With four successful weeks of the Summer 2004 sailing programme behind them, it is an exciting time for the GBR Challenge as they move into phase two of testing.

The changes to the America’s Cup Class Rule (Version 5.) allow for larger sail areas throughout the sail inventory. Because of this, significant changes to the rigs have been made, not only to compensate for additional loads put on the mast but to enable accurate analysis of the new sail designs.

Work on the mast, rigging and sail systems over the past months has been extensive and phase two of the on water testing will allow the teams of designers to begin taking data which will be used in the R&D of future designs.

The modifications that rig 2 has undergone include installation of camera systems and strain gauges to provide accurate data of the rigs performance.