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Everything you need to know about the 37th America’s Cup

Follow the build-up to the 37th America’s Cup as the teams prepare to fight it out for the oldest sporting trophy in the world.

Which teams are in the 37th America’s Cup?

In 2021 four teams raced in fully foiling AC75 monohulls which were conceived specifically for the event by then Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand and Challenger of Record, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli.

These same four teams return for the 2024 America’s Cup and will be joined by two additional teams, bringing the total number of entries up to 6.

Emirates Team New Zealand – America’s Cup Defender

As the current holder of the America’s Cup, Emirates Team New Zealand will be racing again in the 37th America’s Cup. As the Defender, the Kiwis will be guaranteed a spot in the America’s Cup regatta itself.

Any other challengers will need to race each other in preliminary regattas for the right to be the single challenger in the America’s Cup regatta itself.

Emirates Team New Zealand represent the Royal Auckland Yacht Club in America’s Cup racing.

INEOS Britannia – America’s Cup Challenger of Record

The Challenger of Record is the name given to the first yacht club to challenge the holder of the America’s Cup once it has been won.

When Emirates Team New Zealand successfully completed their defence of the America’s Cup in 2021, the Royal Yacht Squadron immediately issued a challenge on behalf of Ben Ainslie’s INEOS Team UK (now called INEOS Britannia), so they are Challenger of Record for the 37th America’s Cup .

INEOS Britannia and Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team has strengthened an exhausting relationship, with the British challenger standing to benefit from the technical and engineering experience of the multiple World Champion F1 team.

Luna Rossa perform a tight leeward mark rounding

Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli

Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli has a very long America’s Cup history having first competed in 2000 and has taken part in every Cup since (with the exception of the unique 2010 Deed of Gift match).

For the 36th America’s Cup Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli were the challenger of record. They also won the challenger selection series so it was this Italian team who took on Emirates Team New Zealand for the America’s Cup itself.

The team will return for the 37th America’s Cup though this time they are not the official challenger of record.

American Magic

In 2021 the New York Yacht Clubs’ American Magic was also competing, though their event was ultimately ruined by a capsize in the early part of the regatta . They did get the boat rebuilt but it never got back up to speed and they made an early exit.

The 2021 campaign marked the return of the New York Yacht Club to the America’s Cup. The NYYC held the America’s Cup from its inception in 1851 right the way through to 1983, when they were defeated by the Royal Perth Yacht Club’s Australia II .

American Magic have confirmed their entry into the 37th America’s Cup and will, once again, be representing the New York Yacht Club.

Alinghi Red Bull Racing out training in their training AC75, purchased from Emirates Team New Zealand. Photo: Alinghi Red Bull Racing media

Alinghi Red Bull Racing

Another team making a return to the America’s Cup scene after a long break will be Ernesto Bertarelli’s Alinghi team. The Swiss team won the America’s Cup in 2003 and then completed a successful defence in 2007.

However, a serious falling out over the potential rules for the next America’s Cup saw Alinghi taken to court by Larry Ellison and his BMW Oracle team, the 2010 America’s Cup was held between Alinghi and BMW Oracle Racing in a Deed of Gift match that saw the teams fight it out in huge multihulls.

BMW Oracle won the contest and Alinghi stepped away from America’s Cup racing. Their return is a welcome one and their Cup history alongside their partnership with Red Bull Racing should see them a solid challenge from the off.

Orient Express Team France

The French entry to the 2024 America’s Cup was long rumoured but it was not until quite late in the day that they officially announced their intention to challenge.

It was in early 2023 that the official announcement came of a French AC entry, backed by Accor Group and its brands Orient Express and ALL-ACCOR Live Limitless.

As a fairly late challenge they will have a lot to do to be competitive.

What boats will be used in the 37th America’s Cup

The Protocol for the 37th America’s Cup has been released including the rules for the class of boat to be used in the next edition of the event. Once again the America’s Cup will be raced for in AC75s . These boats were first brought in ahead of the 36th America’s Cup so this will be their second outing.

The foiling monohulls will be slightly different, with rules being tweaked partly aimed at improving light wind performance and reducing crew numbers from 11 to 8.

Teams will only be allowed to build one AC75 and nationality rules are strict this time around requiring 100% of the race crew for each competitor to either be a passport holder of the country of the team’s yacht club or to have been physically present in that country for 18 months of the previous three years prior to 17th March 2021.

Emirates Team New Zealand saw success in 2017 in Bermuda with their Cyclors . These may well return for the 37th America’s Cup.

When it comes to the events, there will be up to three Preliminary Regattas, the first two raced in a new one-design class of AC40s , the last one at the Match venue in AC75s. The Challenger Selection Series and the America’s Cup Match will be held in 2024.

Barcelona, the venue for the 37th America’s Cup

Where will the 37th America’s Cup be held?

Barcelona, Spain was selected in 2022 as the venue for the 37th America’s Cup , marking the first time a New Zealand team has chosen to defend a Cup win overseas.

The home city of Emirates Team New Zealand and the venue for the 36th America’s Cup, Auckland, had an exclusive period in which to tender for the regatta immediately after the Kiwis’ successful defence in 2021, but the sums on offer were not enough, and Emirates Team New Zealand CEO Grant Dalton cast the net wider internationally after rejecting a NZ$99 million (£50 million) offer from the New Zealand government.

A number venues were mooted including: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Cork, Ireland; Malaga, Spain, but Barcelona eventually won out.

