Youth focus
Yachting Developments undertakes sail trials on the first ACF9 Youth America’s Cup boat in New Zealand.
15 June 2020
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In the lead up to the 36th America’s Cup, set to be held in New Zealand in 2021, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron will host the Youth America’s Cup. Fifteen teams from around the world have already confirmed interest in taking part.
The event will be raced on the new AC9F carbon-foiling monohull designed by the Yachting Developments design team led by Bob Graham. A fleet of AC9F models is currently being built at the Yachting Developments yard, which will allow for simultaneous match racing between participating teams.
This first AC9F model was completed by Yachting Developments in March 2020 and christened Kōtare, meaning kingfisher in Maori. Sea trials on Kōtare were delayed due to New Zealand’s nationwide lockdown, but initial tow testing of the first model has taken place and all involved were delighted with how this prototype AC9F performed in its first tests – its performance hinting at how thrilling the Youth America’s Cup is set to be.
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“We still have more testing to complete, but after her first sail it’s good to confirm that she certainly flies,” says Ian Cook, Managing Director of Yachting Developments.
Bob Graham, Designer at Yachting Developments continued, “A massive thank you to North Sails, Southern Spars and Harken for their ongoing support and collaboration on this project.”
It was impressive work by everyone involved to achieve our goals so quickly.
Although there is still more testing on the AC9F to be done, these successful first sail trials are a great move in the right direction.
The Youth America’s Cup will be an unmissable chance to bring young sailors from around the world to race in Auckland’s waters on an exciting design that will demand the best of all their skills.
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