Nathan Outteridge, the Artemis Racing skipper, said he is satisfied by the progress the Swedish challenger has made in the design and development of the 50-foot foiling catamaran they will race in next year’s Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers in Bermuda.

“We sailed our AC45 Turbo quite a bit in San Francisco and in Bermuda last year,” he said. “Most of the sailing we have done has helped us confirm design ideas so we can send the drawings off and get the boat built.”

Artemis’s designers and builders have been tasked with creating a fast racing catamaran best suited to the conditions in the Great Sound.

“We’re designing a boat that will be fast in the conditions we expect to get in Bermuda,” said Outteridge, who will defend his Olympic gold medal in the 49er Class in Rio this summer with Artemis team-mate Iain Jensen. “We’re focused on the areas where the development will make a difference — control systems and foil shapes — and we do need to make some tough calls in a couple of months as we start the building process.

“The boat has to be complete at the end of the year and ready to launch in January, so that means signing off on aspects of the boat in the next few weeks.”

Artemis is expected to resume training in their AC45S test boat this month and then start their two-boat test platform, which has been a mainstay of America’s Cup programmes since the 1980s when the 12-metres class was the weapon of choice.

Outteridge and his colleagues are striving to improve ranking in the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series, where they are fourth in the points standings, four points adrift of third-placed Land Rover BAR.

The World Series circuit will resume in Oman on February 27 and 28, where Outteridge and his team-mates will look to build on their impressive victory at the previous event held in Bermuda last October.

“If we can get on the podium at each of the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series events this year that will move us closer to the front and put us in good standing for the Qualifiers in 2017,” he said.

Featuring all of the America’s Cup teams, the World Series is an opportunity to earn points that will count towards the America’s Cup qualifiers and play-offs, which will determine who competes against defender Oracle Team USA.

Emirates Team New Zealand are the World Series leaders.