When will the 37th America’s Cup be raced?

The America’s Cup will be held in 2024 in Barcelona. Racing in the 37th America’s Cup Match itself, which is a best of 13 (first to seven) format will start on Saturday 12th October 2024 and could run all the way to the 27th October should all the races be needed to pick a winner.

The America’s Cup will be proceeded by the challenger selection series, which will see which of the five challenger gets the honour to race New Zealand for the Cup itself.

The stated aim was to hold the event in the September-October window, which will allow for the Olympic Games in Paris, France to conclude and also offers a decent range of weather with wind speeds usually around the 9-15 knot mark.

Match Racing

Though the America’s Cup was first raced for in 1851 ( and won by the schooner America from which the trophy gets its name), this race was between a fleet of boats. A challenge by the British in the 1870s was also conducted as a fleet race.

By the 1880s, following a protest from the British, the America’s Cup was decided in a head-to-head match race where two boats sail against each other.

Match racing is a particular skill and encourages aggressive manoeuvres using the rules to put your opponent at a disadvantage. This cut-and-thrust racing, where the only objective is to beat your opponent, has long been at the heart of America’s Cup racing and produces a thrilling spectacle.

You can catch all the latest America’s Cup news, analysis and videos right here on Yachtingworld.com

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Boat of the Week: Meet the ‘Patriot,’ the New Lightning-Fast America’s Cup Foiling Yacht Representing the US

After being airlifted 9,000 miles from the factory, the 45-foot sailing racer exceeded designers' initial expectations by zigzagging around the auckland waterfront at insane speeds., michael verdon, michael verdon's most recent stories.

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Patriot , the just-launched America’s Cup racing yacht representing the United States, completed its first week of sailing last week in New Zealand . The New York Yacht Club’s representative team, American Magic, tested the potential of a design that had only been proven by computer simulation. The 75-foot navy-hulled Patriot , which just days before had been shipped by cargo plane 9,000 miles from Rhode Island, streaked across the Auckland waterfront, zigzagging on its foils, videos suggesting it reached its “sound barrier,” or top speed, of an estimated 50 knots (America’s Cup teams don’t like to talk about top speeds), or 57 mph.

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“We went off the dock thinking that if the breeze filled in, we’d have a good sail,” Terry Hutchinson, skipper and executive director of American Magic, said after the sail. “Straight away, we came into 21 knots [of wind pressure], and we were into it. Despite having a brand-new boat that we were all excited about, the whole session felt normal. That’s a great validation of our shore team and all of the work put in since we launched the Mule in 2018.”

“The Mule” was the first prototype that American Magic built to train its crew on at its facility in Pensacola, Florida, and that basic design was followed by Defender , a more complex boat that has been decommissioned since Patriot ’s arrival. Like its competitors Lunna Rossa from Italy, Britannia from the UK and the America’s Cup defender, Te Aihe from New Zealand, American Magic won’t divulge technical details about Patriot , beyond the fact its steering station is more forward than on Defender .

Patriot performed her first week of tests in front of the Auckland waterfront recently, as her team learns the idiosyncrasies of the lightning-fast foiling yacht, and designers figure out how to tweak for maximum speed.  Courtesy Will Ricketson

The 75-footer is clearly fast, even out of the box, and for the next three months, designers and specialists will tweak the carbon-fiber hull and 1560-square-foot mainsail to make it even faster.

The world’s foremost sailing event, the America’s Cup has been around since 1851, though the last three Cups were more like Formula One racing, compared to the stately, slow-sailing monohulls of previous generations. The last three Cups have all been designed around foils, starting in 2013 with the AC72, and then three years ago, the boats became smaller, and much more nimble, 50-ft. catamarans that not only accelerated like an F-22 Raptor, but could nearly pivot on their own axis.

The last-generation cats were a bit too wild, so the powers that be came up with the current AC-72 class using a one-design rule where all competitors had to use common parts. The idea was to level the playing field. Organizers supply some parts of the boat, including the mast, rigging, foil-cant arms and hydraulics. The boats—16 feet wide with a crew of 11—are also built of lightweight composites because they’re designed to fly, rather than plough through the water.

While America’s Cup teams do not release top speeds, it’s estimated that the AC75 boats break the Cup’s “sound barrier” at about 50 knots, or 57 mph.  Courtesy Will Ricketson

Patriot ’s foil-cant arms are also designed to move both under or outside the boat to provide the leverage to keep it upright. If it does capsize, the crews can right the boat much easier than the previous generations of foiling racers. Another new evolution for this America’s Cup is the twin-skin mainsail on the 87-foot-tall mast. The double-sail skins combine with the spar to generate the power the AC75 needs to foil. On the last two generations, the sails were much stiffer sail-wings that many non-Cup racers complained about because there was no trickle-down technology for the rest of the sailing world.

Beneath the water, Patriot also has an interesting breakthrough design. The foil-cant system uses new technology that employs a battery-driven, hydraulic-power unit to raise and lower the strong, but very heavy, foil-cant arms, that give the boat its stability and speed. As the boat changes tacks, the cant system is activated, placing one hydrofoil in the water, and lifting the other one out, where its weight becomes ballast.

Beyond the sail plan and hull design, the foil wings at the end of the arms will be another of Patriot ’s secret weapons. American Magic designers will have the ability to create any design they believe will be most effective to give the boat an edge over competitors, and the next month will be devoted to trying new shapes and sizes.

