With the new America’s Cup Class boats being dubbed the fastest to ever compete in the 166-year old event, it is natural that there is curiosity about how fast they actually go.

From the public to the media, it’s one of the first questions asked of team members. In last Friday’s press conference, a member of the media asked all helmsmen to comment on top speeds attained on the day and to say where it happened on the race course.
 

The five helmsmen looked at each other, somewhat comically, for a few beats, until Franck Cammas of Groupama Team France said, “40 knots.” But it sounded more like a question than a statement.

The media tittered. They must not want to talk about it, was the general consensus. Keeping secrets from each other.

In fact, it is far more likely none of them knew. It seems the only people who don’t care about the top speed of the boats are the sailors themselves.

When asked whether top speed is ever a discussion point in a debriefing, the answer is a resounding no.

The reason? It’s not very relevant to winning races.
 

© Gilles Martin-Raget

The teams are interested in developing boats with a high average speed around the race course. Having a higher bottom end speed in maneuvers is a much bigger performance driver than being able to flash extreme speed for a moment when bearing away around mark 1 (and that’s almost certainly where the record will fall).

Will the new America’s Cup boats break the 50-knot barrier? It’s possible. But don’t expect to hear about it from one of the sailors. They probably won’t know.

@CupScribe

www.americascup.com