Oceanic Consulting Corporation, a Newfoundland-based ocean engineering firm, has been awarded a contract to evaluate the design of the racing yacht for Switzerland's 2003 America's Cup Challenge.
Oceanic's contract will be ongoing until late 2001, with model tests being conducted at the National Research Council of Canada's Institute for Marine Dynamics (NRC-IMD) in St. John's, and with technical services support from Memorial University of Newfoundland.
The Swiss team chose Oceanic based on a proven track record in performance evaluation of racing yachts and state-of-the-art model testing capabilities. In the 1995 America's Cup, one of the fastest challenger boats was designed using model test results produced at NRC-IMD.
Oceanic provides its services with scientific and facility support of NRC-IMD and Memorial University and with engineering and business development support of Marineering Limited (a Newfoundland-based engineering firm). The organization provides commercial services in marine performance evaluation to the international marketplace, specializing in physical and numerical modeling of ships, yachts, offshore structures and other marine systems.
Oceanic offers "one-stop shopping" for a broad suite of evaluation services through one of world's most complete and advanced collections of marine test facilities, all based in St. John's. Facilities include: 200m and 58m towing tanks; an
offshore engineering basin; a 90m ice tank; a 22m flume tank; a cavitation tunnel; marine simulators; as well as access to an Acutronic 680-2 centrifuge.
Dan Walker, president of Oceanic and Marineering Limited, said, "Oceanic is a premiere example of private and public collaboration working to further Canada in the international marketplace. The Swiss project is an outstanding indication of this. We have the leading-edge technology and expertise to provide the Swiss challenge with the most competitive hull for the next America's Cup, and we are confident we will do that."