Patriot was built in Bristol, Rhode Island, by a 50-strong team and then shipped by cargo plane 9,000 miles to Auckland.  Courtesy Will Ricketson

Considering the America’s Cup’s ambitious timetable, and the unexpected time pressures Covid-19 put on design and production of Patriot in Rhode Island, it’s amazing that this yacht came through so well. “This team didn’t exist three years ago, and now we have three boats built and two AC75s launched,” said Marcelino Botin, American Magic’s lead designer. “The first thing we need to focus on next is to make sure the new boat is sailed the way we want it to be sailed.”

Botin said this initial “analysis” phase will be critical to future modifications to the design. “We are all interested in knowing how the boat performs compared to our predictions and compared to our previous boat,” he says.

Hutchinson says that Patriot ’s initial performance was encouraging, especially on its first gybe. “We had a great nosedive, and that was exciting,” he said. “It was nothing that we haven’t seen or done on our other boats, and our familiarity with Patriot will increase rapidly over the coming days.”

The powerful foils allow Patriot to tack and jibe at high speeds, and to self-right if it capsizes.  Courtesy Will Ricketson

Helmsman Dean Barker described the boat’s performance as “lively.”

After the America’s Cup World Series and Christmas Cup from December 17 to December 20 will come the Prada Cup Challenger Selection Series, from January 15 through February 22, 2021, where Patriot will compete against Luna Rossa and Britannia II for the challenger title. The winner of that event will then compete against Emirates New Zealand for the America’s Cup, which runs from March 6 through 15, 2021.

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Be in no doubt that the race for the 37th America’s Cup is very much on with a full complement of Barcelona-based teams setting sail early on a chilly Tuesday morning to catch a weather window whilst out. In Cagliari, the Italians were back in action for their first sail of 2024. It was a thrilling day of sailing across the board with all the teams getting well and truly back into the swing of all things AC – and at full throttle.

For INEOS Britannia it was a two-boat raceday and testing session with Ben Ainslie and Giles Scott taking the wheels of their battle-hardened AC40 ‘Athena’ whilst Ben Cornish and Dylan Fletcher-Scott took control of the team’s latest AC40 ‘Sienna.’ A short mainsail trimming breakdown on Athena called for outside assistance but otherwise it was a strong four-hour session on the water after a dock-out at 8.30am into a four degree air temperature combined with an offset wave pattern of just under a metre and 11-16 knots of angry winter breeze.

The on-water recon, led by Argentinian Olympic Coach Sebastian Peri Brusa, noted that the newer boat looked more on point today saying: “Generally speaking, AC40(b) seemed more stable and consistent than AC40(a), specially on the tacks, gybes and when bearing away and heading up, while dealing with an uncomfortable off-axis north-easterly sea state.” Sir Ben Ainslie, helm on Athena, spoke afterwards about the day saying: “It was our first day out two-boating with the AC40s, good conditions, a little bit of groundswell out there but you know we had a few a few little technical issues with the boat but other than that we were able to get some good time out there and start getting a feel for the two boat sessions and what specifically we’re looking to learn out of that.”

And when posed with the suggestion that ‘Sienna’ looked quicker all round, Ben confirmed as such saying: “It was a pretty confused sea out there so I think that for both boats it was just getting to grips with the conditions which was the main thing, we were trying a few different set-ups, yeah I think probably you’re right that today ‘Sienna’ was going slightly better on average and a number of different reasons for that I imagine, so would be good for us to go away and try and figure out what those were.” 

Much more to come from these two boat sessions but INEOS Britannia are looking good on the water with crisp manoeuvres and seemingly much more confidence in the AC40s. Ben wouldn’t be drawn on whether T6, the team’s LEQ12 test platform, would make another appearance saying: “A little bit of an unknown on that, depends how things play out with some decisions that we’re going to make in the not too distant future regards to the race boat and where we go with that so we may or may not take T6 out again.”

Meanwhile over in Cagliari it was back to business for the hard-charging Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team who put on another demonstration day of high speed, up-range foiling on a near-perfect day for sailing with 15-18 knots of breeze and an almost flat sea-state. In those conditions, the Italians are just sensational to watch and as soon as they threw in a short course, the helming rotation of Gradoni/Bruni/Spithill just lit up the LEQ12 and give it everything they’ve got. A small modification was noted by the recon team, thus: ‘the port foil arm/arm stock has clearly been modified with additional volume on leading edge.’

Impressive sailing over a three-and-a-half-hour session that Team Coach Jacopo Plazzi described as: “It was our first day in 2024, we wanted to start well, and it was actually a very good day out on the water. We started with a bit of testing and then we went straight away around marks. We’re planning to do a lot of racing stuff in the next period before closing the LEQ programme and this is a bit of a start, it’s been a while, we did a lot of testing in the last month so it’s been a while that we don’t practise this stuff and was good, bit windy, was nice.” Ominous form from the Italians who are really eyeing the new raceboat now and itching to get racing.

Back in Barcelona, another early riser was NYYC American Magic who docked-out just before 9am and put in a solid four-hour session looking way more stable initially than yesterday. The familiar bow-down pitch was enacted, and the team throttled around, nailing their manoeuvres and bedding-in those crucial systems that will be transferred almost lock-stock onto the new boat currently in build in the USA. The only fly in the ointment was a series of gybes on the way back to base in a dying breeze that yielded a number of splashdowns and was picked up on by the on-water recon team.

