BMW ORACLE Racing is the newest technological advances as far as boats go, in the world. This wing powered boat was created to compete in the 33 America’s Cup in Valencia, Spain in February 2011. Instead of being powered by the sail, as the normal boats, this boat is actually powered by a huge wing, that is supposed to make it faster. The diameter of the wing is actually bigger than that of an airplane. Mike Drummond, the executive Director of the BMW Oracle Racing explains: "A wing of this scale has never been built for a boat. In terms of size, it dwarfs those on modern aircraft. Towering nearly 190 ft (57 m) above the deck, it is 80% bigger than a wing on a 747 airplane." (Design World site)
The rigid wing is supposed to give the boat increased speed, depending on the velocity of the wind. Though rigid wings are not too often encountered in boats, certainly not of this size, there were a few in the past, the first one appeared at the America’s Cup in 1987.
The boat with its fixed white, shiny and lustrous wing is very imposing and elegant. If the design works, this could mean that BMW has set the bar high, for other companies to figure out how to respond to it. From now on therefore, we should be prepared to hear more and more about fixed wing for boats.
Works Cited:
http://www.designworldonline.com/articles/5602/314/BMW-ORACLE-Racing-Designs-World-s-Biggest-Wing-with-Computational-Field-Dynamics.aspx
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