America's Cup: First AC75 raceboat to be publicly revealed arrives at Alinghi Red Bull Racing base
by Alinghi Red Bull Racing/Sail-World 6 Mar 13:09 NZDT
6 March 2024
Alinghi Red Bull Racing's AC75 'Boat One' arrives at the team base in Barcelona © Olaf Pignataro/Red Bull Content Pool
Alinghi Red Bull Racing's AC75 that will sail in the 2024 America's Cup, has arrived at the team base in Barcelona, after a six day truck and water delivery trip from Switzerland.
The AC75, known as BoatOne, was delivered over the last miles, by barge to Port Vell, Barcelona, before being delivered to the Alinghi Red Bull Racing Base on Monday.
During the one-week voyage since departing Ecublens, the teams raceboat that will compete for the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup travelled at night by truck as part of a special “convoy.” The trip was not short on logistical planning. She was wrapped in a special cover that protected the hull and masked her shapes.
Once in Barcelona, the delivery truck unloaded its special cargo across the port from the team base. From there, she was carefully placed on a barge for the final leg across the water, craned onto the hard and then moved straight into the boat shed for a night of rest at her new home.
"It's very exciting to have the new boat here,” said Tim Hacket, shore manager. “ Above all for the builders and the designers, after all their hard work. Now that the boat is in Barcelona, we're fully ready for the last phase of assembly before finally going on the water! I see a lot of work ahead for us before we can reach that step. BoatZero is totally reliable, and we now have to start from scratch with BoatOne. It will be an interesting journey."
Team members cheered while each of them was unwrapping her. Once unwrapped, Barcelona shore crew members reciprocating with their own signatures on the same banner that was signed in Ecublens to claim receipt of their extra special delivery.
“It was a very special moment for me to unwrap the boat, surrounded by my colleagues”, said Juan Capdevila, head of security. “It was absolutely amazing to discover the boat together as a team in our shed. It’s the boat that will represent us at the Cup, it’s an unforgettable moment.”
“Today was a really important step for the team,” said Arnaud Psarofaghis, skipper for Alinghi Red Bull Racing. “Getting to this final phase makes it a bit more real for everyone here. It does bring more work, but energises the team as well. When I saw the boat coming on the barge, I felt really excited. And seeing it in one piece after the unwrapping was a relief, for sure! Having the boat in our shed triggers many ideas and details that we need to finalise. The next big step for us is to get the boat ready for the first sail!”
BoatOne now begins her final build phase, including rigging and hardware fitting with an unveiling not scheduled before April 5.