At the 7th RNLI Annual Lecture at the University of Southampton on Wednesday 5 December, a leading yacht designer reveals the engineering challenges behind the America’s Cup.

Andy Claughton will talk about the challenges and constraints faced in creating fast yachts that are strong enough to take immense loads whilst also being light enough to reach the high performance demanded in match racing at this level; and all this within a strict set of rules and regulations dictating certain design parameters.

Andy will also describe the space-age technology used in racing yacht design and construction; along with the instrumentation systems that have been developed to refine both design and sailing techniques.

Now regarded as one of the top yacht design project managers in the world, Andy Claughton was design coordinator for Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) America’s Cup Challenge, which won the Louis Vuitton Cup in Valencia this year and raced in the final of the 32nd America’s Cup against the Swiss Defender Alinghi, which snatched victory by the narrowest of margins (a mere one second!)

After graduating from the University of Southampton in 1975, Andy worked as an engineer in the Wolfson Unit for Marine Technology and Industrial Aerodynamics (WUMTIA) at the University. He also worked as a consultant for several America’s Cup Challenges, primarily working on towing tank and wind tunnel testing in the facilities around Southampton.

In 2000, Andy became research coordinator for Team New Zealand’s 2003 America’s Cup defence campaign, and then design coordinator for the 2007 Challenge, managing the 20-strong design team involved in producing the racing yachts NZL84 and NZL92.

Tickets are free and all are welcome. For further information: Tel: 01202 336000 or email: pressoffice@rnli.org.uk