Yacht Replaces Sails For Wing

BMW Oracle Racing hopes using a wing for a sail will help its BOR 90 win the America’s Cup race later this month

This year, the rules have all but disappeared for competitors in the world’s oldest international trophy competition, the America’s Cup sailing race. Motorized sails are fine, the single-hull rule is out, and in the case of the BMW Oracle Racing team’s boat, even sails are optional. Instead, they hope the largest wing ever constructed could catch enough wind to win the America’s Cup.

WING - The 7,700-pound wing includes a single piece that rotates around the mast and eight flaps that catch or shed wind in different directions for thrust. Engineers claim that the wing—80 percent longer than a Boeing 747’s—can achieve twice the power of a soft mainsail.

MAST - Fiber-optic sensors in the mast and hull reflect light differently when stretched. A computer converts these changes into stress loads in real time to predict material failures and alert the crew if strong winds could snap the mast.

SAIL - A camera system photographs the soft sail, analyzes its shape and height, and compares the measurements with past performance data to suggest the optimal setup.

It's built from carbon fibre and kevlar, with an ultra-smooth aeronautical film cover to ensure maximal airflow. Building the wing alone took nearly 40,000 man hours.

Such a massive wing can't be operated by manned ropes alone; instead, due to a loophole in the challenge rules, it's actuated by motors that control the master wind rotation, the camber of the main flap area, and the specific angle of rotation of each one of the eight separate flaps that hang off the trailing edge of the main wing.

The boat itself is a gigantic racing trimaran, its footprint the size of two basketball courts, featuring wave-piercing, heavy bows to give it a smooth ride through choppy seas.

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