The look of the 2021 America's Cup will become even clearer tomorrow when Team New Zealand unveils its final rules around design of the AC75.
Head designer Dan Bernasconi has barely left the team base for the past year as he tries to find that extra element to keep hold of the Auld Mug.
Bernasconi is the man few would recognise but one who will go a long way to determining whether Team NZ can defend the Cup.
The designer says finalising the boat rules for the 36th edition of the Cup tonight for tomorrow’s reveal will set the wheels in motion.
"That really sets in stone what we're designing to, he said.
"So whilst a lot of the guys in the team have already been working on design concepts, now we're really nailing down what we can and can't do and getting down to the design of a first test boat."
Building for that test boat will start "soon" with teams now tweaking their designs to get optimum performance in the foiling monohulls.
Bernasconi says no rock will go unturned.
"Whether it's in how we control the foils, how we control the sails, how we trim, how we do manoeuvres."
Team UK - led by Sir Ben Ainslie, is also believed to be close to developing its first test boat.
For Bernasconi, he's looking forward to having his intrepid sailors back at HQ to give their input.
"If you tried to design a boat without the sailors' input you'd end up with something which maybe was extremely fast on paper but maybe was not that sailable and I think you need that perspective from the sailors."
But there's still one question on everyone’s lips – what game-changing breakthrough, like the cyclors in Bermuda, does Bernasconi have up his sleeve?
"Well obviously I'm not going to tell you!" He joked.
"There's going to be plenty of scope for innovation."
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