The huge grin on Jimmy Spithill’s face pretty much summed up the mood among Oracle Team USA after the launch of the team’s turbo-charged AC45S catamaran went off without a hitch in the Great Sound yesterday.

After having its towering wing sail mounted, Oracle’s foiling catamaran gracefully slipped away from its base at the Royal Naval Dockyard and made its way towards open seas.

Once there, hearts began racing as Oracle’s boat hopped up on its foils and flew around at speeds approaching 40 knots, leaving observers on pleasure boats and those dotting the shoreline awestruck.

“It was fantastic,” Mr Spithill, the skipper, told The Royal Gazette.

“It was just a perfect day in Bermuda: 15 knots the first sail and pretty much from the get-go, we were foil-gybing and had a crack at a couple of foil tacks. So big credit to the shore team, the designers and obviously the local contractors for allowing us to do that.”

Oracle are the first team in the 35th America’s Cup to launch a 45ft foiler in local waters, while yesterday also marked the return of Mr Spithill at the helm of the team’s AC45S since undergoing elbow surgery in February.

Helmsman and sailing team manager Tom Slingsby and Sam Newton took to the Great Sound in Bermuda Saturday for some Flying Phantom training. And yes, they were flying!!

“It’s a real statement,” said Mr Spithill, the 2014 ISAF Rolex Sailor of the Year. “We’ve got a feel for the racecourse and I think it’s going to give us a competitive advantage.”

Oracle’s AC45S also gave participants in the Bermuda International Invitational Regatta a real treat as it flew past the International One Design fleet.

“The IOD fleet was out having a race and we were sort of absolutely tearing past them and getting a few hoots and hollers, so they were loving it,” Mr Spithill said.

“It was quite a shock and I think people are really blown away when they see this thing.”

Paul Doughty, the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club sailing coach, echoed Mr Spithill’s sentiments.

He said: “What a phenomenal and spectacular thing to witness the first AC45 to sail in Bermuda immediately foil towards the East End of Bermuda, turn around and sail down the Great Sound in three minutes.

“Nobody has ever covered that amount of ground in a sailboat in the Great Sound before; that thing just tore it up.”

Stevie Dickinson, the veteran local sailor, added: “It’s really, really amazing to see that Oracle boat go so fast. The chase boats were behind it for a while, a puff of breeze came and that thing just left the chase boats behind. It was unbelievable; she was doing at least 35 knots easy and I know my heart wouldn’t be able to take that.”

Local sailing enthusiasts will get a first taste of America’s Cup action when Bermuda hosts the third World Series leg from October 16 to 18.