MDL Marinas creates custom pontoons for Land Rover BAR

Land Rover BAR's official marina partner, MDL Marinas, has built customised pontoons for the America's Cup team in Bermuda

A pontoon built by MDL Marinas for Land Rover BAR's America's Cup base in Bermuda
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Ahead of the 35th America’s Cup, MDL Marinas has designed custom-made pontoons for Land Rover BAR tailored to the racing conditions in Bermuda.

Using innovative, industry-leading technology, the pontoon has the ability to rotate 90∘.

This will allow Land Rover BAR to berth the boat in all wind directions and stay attached to the shore, instead of having to have the boat on a swing mooring.

The pontoon was constructed in Southampton and has travelled 3,400 miles to reach Bermuda, where it is now undergoing trial as part of the team’s intensive training programme.

The extensive design stages were started at the beginning of 2016, with the pontoons being completed and shipped by the end of the year.

They are now fully installed in Bermuda, ready for the summer competition to begin.

the new pontoon at the Land Rover BAR base in Bermuda

The pontoon in action

MDL Marinas  was also involved in the Portsmouth Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series, which was won overall by Land Rover BAR.

Commenting on the new pontoon, the head of marketing at MDL Marinas, Adrien Burnand, said: “Open sea racing is unpredictable and fast paced, so implementing equipment which saves even a second can make all the difference.”

“MDL Marinas has worked closely with the Land Rover BAR team in what has been a new but exciting challenge, and we can’t wait to see the pontoons in action this summer” he continued.

“The America’s Cup is the Formula 1 of the sailing world and it’s going to be an epic finale, both MDL and our customers are counting down the days until the action starts once again!” added Burnand.

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Shore team manager at Land Rover BAR, James Stagg, said the America’s Cup is all about “looking at advances in technology to help gain a competitive advantage.

“We wanted to see if we could create a pivoting pontoon to enable us to berth the race boat in any wind direction to reduce boat loading times, so we came together with MDL Marinas to put this concept into motion” he explained.

“Together we’ve designed and built a tool which is tailored to the team’s racing needs and the finished product looks fantastic.” noted Stagg.

“It will all come down to the race days but it’s been brilliant partnering with MDL Marinas on this element of the campaign,” he added.

The 35th America’s Cup will start on 26 May 2017.