Oracle Team USA sailors will get their first taste of action in the new AC45F catamaran today when the team begin their preparations for this month’s America’s Cup World Series in Portsmouth, England.

The AC45F is an updated version of the boats used in the previous World Series that have since been modified to foil or fly above water like the wing-sail, foiling AC45 or larger AC72.

Kyle Langford, the Oracle wing trimmer, is looking forward to the exciting challenge of coming to grips with the one design catamaran.

“We’ll do some training in the new boats which we haven’t seen or sailed in yet,” he said. “That’s one of the great things about sailing; you’re forced to pick up these new skills and adapt to a new boat and learn quickly. That’s the challenge and that’s what makes it fun.”

This month’s fleet racing regatta in Portsmouth, home port of British challenger Land Rover BAR, who are led by skipper and former Oracle tactician Sir Ben Ainslie, is the first stage of competition of the 35th America’s Cup and will feature six teams.

Jimmy Spithill, the Oracle skipper, can hardly wait to get behind the wheel and start racing around the course.

“Competition is really what drives us as sailors,” he said. “For us, we want to get out there and post a good result on the board.”

Tactician Tom Slingsby, trimmer Kinley Fowler and bowman Louis Sinclair make the up the remainder of Oracle’s team for this month’s America’s Cup World Series event.

Slingsby, who also serves as Oracle’s sailing team manager, acknowledged that team selection was a difficult task.

“It was bit of a challenge to select the crew for this event,” he said. “We have a lot of talent and depth among our sailing team. But I think we have a good mix of experience and youth on this crew and we’ve rewarded some of the hard work put in by the guys over the past weeks and months.”

The America’s Cup World Series circuit is an early opportunity to put points on the board that carry forward into the next stage of the competition.

Overall ranking position in the America’s Cup World Series determines the starting points score of the teams in the America’s Cup Qualifiers in 2017.

This month’s opening regatta in Portsmouth will take place from July 23 to 26.

*Royal Bermuda Yacht Club sailor Mark Watson was among the crew of Bryon Ehrhart’s Lucky that was the first boat in the Transatlantic Race 2015 to cross the finish line at The Lizard last Friday.

Ehrhart’s Reichel/Pugh 63 completed the 2,800-mile eastbound crossing of the North Atlantic in mostly strong winds in 8 days, 22 hrs, 5 mins and 3secs after setting sail from Newport, Rhode Island on July 1.