As a symbol, 172 years after the victory of the Schooner America in English waters (August 22, 1851) and 1 year before the opening of the festivities in Barcelona for the 37th edition of the America’s Cup (August 22, 2024), the he French team, led by Stephan Kandler and Bruno Dubois, is stationed in the Catalan capital and fired its first AC40 tacks on Tuesday 22 August.

Quentin Delapierre, Kevin Peponnet, the two pilots and Matthieu Vandamme and Jason Sounders, the two trimmers, took control of the foiling monohull with a certain confidence after weeks of training on a simulator, but still with a background of apprehension and excitement. The conditions on the water were however not conducive to flying, but in a maximum wind of 6.5 knots, the crew of Orient Express Racing Team managed to fly the first French AC40.

“It’s been a week and a half since we received the AC40 and a little more since we settled in Barcelona. I see the whole team working hard to make this day happen. It was great to sail on our Orient Express and, what’s more, with few problems. The AC40 is incredible with its autopilot. A first for me. It is very impressive. It was just awesome. We now have a great tool available to do quality workouts. We are therefore going to link the navigations. said skipper Quentin Delapierre.

Jason Soundeurs the trimmer on the AC40 Orient Express Racing Team was also very happy after this first test: “It was amazing to be able to sail here in Barcelona with our new boat. It does not provide the same sensations as others. The main difference is the autopilot; it works very well, it is relevant. Having a machine that controls part of the boat is not nothing. With the two sails, the field of vision is different, you have to get used to it. On board, I trim the sails, to windward, the mainsail, to leeward, the jib. With Matthieu Vandame, we have to adapt to these two different roles. For team coach Thierry Douillard: “It’s a new big step”. There has been such de facto work since the birth of the project. Then, exceptional work by the shore team over the past weeks and today, the team on the water was able to go out in difficult conditions with very little wind; barely enough to take off. We carried out two towing take-offs and, afterwards, the sailors set off on their own. The objectives today were twofold. At the technical level, it was a question of testing the equipment, to see if the calibration is good. Then, of course, you had to see the feelings of the sailors. On this side, we have done a lot of work on the simulator for a few weeks. This afternoon, we could see Quentin, Kevin, Matthieu and Jason, jumping into the boat a bit like they jump into the simulator. Thanks to these good references, we can manage to tack quickly. Of course, the to-do list is still huge, but it’s a good first day to gain confidence. All lights are green! he continued.

With 24 days to go before the first preliminary races in Vilanova (September 14 to 17), in the fleet against the five other teams entered in the 37th America’s Cup, every single day of training is important. The weekend’s weather conditions are conducive to good sailing, the wind gradually rising to end with a breeze. The Blues will therefore chain the maximum outings on the body of water of Barcelona.