycle power is again legalised, and the cyclors, introduced by Team New Zealand in 2017, might return in the game. But what's the technology behind the AC75? To start with, the AC75 is big - 75-feet long and 16-feet wide - but, it's also light, which is crucial, because the AC75 is designed to fly. It's also different - rather than a keel, a brand new concept keeps it standing. Foil Cant Arms move under, or outside, the boat to provide the leverage it needs to stay upright. Some parts of the boat are supplied - the mast, rigging, foil-cant arms and their hydraulics are all stock components. But, there are still plenty of areas that designers can experiment with to find a race-winning edge. The double-sail skin Mainsail combines with the D shaped mast to form a wing, generating the power the AC75 needs to foil. Underwater is where things get really interesting, the foil cant system is a battery-driven, hydraulic power-unit that supplies the energy to lift and lower the immensely strong - and heavy - foil cant arms. As the boat swaps tacks, the cant system is activated, placing one hydrofoil in the water, and lifting the other one out, where its weight becomes ballast. At the end of the arms lie the teams' secret weapons - the foil wings. Apart from basic rules governing dimensions and weight, these are open territory for designers. With the teams allowed to build only one AC75, will a lot change from what we have seen during the last Cup, or will the new monohulls resemble the winning Kiwi boat?

Yachting World

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Foiling and Hydrofoiling: Everything you need to know

A foiling International Moth dinghy. Photo: Christopher Ison / Alamy

What is foiling?

Although foiling or hydrofoiling feels like a recent revolution to take the world of watersports by storm, it is actually much older than many appreciate.

In terms of motorised waterborne craft, the first foiler was a motorboat designed and built by Italian inventor Enrico Forlanini in 1906.

It did, however, take quite a bit of time before foiling boats with sails took to the water, but even then many people might be surprised to learn that even in the 1970’s the foiling trimaran, Williwaw, covered over 20,000 sea miles in and around the South Pacific all on its foils.

It turns out the history of hyrofoiling goes back further than many think.

It was not until the early-2000s that foiling really started to take hold, with a  development dinghy class, the International Moth, leading the way.

Foiling boats

With huge amounts of interest in the 11ft Moth dinghy, foiling began to spread throughout the sport of sailing. And it was not long until hydrofoiling boats of all different shapes and sizes were taking the water.

Over time, some traditional classes converted to foiling – the A-Class and C-Class catamarans being examples. But more new boats were also designed specifically with hydrofoiling in mind.

In 2013 Emirates Team New Zealand built their 72ft America’s Cup catamaran to be a foiler, forcing their competition for the Cup, Oracle Team USA to convert their AC72 into a foiler to stay competitive – ultimately Oracle Team USA won the Cup in one of the biggest sporting comebacks of all time .

To date the America’s Cup has not looked back with the competition taking place in smaller hydrofoiling AC50 catamarans in 2017 and the newly conceived monohull foilers, the AC75 s, in 2021.

In 2021 the Olympics Games introduced the first ever foiling catamaran in the Nacra 17.

Foiling yachts

Offhsore, 90ft Ultime multihulls on their foils are competing to be the fastest to race around the globe and design houses across the globe are racing to create foiling yachts for the masses which could dramatically reduce cruising times from one destination to the other.

There are also many classes of yacht that are taking some of the lessons from fully foiling craft and putting them to use in a semi-foiling manner.

Here the biggest technical innovation is in the IMOCA60 class, which is famously used for the single handed non-stop round the world race, the Vendée Globe .

The latest couple of generations of IMOCA 60s have been build with huge, technologically complex foils to generate lift. These are powerful enough to lif the boats fully out of the water, but as yet the class rules do not allow for rudder foils which would stabilise flight and allow for full foiling.

Where sailing boats and yachts have, arguably led the way in the history of foiling over the past decade or so this has filtered down into a plethora of other watersports craft.

Although in the early days foiling was typically the preserve of elite sailors and watersports professionals, increasingly we have seen boats and boards designed to foil in the hands of the average sailor, surfer or windsurfer.

This race to bring the fun of foiling to beginners is continuing apace with beginner foiling boats, windsurfers, surfers etc. coming to the market every year.

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Just enjoy high speed - foiling

” iFLY – Born to FLY “

Just enjoy foiling, ” high performance sailing “, ” we love speed “, ” join the adventure “.

iFLY15 – Technical SPECS

Length 4.63 m, 15 ft..

A Foiling Catamaran for 1-2 person(s) does not need to be any longer than this. The ancient rule that says you need length to achieve speed does not apply, as hulls do not touch the water at most times.

Width 2.50 m.

This width provides plenty of righting moment, still being road legal ato be transported in horizontal position without disassembly.

7.5 m mast / 11.2 sqm mainsail

7.5 m mast with 11.2 sqm deck-sweeper mainsail. – 8.5 m mast on iFLY RAZZOR Pro with bigger rig

Draft: 95 cm

Weight: 90 kg.

90 kg ready to sail. A very light boat, providing nonetheless excellent stability for everyday suitability.

Crew 1-2 - max.180kg

Flysafe® foil control.

T-Foils Main Foils and Rudders FlySafe automatic dynamic foil control Additional Option: Main Foil Differential >>>

Know More >>>

Different - Rig Options

LATEST DEVELOPMENT OF “DECK SWEEPING” MAINSAIL THE ROLLABLE HERU WING RIG LIGHT WIND FORESAIL «CodeF»

Full Carbon Hulls

Looking for the perfect setup for your foiling sailboat.