When asked, Michael Menninger, one of the most honest and hard-working Flight Controllers in this Cup cycle, gave a good insight into how the team are approaching Patriot saying: “I think we have to put our hands up as sailors to it a little bit I mean we’ll definitely debrief those manoeuvres probably tomorrow and see what we were doing wrong but Patriot is tough to sail when the breeze drops…whenever there’s moments where the hull is touching the water you know this hull has a hard time of maintaining that boat speed and being able to pop back up on the foils so a lot of times we’ll touchdown very briefly and then the boat kind of gets sucked in the water and we have to do a full re-build again which is tough on the cyclors but it’s something we’re battling through.”

Asked if he felt it was an advantage to have Patriot in Barcelona over a dedicated LEQ12 or the AC40, Michael responded: “You’d think so, I mean I think the internal systems of these boats are very different than AC40s. I mean maybe some of the other teams on the LEQ12s are a little bit more similar inside but certainly the size of all the cylinders and the pressure needed to move those will be more similar on Patriot versus our new boat so I think as a team we’re learning a lot about the systems and hopefully when we launch the new boat later this year we will be in a good place to be sailing her well from the get go.”

Alinghi Red Bull Racing also put in a big four-hour-plus session on Tuesday, bringing ‘BoatZero,’ the team’s AC75, back into commission with no maintenance issues and a thoroughly rewarding session for the young Swiss team. Keen to push into the off-axis north-easterly swell, the team opted for a long one-tack stint punching into the waves with the Flight Controllers really concentrating on pitch control and ride height as helmsmen Maxime Bachelin and Arnaud Psarofaghis drove hard. It was a solid session that Maxime described afterwards saying: “We were more working on the behaviour of the boat because it was long time without facing the waves and we used this opportunity to do a longer port facing the waves.”

Summing up the day overall Maxime added: “It was very nice to have a break for the team, we came back very happy and motivated for this year, the year for the America’s Cup and we are all focused for that and yeah we had as well very good condition out there, waves again, facing the waves on port and I think was a very nice day out there, bit cold I would say, but yeah it was nice…For sure the power group will be tired tonight and this is sometimes our goal, they like to be tired, so it’s quite fun to be there and the boat was working pretty well, we didn’t need to stop for any maintenance issues so it was a very good day.” 

Orient Express Racing Team were also out on the water today in their one-design AC40 ahead of an expected switch to LEQ12 mode in the coming weeks with the team eyeing foil development to complement the build work well underway of their new AC75 up at the Multiplast Yard in Vannes in the Morbihan Region. Plenty of action going on with the French team who will come into the recon programme as soon as they step their AC40 out of one-design mode. Exciting times ahead.  (Magnus Wheatley)

On-Water Recon Report – Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli:  The Italian team rolled out their LEQ12 at 8:45, stepped the mast and craned in by 9:00. On the appendage configuration, the port foil arm/arm stock has clearly been modified with additional volume on leading edge.

After running the usual FCS, flap, rudder rake checks, the sailors proceeded with the sail control checks. M2-1 was placed on the deck before dock-out while at the base Chase3 and the AC40 were being unloaded from trucks. Six sailors boarded the LEQ12 and rotated in the passenger seats during the session. At 10:00 the yacht was towed out to fully hoist M2-1 paired with the J4-1.

The team initially conducted straight line testing mostly downwind before marks were laid out by Chase2. The breeze was measured at 335TWA with 13-15 knots as the LEQ12 was towed up on port tack for a short upwind stint before bearing away heading to the windward gate. There, the yacht practiced a pre-start drill, killing time around the leeward gate followed by two upwind and two downwind legs before stopping again. At this stage, personnel on chase1 gathered footage on the pressure side of the starboard wing for a speculative issue. Nothing major as the yacht was towed up again at 11:45 on port tack before bearing away, executing a series of gybes and sailing on two boards downwind for a short while before heading back to the leeward gate for a quick two boards round up. Two legs followed before the yacht seemed to have some troubles while exiting a tack from starboard to port leading to a significant splash.

The breeze had increased to 17-18kn from 330 TWA. Shore crew proceeded with some checks below deck and with a green light the yacht was quickly towed back on foils and a time-on-distance drill followed with additional two laps including a series of quick tacks.

After a short debrief for additional planned training manoeuvres, the yacht was towed up on starboard tack this time and the last two laps around the marks followed. At 12:40 Chase2 started recovering the marks providing the LEQ12 still the virtual targets for some last roundings.

Once again, the boat looked fast & controlled in higher range breeze around the marks where the team seemed to focus especially on clean execution of all kinds of mark manoeuvres. The team docked in at 13:20 with approx. 130 minutes foiling time, approx. 24 tacks and 18 gybes.  [Michele Melis AC Recon].

On-Water Recon Report – INEOS Britannia:  INEOS Britannia craned to the water their AC40(b) ‘Sienna’ at 6:30am, that apparently was left rigged and ready the previous evening. At 7:00 am the older AC40(a) ‘Athena’ got rolled out and half an hour later it was craned to the water after stepping the mast. Both boats in full one-design configuration. Nothing in particular could be noticed, other than some works on the foil hatches of AC40(a).

The team docked out at 8:30, as planned. One-design mainsails were hoisted at 8:45 and one-design J2s followed at 8:50, on both boats, just before coming out of the harbour.

Those were the only sails used during the session.

