The European winter was spent in Barcelona at the team’s outstanding facilities in the heart of the Port Vell, whilst the final fit-out of the team’s new AC75 was conducted up at the Turweston Airfield under the supervision of the Mercedes engineers. Finally, with everything placed upon a low-loader, the boat they codenamed ‘RB3’ began its four-day, 1,000-mile land and sea passage to Barcelona – the final journey after some two and a half years of design, build, and fit-out.
Arriving in Barcelona on April 6, INEOS Britannia Team Principal and Skipper Sir Ben Ainslie said: “It’s been a tense few days tracking the route of RB3 from a small Northamptonshire village to the busy city of Barcelona. The entire INEOS Britannia team and our partners have worked tirelessly to get us to this point and so it’s great to have RB3 arrive at its new home. Although it’s a relief to have the race boat in Barcelona, the work doesn’t stop. Our focus will now be on launching the boat and getting some good sailing hours in ahead of the Preliminary Regatta in August.”
Just twelve days later, on the April 18, the team revealed a hyper-design, clearly a no-stone-left-unturned angular, muscular hull, so different from the other Challengers that it echoed the phrase of the Marquess of Anglesey: “If she is right, we must all be wrong.” The team also revealed the technical statistics: 120,000+ individual parts, 700+ sensors & channels, 33 onboard cameras linked back to shore, 30,000+ data channels, 50+ knots estimated top speed, length 20.7 metres, max beam five metres, weight 6,200 kg. Al-in-all the finest British challenger for the America’s Cup of the modern era – perhaps ever in the Cup’s 173-year history.