The unique challenges facing the next Americas Cup Teams

Now the commotion around the 'dancing pond skater' has died down a little, and everyone has had a chance to discuss the new AC75 design around the Christmas dinner table, sailors who are deep in the skunkworks are still trying to work out how to actually make these things fly.

Cup legend, Grant Simmer has his head around it all, and spoke to World Sailing TV about it this week. He offers some great insights into the forces involved in making a boat like this work, and the more he explains it, the more everyone realizes just how difficult this design will be to accomplish!

"Technically, it's really exciting." He explains, "It'll be really challenging or the sailors to sail it, because they've just never sailed a boat like that before."

Right now there isn't any other boats to train on! So the sailors are all sitting around working on general sailing technique and fitness, but until someone can make a smaller version of this thing that actually works - they're all a bit stuck for training options.

Or, they'll just jump back in their Moths…