Today´s training had two parts. The first one consisted of doing some short upwind-downwind laps, at the AC race area, doing three to four tacks and gybes per leg. Generally speaking, AC40(b) seemed more stable and consistent than AC40(a), specially on the tacks, gybes and when bearing away and heading up, while dealing with an uncomfortable off-axis north-easterly sea state.

After three upwind – downwind legs, at 10:10am AC40(a) stopped and stayed heading into the wind for approximately 40 minutes with one of the team´s chase boats alongside. During this period of time, it seemed to have issues on one of the mainsail control systems. Two sailors could be identified working on the lower front part of the mainsail, while the starboard side trimmer stayed in the cockpit trying different things on the controllers.

Nevertheless, at 10:50am the training continued but with the focus on sailing in a straight-line, speed testing in between both boats, sailing longer distances. Two long downwind-upwind legs were executed in which AC40(b) was slightly faster, both upwind and downwind, performing a better VMG than AC40(a).

However, the offshore medium-winds conditions that prevailed during the day, combined with a tricky off-axis disorganized north-easterly swell, made the speed tests not highly reliable.

At 12:22pm both boats entered the port. Sails were lowered at 12:30, both boats docked at 12:45 and AC40(a) was the first of the two to be craned out of the water at 13:15 indicating the end of the day.  Sebastian Peri Brusa – Recon on INEOS Britannia

On-Water Recon Report – NYYC American Magic:  NYYC American Magic called for a pre-dawn roll-out this morning to try to take advantage of a westerly morning breeze which was forecast to fade away sharply around midday. The team’s second generation AC75 Patriot emerged from the shed at 0655 – at which time the air temperature was just three degrees above freezing – and the bundled-up shore crew had the boat rigged and launched by 0720 in plenty of time for an 0855 dock-out. Following the same routine as yesterday (Tuesday January 8) the boat was towed out of the harbour on foils and headed offshore to a rigging point around five miles from the harbour entrance and adjacent to the Barcelona airport.

With the offshore wind blowing from the west at a solid 10 knots the crew opted for the J2-5 headsail and the MN9 mainsail which were hoisted by 0930. The first flight of the day lasted 15 minutes and saw the boat fall off the foils twice – once briefly three minutes after setting off and one at the end of the session with a touch down gybe. A 15-minute break followed during which a member of the support crew came aboard with a tool bag. The second flight began at 1015 and – other than a brief touch down and take-off – lasted 45 minutes and included 13 foiling gybes and seven foiling tacks. With marginally less wind and a flatter sea state than the previous day the boat looked to be flying in a more stable mode and with its familiar characteristic bow down pitch. A 20-minute stop was made at 1100 to rotate the cyclors, change batteries, and swap to the J1.5-2 headsail as the breeze had backed off to around seven knots. A 50-minute session followed that saw the crew seemingly able to tack without issue but struggle to pull off foiling gybes downwind. Six foiling and one touch-down tacks were completed along with one foiling and seven touch down gybes. A 10-minute stop at 1207 was followed by the final session of the day as the American boat was towed-up and set off towards the harbour.

Although the breeze off the airport was fading quickly, the American Magic sailors found themselves sailing into a new 8-10 knot northerly breeze as they crossed the commercial anchor field off the entrance to Barcelona’s commercial port. Five touchdown tacks were completed along with three on foils before the team took advantage of the new breeze to engage in a series of two board manoeuvres including bear aways, round ups, as well as tacks and gybes. Time was called at 1255 with the boat arriving back at the dock at 1310.

No sailing is scheduled for tomorrow Wednesday January 10.

On-Water Recon Report – Alinghi Red Bull Racing:  Alinghi Red Bull Racing rolled out Boat Zero at 09:00 for their first sailing day of 2024. Routine system checks were carried out, with no new equipment noted on deck. The M1-1R mainsail and a J1-2R jib were prepared on deck ahead of 11:30 dock-out. Joseph Ozanne and Yves Courvoisier from the simulation and R&D team observed from the chase catalyst.

Stint 1 (12:15 – 12:35, 7-9kn 10° @ 12:15, 9-12kn 40-50° @ 12:35) The team began sailing in front of the W Hotel with a short upwind warmup. Two touchdown tacks were followed by a fully foiling tack, as the bouncing waves off the breakwater made for difficult sea state. The J1 jib was then swapped for the J3-1R as the wind started to increase.

Stint 2 (12:50 – 13:10, 12-15kn 30-40° @ 12:50) The team sailed upwind towards Badalona, performing six tacks, followed by a downwind leg of four gybes. The yacht nose-dived when exiting a gybe, into the offset swell. After coming to a stop, the team debriefed while GoPros were changed. Elliot Pilcher (hydraulics engineer) was also on board to review systems. 

Stint 3 (13:25 – 13:45, 10-13.5kn 40-50° @ 13:25) Joseph Ozanne replaced Nico Charbonnier in the starboard guest seat. The team sailed a short upwind/downwind near the coast before setting offshore on a 4NM upwind stretch on port tack. After stopping, ⁠Joseph Ozanne was seen discussing with trimmers Yves Detrey and Nico Rolaz, as a battery change took place.

Stint 4 (14:00 – 14:15, 10-12kn 50° @ 13:55) The yacht sailed back towards the coast towards the course, which was set in front of Badalona at 50°, 1NM in length. A cyclor exchange saw Nico Stahlberg replace Théry Schir, and Joseph Ozanne was replaced by Nico Charbonnier.

