America's Cup challenger wings it

SAN DIEGO - It took all of one hour for the America's Cup to look decidedly 21st century.

In a preview of what the 33rd America's Cup might look like once the lawyers finally give way to the sailors, challenger BMW Oracle Racing debuted a radical 190-foot wing sail on its monster trimaran during a shakedown cruise yesterday afternoon on San Diego Bay.

Helmsman Jimmy Spithill steered the space age-looking craft up and down the harbor, past the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and back again. When the 90-by-90-foot trimaran hooked into a breeze, the windward hull lifted out of the water and accelerated as if Spithill...