American Magic sails new 'Patriot' AC75 for the first time ahead of 37th America's Cup
Tuesday in Barcelona, Spain, American Magic took its first spin in the boat it hopes to sail to victory in the 37th America's Cup.
The 75-foot boat took to the waters with its mainsail sporting a large "Pensacola, Florida" logo that it will carry for the entire international race series this fall.
Before sailing, the New York Yacht Club Vice Commodore Clare Harrington christened the new AC75 as "Patriot," the second boat sailed by American Magic to carry that name.
The previous Patriot was also an AC75 and sailed many times in Pensacola as the team gathered data and trained for the version unveiled this week. The previous Patriot had its last sail in the waters of Pensacola Bay in February 2023.
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Much like the rules of Formula 1 racing, the sailboat is a 75-foot foiling monohull that meets the AC75 design rules laid out by the America's Cup. Still, within those rules, the American Magic team has made its own designs to give it an edge in the racing competition set to take place this fall.
"The New York Yacht Club has never wavered from its core purpose of ensuring international competition at the highest level of skill and performance," Harrington said at the Patriot's christening. "That is our tradition. However, the launch of Patriot also signifies innovation, blending two distinct elements: tradition and innovation. And so I bring to American Magic the heartfelt wishes of all 3,400 plus members of the New York Yacht Club for your success in the upcoming competition, maintaining the club's tradition through your inspired innovation."
The team said that more than 108,000 design hours and 65,000 construction hours went into making the Patriot.
"We followed our own design path with Patriot as we pushed the limits of the AC75 rule while tailoring for the Barcelona venue," American Magic Design Coordinator Scott Ferguson said in a team press release.
The team had the boat foiling after running some initial tests on it, before having to bring it back to the dock as the weather forecast in Barcelona called for thunderstorms.
"As far as first days go inside the American Magic program, really, this was probably our best day," Terry Hutchinson, president of sailing operations at American Magic, told an America's Cup camera crew after the sail.
The Patriot was built and designed at the American Magic's previous headquarters in Rhode Island, but the boat will return to Pensacola after the America's Cup this fall. The next AC 75 for the 38th America's Cup is planned to be designed and built at the team's new headquarters at the Port of Pensacola.
The 37th America's Cup will hold its third preliminary regatta this August in Barcelona as a final full-scale practice race.
Then the Louis Vuitton Cup will take place in August and September 2024, where the teams will compete for the right to race against the defending team, Emirates New Zealand, in the actual 37th America's Cup in October 2024.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: American Magic sails new 'Patriot' AC75 for the first time