Stint 5 (14:25 – 14:50, 6-9kn 65° @ 14:25) Near the land, the wind decreased. The team warmed up with a quick upwind/downwind before practicing around the course. After gybing into the pre-start box, the yacht lost flight but regained it soon after. The pre-start was restarted, but the yacht lost flight in the same way as the previous attempt, this time regaining flight sooner but touching down after the first tack post crossing the start line. The J3 jib was subsequently exchanged for the J2-2L due to the decreased wind.

Stint 6 (15:05 – 15:50, 6-8kn 55-65° @ 15:05, 8-10kn 50-60° @ 15:15) A gybe into the pre-start box was followed by another temporary loss of flight. The pre-start was attempted again and this time the team started the race at speed, tacking immediately after crossing the line. Four tacks were performed to the windward mark, with manoeuvres becoming marginal towards the top of the course, forcing the team to pinch to the mark. After clearing the mark, a touch down gybe downwind prompted the team to abandon racecourse practice and sail downwind back to base.

Sails were dropped at 16:00 in the port to conclude the day. The team spent four and a half hours on the water, with 145 minutes of sailing time. A total of 38 manoeuvres were observed, with a 68% fully foiling rate, with gybes 30% better than tacks.

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The world’s fastest sailboat just launched

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James Spithill

The youngest skipper to ever win the america’s cup, australian james 'jimmy' spithill is one of the world's most decorated sailors..

All in the numbers

OTUSA's AC50 outside of the shed

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Using technology to set precedence

A crowd surrounds the OTUSA AC50

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ORACLE TEAM USA and Emirates Team New Zealand

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Jimmy Spithill speaks to the crowd

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America’s Cup: Update on Ainslie’s INEOS Britannia Team

INEOS Britannia is the official challenger for the 37 th America’s Cup. So how are they doing? Sam Jefferson caught up with the team to find out…

Barcelona’s america’s cup.

Yes, we’ve all heard it before: ‘The longest losing streak in sporting history’. That’s right, we plucky Brits can proudly lay claim to that title, having lost the 100 Guinea Cup back in 1851 and summarily failing to reclaim it since. Could this year be the one where we finally make the breakthrough though? No question, in Ben Ainslie and his team, we have the experience and with the backing of Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS, we also have some financial muscle too – plus INEOS has teamed up with the Mercedes F1 team to further boost their expertise. 

So how are we getting on? Well, in late March I was invited out to INEOS’ base in Barcelona to find out before chatting with the affable and extremely experienced crew member Freddie Carr to get a deeper insight into how it was going for him and his team. 

The tour of the base was revealing; set in the heart of Port Vell, just a stone’s throw from Barcelona’s main street of La Rambla, this is an extraordinary spot to hold the America’s Cup and INEOS has its own hangar just along from Luna Rossa and opposite American Magic. At the time of writing, they were still awaiting delivery of their AC75, the great foiling beast that will do battle with XX other challenging teams for the right to do battle with current holders, New Zealand for the ‘Auld Mug’.

The new generation of AC75s are refinements of the last iteration of challengers and this is good because, as all the teams accumulate knowledge of the class, racing generally gets closer. One significant rule change is that the new generation of AC75s can be winch using cyclors – involving leg power and pedals in addition to standard to normal grinders. This is a massive game changer, as it means a new sort of fitness is required for the grinders. This had a profound effect for grinder Freddie Carr – more on that later.

General preparations

At present the team has been practicing with two of the smaller foiling AC40s in ordewr to refine their skills as they await delivery of the AC75. Ainslie and co helm Giles Scott were being put through their paces by ex 49er ace Dylan Fletcher. Regrettably the two boat trials came to an abrupt and spectacular end when one of the AC40s caught fire while out on the water thanks to a problem with the lithium battery. 

“The boat will be launched in April and I am itching to get out on the water,” Freddie Carr enthuses: “We opted not to spend time in an AC75 until we got our actual boat and it remains to be seen whether that gamble will pay off. It has been tough because it feels like every time we get going, something has happened to knock out momentum. 

“First we had the boat flip and catch fire, then the rudder blew off and then just recently we again had a fire so that has been bad but I think the true test will come when we head out with the new boat. 

“One thing that we have seen from working with Mclaren motorsport is that they really can’t afford to have things break. If something breaks mid race for them, it’s all over so they are incredibly rigorous when it comes to testing items and making sure they work in a failsafe manner so that is good.” 

Around the base

The base is divided into containers that can be easily shifted into individual areas and shipped quickly. There is a main hangar which will accommodate the new AC75 plus above this rigging, components, sail loft and fitness area. Downstairs is the VR simulator.

Fitness is huge and the key here is that the cyclors can be heavier than a classic cyclist as it’s all about wattage output and the numbers that they are putting out are often actually higher than your classic Tour de France rider but on a lower power-weight ratio. 

Ben Ainslie – the INEOS Britannia skipper

Ainslie is now on his third America’s Cup challenge for Britain and it is sometimes overlooked that he played a pivotal role in the extraordinary victory for Oracle in the America’s Cup. He has a lot on his plate as he enters into the sharp end of the challenge and he hsas recently handed over the helm of his SailGP catamaran to co pilot Giles Scott so he can focus full time on the America’s Cup. “The America’s Cup is all about experience and our team is now on its third challenge and that counts for a lot in terms of knowledge,” he reflects: “The boats are extraordinary and being at the helm is sometimes more akin to being a pilot as opposed to sailing.

