The France America’s Cup Team, La Roche-Posay Racing, have returned to the water with their AC75 (B1) in Lorient, France.
They had been in the shed for almost a month for an extended repair and rebuild following water ingress that led to a battery fire, and required the systems to be stripped out of the boat for the repairs.
Most of the pre-launch attention appeared to centre on the port central pod and on the Cunningham system. Following extensive dockside checks they completed over three hours of sailing.
The Recon team reported that the boat appeared to accelerate quickly when bearing up. On one gybe exit, the boat heeled significantly, resulting in a heavy touchdown. On one or two occasions, the boat also appeared slow to rebuild speed following a gybe.
In an interview at the dock, a visibly happy Antoine Rucard attributed the extended layoff to the July 7 capsize incident.
Their return to the water puts the America’s Cup teams currently sailing to three . . . La Roche-Posay Racing, Italy’s Luna Rossa, and defender New Zealand’s Emirates.
Three other challenger teams, the British, the Swiss and the USA are still working on their modifications programmes, costing them valuable sailing development time. Team Australia is also a confirmed entry but no details available to date.
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