BMW Oracle Racing - The boat

A team of over 30 designers and scientists are responsible for the innovative design of BMW ORACLE’s giant trimaran, led by Design Director Mike Drummond and Design Coordinator Ian ‘Fresh’ Burns.

With almost 150,000 man-hours of build time, under the direction of Mark Turner and Tim Smyth, the trimaran offers the option of sailing with a conventional mast and soft sails, or with a massive wing sail which towers over 220 feet (68 metres) above the deck. The wing sail is over twice as big as the wing of a Boeing 747 airplane and is the largest wing sail ever fitted to a sailing boat. It was unveiled on November 8th and is comprised of a main element with nine flaps. It is constructed from aeronautical film over a lightweight, carbon-kevlar structure.

On August 22nd 2008, the 90ft trimaran was unveiled at the team’s build facility in Anacortes, WA (USA) and it was launched three days later for sea trials and testing. On January 4th 2010, BMW ORACLE Racing’s Cup boat arrived in Valencia and on January 19th, USA sailed on Valencian waters for the first time.