When I put it to him that we Brits may have some sort of a mental block when it comes to winning the America’s Cup due to our lengthy losing streak, he shrugs. “I don’t think so- remember some of the team has already won the Cup.

“In all honesty, that would be a nice problem to have; the first thing is to make it to the starting line as the challenger to New Zealand.”

Dylan Fletcher – the test pilot:

“Obviously the destruction of the second boat was really annoying as the match racing we were doing was incredibly useful. My job is to push Ben as hard as I can and when we were out there racing it was serious. 

“Handling the boats is interesting because it looks pretty effortless but the fact is that you are always out on the edge of things and things can go wrong incredibly fast. For me, it’s a bit like sailing a Moth and it’s not that twitchy. 

“The bit that was difficult to learn was perhaps the foils and some of the techniques but the actual boat is smooth. It’s not totally silent as you have a hydraulic motor running all the time but then again you don’t have the groaning from winches loading up so yes it is relatively quiet.”

The racecourse

The course is right outside Barcelona and the starting box is not far of the breakwaters for the entrance. Barcelona is a bit different because it often gets a lot of the swell generated from the Mistral and Tramontana that blow to the north but the port is shielded from the big winds by the Pyrenees. This means it is often lumpy but typical wind conditions in August are around 10kn and in October around 12kn. If there is a swell, this gets distorted and refracted by the breakwater which makes for a really awkward chop which looks like it is going to be uncomfortable. 

The fact that the Kiwis will only be racing in October when the wind is slightly stronger will give them an advantage as they can set up their boat and foils for those conditions.

In depth with INEOS Britannia’s Freddie Carr

Tell us about your relationship with the America’s Cup

I started out in the 2000 campaign in New Zealand and that was all about those old school magnificent AC boats that were displacement boats that were – by that time – incredibly well matched. I feel very fortunate to have seen the transition of the sport from that era to this. I’m a sports fanatic but I can honestly say that I have never been in a sport that has made such a dramatic transition in the last 20 years. As an example, when I was first testing the old ACC yachts back in the 2000 challenge, if we came off the boat after a sail with 10 bits of data on loads on the rig etc, we thought we were doing pretty well. Now, we’re talking tens of thousands of individual data elements that are being analysed after a day out on the water. We can also gain an awful lot from going sailing on the VR headsets which, frankly, just blows my mind. 

What do you think of INEOS Britannia’s chances of winning the Cup?

Last time around, the Kiwis were actually a long way ahead of the opposition. In the actual America’s Cup races, they would have been even further ahead if the wind had been a couple of knots quicker. Their secret? It’s hard to say but, looking at their foils, they were simple and less busy and experimental than some other teams. The Kiwis don’t have the biggest budget but what they can do is focus in on key areas where they know they can build their strengths and they really focus in on that. 

Our chances? We shall see. The thing with the foils is that you have to commit early on to a foil that will give you more top end speed and one that gives you more acceleration and manoeuvrability and which one is more successful will to some extent depend on the wind strength so that is an important factor that could change everything. That said, all the teams will have spent thousands looking at weather modelling in Barcelona in August and the likelihood is that they will reach a similar conclusion. I’m hopeful that, with this being the second generation of the boats, the performance gap between different teams will have narrowed down so it will bring about closer racing. Back in the day it was generally the team with the most money who won but that has changed too with these new classes.

Do you think the lengthy losing streak plays in the minds of the British team?

In terms of the psychology of the British Team – it’s an interesting one; obviously, we were there at the start and we’ve never won it. Does that play on your mind? I don’t know. It’s true I’m proud to be British and Whenever I sail on such a big stage I feel I’m sailing for all the sailors in Britain watching on, but whether that holds you back or pushes you forward is difficult to say. Don’t forget, Ben has actually won the America’s Cup (with Oracle). He knows what that feels like but he doesn’t make a big deal of that for whatever reason. 

How has the shift from to pedal power affected you personally? 

For me the transition to pedal power has been an enormous change. Before it was all about a team of grinders working in total harmony and there was something magical about that. Now, with the cycling aspect it’s all about pure strength. For me, this was a really big transition because you are using a whole new set of muscles. When I finished the last AC I was wondering whether to carry on and, in actual fact, I think the switch to pedal power helped because I saw it as a new challenge. From a physical point of view it has been tough. Through intense training I managed to qualify for the minimum level of fitness required to do the job on the boat and ever since I hae just been clinging on to the coat tails of the younger guys. The biggest challenge for me is the actual recovery which takes time at my age (he is 42). Do I love cycling? I did a bit before it became part of my job but now, if you asked me to go for a bike ride on my day off, I’d tell you I didn’t want to in extremely strong terms!

We have benefitted from training with Ineos Grenadiers which has been an eye opener. The strength of those guys is just awesome. The difference is power-weight really. We are happy to have guys who are 100kg whereas for someone like Geraint Jones or Tom Pidcock, they are going for big outputs of energy but are 35kg lighter. 

One thing that I do miss is the fact that in an old school grinding team we were all in sync and everyone needed to know exactly what the wind was doing in order to work perfectly as a team. Now, you are more like a machine and a lot of the guys know very little about sailing and the history of the sport and that feels a little sad – particularly as I have mates who are great sailors who can’t get a ride. The rule change was mysterious in some ways. I think that the Kiwis spotted that we had our drive train with the arm powered winches running really efficiently and they figured that if the rule change came about, that would mean we all restarted at zero. One interesting thing is that by using leg power for the winches, we have our hands free so it will be interesting to see how teams work with that. Do you use the grinders just as pure power or do you get them to do other jobs too?

