Humphreys' first involvement with the America's Cup was in 1988 as part of the design team for Peter de Savary's Blue Arrow syndicate, culminating in the design of a radical hydrofoil-stabilized 65ft monohull intended to sail against the big New Zealand K boat and the Stars & Stripes catamaran, but ultimately denied the opportunity by the politics at play at the time.

Then when the new International America’s Cup rule was promulgated as a replacement for the Twelve Metre rule, Humphreys became closely entwined in the rule-creation process, attending meetings in Honolulu and San Diego, and subsequently acting as chairman of the group of designers in a crucial boat-defining session at the Southampton series of IACC meetings, while John Longley (of Australia II fame) chaired the parallel owners’ meetings. In fact Humphreys produced the first lines for this class, drawn to test the developing rule algorithms.

Rob Humphreys' most recent involvement with the America's Cup was in the years leading to the 2003 Cup, as a member of Peter Harrison's GBR Challenge. And now with the 2007 Cup beginning to be shaped, Humphreys has been retained as a leading member of GBR’s design team for this first-time European contest in Valencia.

Humphreys Yacht Design
Lower Seaforth House
Bath Road
Lymington
Hampshire
SO41 3RW
UK
Tel. +44 (0)1590 679344
Fax. +44 (0)1590 671651
info@humphreysdesign.com