Under the Protocol for the 34th America’s Cup, the number of sailing days in an AC72 or a surrogate is restricted. But a team can sail as much as they want in yachts that are not catamarans over 40 feet long, unless it is an AC45.
Team New Zealand uses two “SL33” catamarans (less than 40 feet long) and tests wing designs on them.
Artemis has found a more clever (and expensive) solution: they use a 60 feet long trimaran, big enough to test their full-size AC72 wing, which they first installed on 14 March 2012. How much will this help Artemis? Is the sailing performance of the trimaran close enough to a lighter AC72 catamaran? Share your opinion with a comment!