We can recommend the best iFLY setup and accessories for your boat. Get in touch for the ultimate sailing experience!

Performance

A great number of innovations all over the catamaran and the perfect match of all components allow controlled high-speed foiling experience. iFLY15 is full of innovations, e.g. in hull design, hydrofoils, rudders, automatic flight control system, two-layer wing trampoline, high performance rig…

HULL Design

full carbon – lightweight – performance design: Born to foil

High Performance Rig Options

LATEST DEVELOPMENT OF “DECK SWEEPING” MAINSAIL WORLD PREMIERE: THE ROLLABLE HERU WING RIG : WORLD PREMIERE: LIGHT WIND FORESAIL «CodeF». ALLOWS UPWIND FOILING (as well as other courses/points) ALREADY IN EXTREMELY LIGHT BREEZE. Know More >>>

Two Layer Trampoline

AERODYNAMIC INNOVATIVE WING TRAMPOLINE CREATING LIFT.

Full Carbon T-Foils 

SCIENTIFICALLY DEVELOPED high-end foils for early take off, high speed and maximum stability.

flySafe® dynamic foil control system

The foils are controlled independently, dynamically and precisely on both sides by the flySafe® foil control system . This enables high performance sailing through stable flight. The unique foil control system of IFLY15 is a 7 years proven system developed by CEC Catamarans.        Know More >>>

IFLY MAIN FOIL DIFFERENTIAL TECHNOLOGY

MDT FOIL CONTROL – iFLY rake control The sophisticated main foil differential is an active flight assistance – The Rake is adjustable while sailing. Advanced Rake Control is for the experienced, performance-oriented Catamaran sailors / pro sailors and is a feature on the iFLY RAZZOR Pro.      Know More >>>

Innovations and more   >>>

In the hand of the experienced sailor, iFLY15 is a high-performance racing machine. STABILITY IS NOT CONTRADICTORY TO HIGH PERFORMANCE OR SPORTINESS , on the contrary, it is a prerequisite for safe reaching and maintaining constant high speeds. Stable flight allows the sailor to concentrate on the course, on the wind, as well as on opponents and strategy – rather than permanently getting distracted by working on the foiling balance.

EARLY TAKE OFF IN WINDS AS LOW AS 2Bft. / 6 KNOTS , by combining the innovative “KickOff” foil control with a trampoline that provides boost and with the latest generation of rig and foils.

BOAT SPEEDS FAR BEYOND DOUBLE WIND SPEED CAN BE ACHIEVED . Enjoy high speed foiling with top speeds far beyond 25 knots – in ideal conditions up to 30 knots.

CONTROLLED FOILING EVEN IN THE UPPER WIND RANGE BEYOND 22KNOTS OF WIND SPEED – supported by the new FlySafe® Automatic Foil System.

FOILING PLEASURE AND PERFORMANCE ALSO IN CHOPPY WATERS

FREEDOM ! FLYING SOLO OR OPTIONAL WITH CREW . You have the choice. No manhunt for crew. But still enjoy the opportunity of taking a friend or family to fly with you. Up to 140kg of crew weight. (To keep the boat and especially the mast light, we specified the iFLY15 components intentionally not for double trapeze.)

NO HOISTING AND LOWERING OF DAGGERBOARDS while sailing. (Only for beaching or in shallow waters.)

FREEDOM TO SWITCH BETWEEN FLYING MODE OR SAILING AS A CONVENTIONAL CATAMARAN (with at least the leeward hull touching the water). Within seconds iFLY15 can be switched to Non-Flight mode, even while sailing. In that mode, iFLY15 will not take off, but the foils will still create lift and give an extra agile sailing behavior, which is on the same time very stable as rudder Foils will avoid pitch poling. Non-Flight mode is providing additional security in extreme high wind speeds. It is also useful for less experienced sailors or in all situations, where taking off is undesirable (e.g. in the harbor or while towing…).

EASY TO LEARN FLYING BY AVERAGE SKILLED AND TRAINED SAILORS

EASY BEACHING AND SLIPPING , as simple as with any conventional beach catamaran by using a standard catamaran beach trolley. Foils remain flat under the keel, with the daggerboard lifted as on a conventional catamaran.

SIMPLE TO DISASSEMBLE PLATFORM . Width of 2.50m is also road legal in most countries for horizontal transport without disassembly.

DAGGERBOARDS CAN BE PLUGGED IN FROM ABOVE and Foils securely anchored from below with one central screw.

FAST SET-UP OF THE iFLY15 FROM ROAD TRAILER TO SAILING . Simple rigging the mast, no genacker boom, no foresail, no spi.

SILENT AND CALM PLANING ABOVE THE WAVES . Flight height of up to 90cm, avoiding even high waves below.

EASY TO FOIL THE JIBE (without landing). Stable maneuvers are made easier by the fact that the four T-Foils always remain in the water.

« INTERNATIONAL FORMULA 15 FOIL » Class Association. The new development class for FOILING, SINGLE HANDED on MULTIHULLS. Multi manufacturer class in the tradition of a Formula18, A-Class or international Moth. Enables large regatta fields and evolution of the boats, following the technical progress (which is especially essential in the case in Foiling). Strict regulations to avoid uncontrolled exaggerated development.

Contact : [email protected]

Catamaran Europe Central

The iflysail team, is looking forward to your message, more to know about ifly foiling , interesting tech, high performance rig options >>>, flysafe® dynamic foil control system >>>, ifly main foil differential technology >>>.

MDT FOIL CONTROL – iFLY rake control

News and More

Ifly foiling experience >>>, press articles >>>, events >>>.