SCIENCE IN THE NEWS DAILY

Flying Through the Water: America's Cup Technology

from the San Diego Union-Tribune (Registration Required)

The basic physics of sailing seem obvious: A sail catches the wind. The energy is transferred to the hull. The boat is pushed forward.

Of course, any sailor worth his salt knows it's not that simple, and sailing the boats of this year's America's Cup, scheduled to begin today off the coast of Valencia, Spain, may be something akin to rocket science.

By all reports, both vessels in this year's 33rd staging of the America's Cup (racing began in 1851, making it the world's oldest active sports trophy) are capable of sailing two to three times faster than the wind, so fast in fact that "they make their own wind," said Bryon Anderson, a physicist at Kent State University and a longtime sailor.