Team New Zealand reveals 1st foiling mono-hull

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — America’s Cup defending champions Team New Zealand has revealed its revolutionary foiling mono-hull, showing off the sleek sailboat a day ahead of its official launch.

Team New Zealand displayed the 75-foot craft at its Auckland base on Thursday.

Painted in the team’s colors of red, gray and black, the hull is low-slung, designed to be aerodynamic as it rides above the water on foils which hang downwards from its mid-section.

The hull is around 66 feet in length, and 16 feet at its widest point, tapering to an 8-foot long bowsprit. It will have a crew of 11.

America’s Cup teams take extraordinary steps to protect their technology from the prying eyes of opponents, in this case the four teams which will challenge for the Cup from March, 2021.

But Team New Zealand seemed unusually relaxed in displaying the new-generation Cup defender to rivals ahead of its launching ceremony Friday.

“The spies are about to become very busy,” the team said on its Facebook page.

As defender, Team New Zealand was allowed to choose the type of sailboat in which it would defend the title it won from Team USA in foiling multi-hulls in 2017. It chose to move to an unprecedented class of mono-hulls, stretching the limits of sailing technology.

Italian challenger Prada is due to unveil its first sailboat early next week.

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