Class AC90 is born

AC Management has published today, as it was predicted, the regulation of class AC90, which marks a landmark in the way of 33ª America's Cup. This regulation has been written up during last the six weeks through a process of consultation with the participant challenges and the Defender directed by Tom Schnackenberg, adviser of ACM for the class regulation and the norms of the competition.

The designers of the six enrolled equipment have met regularly since the process began 15 of September the past. Tom Schnackenberg comments about these sessions: “The process has been stimulating and the challenges have helped enormously to improve this regulation. He is impressive creative that is the people in this surroundings, in that all contribute his ideas. These last six weeks have been a very pleasant experience”.

New regulation AC90 will have 90 feet of maximum length, 6.5 meters of openwork in competition and 23 tons of displacement. This one last parameter was defined by the challenges by own request. Tom adds: “When writing the regulation of class AC90 we have used the experience of Version 5 of the regulation America's Cup Class and have tried to simplify it due to the brevity of the term. At the same time we have worried about not ignoring the lessons learned in the last 18 years of life of class ACC. The new norm is a regulation frame (box rule), more restrictive than regl amento known as “rating rule” and is very different from Version 5. The new boat will be great, fast and much more demanding”.

Juan Kouyoumdjian, designer head of British challenge TEAMORIGIN, considers that “to participate in a series of meetings directed by Tom Schnackenberg to write up the regulation of class for something as significant as the boat that will be used in the America's Cup has been an honor for me and at the same time all a experience. The profile of the designers, engineers and naval, representing architects of the challenges and the Defender, always is special. The followed process has been effective and productive and the boat will be spectacular and demanding to design, to sail and to compete”.

John Cutler, technical director of Spanish Desafío, adds about the result: “We are contentments with the process. It has supposed a duro work for all the equipment, the challenges and the Defender, and has been many changes. The boat will be exciting to sail, everything a challenge to also design it and a challenge for the crew. It will turn out very exciting to sail in this class”.

As far as the following passages for 33ª America's Cup, Tom Schnackenberg will continue with the dialog with the challenges and the Defender to finalize the norms of the competition for an event in 2009.

In order to accede to all the regulation AC90 it visits