Artemis Racing’s new race yacht “Magic Blue” was christened by team’s owner and founder Torbjorn Tornqvist’s wife, Natalia, at a special celebration in Bermuda yesterday.

The launch was the culmination of more than three years of intense design and development work, which began almost immediately after the finish of the previous America’s Cup in San Francisco in 2013.

The new America’s Cup Class yacht, which measures at 15 metres, is a development from the AC72s raced in San Francisco, retaining the wing sail and hydrofoils, which enable them to fly over the water at incredible speeds.

The design differences, lie in the design of the appendages — foils and rudders — aerodynamics, and the onboard hydraulic and electronic control systems.

The hydraulic systems are required to be completely powered by human effort and combine traditional sailboat engineering with aerospace technology.

The change of venue to Bermuda brings a host of new challenges with the varied, shifty conditions. The boats are flying and manoeuvring better than ever before thanks to several years of additional development time along with supporting rules changes.

The construction of Artemis Racing’s ACC began last month at Sune Carlsson Batvarv, next to the team’s yacht club KSSS, in Saltsjobaden, Sweden.

The hulls were then flown to the United States, and delivered to the team’s build facility in Alameda, California, where the pod, beam and end plate were installed.

It was then shipped to Bermuda, where it was reassembled and the final installation of the hydraulics and electronics took place.

Mark Allanson, the build manager, said: “Many parts of our new race yacht have already travelled thousands of miles; from the construction of our hulls in Sweden, led by Brandon Linton; to pre-assembly at our base in Alameda, California; and onto Bermuda for systems fit out. Getting to this point has required a huge effort from all members of the team and we can’t wait to see her flying across the Great Sound in Bermuda.”

The launch was attended by Torbjorn Tornqvist, team members’ families, sponsors, and Bermudian dignitaries including the Michael Dunkley, the Premier.

Although the launch marks a major milestone, the team is aware that in order to be victorious in June, they must continue to develop and refine its ACC right up until the final race.

Nathan Outteridge, the skipper, said: “This day has been a long time coming, and I am so excited to see the boat in the water. Over the last three years we have spent countless hours on the water with our test boats, developing foils and control systems that we believe will win us the America’s Cup.”