ITA 85 makes its debut

The Italian +39 Challenge sailed its new boat, ITA 85, for the first time on Thursday. The debut marks an enormous milestone for the young team, with the boat representing nearly 40 000 man hours of work.

Helmsman Iain Percy said the plan was to tow the boat out, test some systems, and if the weather permitted to raise the mainsail. The boat must have passed all structural tests quickly, because within minutes the mainsail and then the genoa was hoisted.