Living Moments - N°1 Edition 2013

www.private-residences.net 7TaTYR 8ZXPY_^ 111 The revolution in sailing began on July, 7th. The fastest sailing yachts in the world are competing for the oldest sports trophy, the America’s Cup. Never before has this been so wild, fast, and so dangerous. It has rarely been so expensive either. For the first time, they are sailing racing machi- nes which reach a speed of up to 75 km/h. The American software tycoon, Larry Ellison, fifth- richest man in the world, has determined that he can only be challenged with 22-metre long and 14-metre wide high-tech catamarans. He can decide the choice of “weapons” ever since he wrenched the historic cup from the Swiss Biotech billionaire, Ernesto Bertarelli and his Alinghi team in 2013. This had been preceded by a dirty dispute where a US court had to clarify the mo- dalities of the deed of foundation of 1851. This time, the yachts race on two slender, light blades, and nearly four times as fast across the water compared to their monohull predecessors. A 40-metre-high, straight airplane profile trans- forms wind into propulsion. It is bigger than the wing of a Boing 747. In addition, after having reached a certain speed, the hulls act like hydro- planes and gain unprecedented speeds. The pro- blem is how to control this new technology. Sailors and design engineers have only limited experience with this new type of sailing which they must demonstrate in the strong winds of the notorious bay of San Francisco, in front of the former prison island of Alcatraz. During the training, Ellison’s 10-million-dollar bullet flipped over under the Golden Gate Bridge. Eleven sailors fell from a height of 14 metres. The yacht was destroyed. Seven months later it got the competitor, Artemis. Something is breaking. Das schwedische Herausforderer-Team Artemis trauert, nachdem ein Segler bei einer Kenterung gestorben ist The Swedish challenger team, Artemis, is mourning after one sailor died in a capsize