Which of the other challengers do you most fear?

I guess Alinghi has been around for so long and the team has such a depth of experience that you have to be wary of them, so I’d say they are a big threat. We are in our third challenge and you see how you develop with every iteration and how that gives you an edge. 

Key dates :

America’s Cup preliminary regatta: 22-25 th August

America’s Cup Challengers series: Oct ’24 (TBC)

America’s Cup: 21 Oct ’24 (TBC)

The new INEOS Britannia boat arrives in Barcelona

INEOS Britannia’s race boat for the 37th America’s Cup arrived in Barcelona on April 6 and is being fitted out as Sailing Today with Yachts and Yachting goes to press… The British Challenger’s AC75 left Turweston Airfield, Northamptonshire, on Tuesday 2 April and travelled by road to Portsmouth, where it began its sea crossing to Bilbao on a ferry. The race boat, known as RB3, was then transported by road to INEOS Britannia’s Barcelona base, arriving on Saturday 6 April. INEOS Britannia Team Principal and Skipper Sir Ben Ainslie said it was “a relief” to have RB3 arrive in Barcelona.

RB3’s arrival in Barcelona is a pivotal moment for INEOS Britannia, after two-and-a-half years of design, build and fit-out in the UK. RB3 began its lifecycle with INEOS Britannia’s design and engineering team, which is based at the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team site in Brackley, Northamptonshire. INEOS Britannia partnered with the F1 Team’s Applied Science division to bring together some of the best talent from the high-performance marine and automotive industries for its America’s Cup Campaign. The team of 100 designers and engineers painstakingly researched and tested concepts for the AC75, before the final design was sent to build.

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The Yacht America

A replica of the 139-foot yacht that won the historic Royal Yacht Squadron’s 100 Guinea Cup race in 1851.

The History

Without exaggerating, America is the world’s most famous racing yacht. It is also one of the most beautiful yachts in the world. The reason is simple: The original America put yachting on the map. It is why the most famous trophy in sailing is called The America’s Cup. In 1851, a boat named ‘AMERICA’ won the ‘Royal Yacht Squadrons’ 100 Guinea Cup given to the winner of a race around the Isle of Wight. It is said that the margin was so great that watching America sail past the royal yacht, Queen Victoria famously asked “Who came second?” “Your majesty… there is no second,” was the reply. The winners, members of the New York Yacht Club, donated the trophy to the Club, to be held as a ‘challenge’ trophy. Thus was born the America’s Cup, named after the boat not the country.

There aren’t many yachting stories as exciting as the 95-year history of ‘AMERICA.’ The Low Black Schooner from New York that won the most famous race of them all. Designed by a young genius who combined the best of Old World theory and New World practicality, and owned by a syndicate of powerful men out to prove American maritime prowess, she did what almost everybody thought was impossible.

Her later career was equally as colorful – conveyor of secret agents, Confederate blockade runner, Union warship, Naval Academy training vessel, and the pride and joy of a famous Civil War general and politician. By her end in 1945, she was one of the most honored vessels in the United States. The original was destroyed during World War II but ours is a near-perfect replica built in 1995 at a cost of more than $6 million.

Replica or not, in 2007 the America’s Cup Management (ACM) offered $500,000 for the America to be brought to Spain where the race was being held. ACM, the city of Valencia, and the government of Spain were reported to have spent over $2.65 billion on the build-up, marketing, and conduct of the 2007 America’s Cup event. The America was invited to San Francisco in the summer of 2013 to represent the history of this great race for Oracle Team USA’s defense of the 34th America Cup. Then, The America was selected as the ambassador for the America’s Cup Tour, visiting sites along the West Coast in July and August 2015, and Mexico, the U.S. Gulf and East Coasts, and the Caribbean in 2016.

• Length:               139 feet
• Weight:               226,000 pounds
• Mast Height:     105 feet (main mast)
• Sail:                     5,900 square feet
• Capacity:            77

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Is this the slipperiest America's Cup boat in the fleet?

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Australia II sailmaker David Rees looks back at the 1983 America's Cup victory

Forty years ago the Australia II team was living in a boarding house in Newport, Rhode Island for a gruelling summer of sailing in the America's Cup campaign.

Their victory as underdog challengers ended the longest-running winning streak in sport history, with the cup being taken from the New York Yacht Club for the first time in 132 years.

It was touted as a coming of age for Australia, but it was also life-changing for one young Tasmanian man.

Sailmaker David Rees, who was 21 at the time, thought people back in Australia would be more interested in Hawthorn playing Essendon in the AFL grand final.

But they received a rock star's welcome when they returned after the September 1983 win.

"We couldn't believe the hysteria about it all," he told ABC Radio Hobart .

"In Perth there were 250,000 people out there to greet us. It was mad.

"We were celebrities for a day," Rees said.

The Matildas' achievement in the World Cup has made Australia look back on its iconic sporting moments, from Cathy Freeman winning gold in the 2000 Olympics to the 1983 victory of Australia II, with its secret, winged keel.

Next month,  the Australia II crew will gather in Fremantle for a celebration  to mark 40 years since the vessel, owned by high-profile West Australian businessman Alan Bond, beat defender Liberty.

The art of sailmaking

At a young age, Rees followed his brothers into competitive sailing at the Sandy Bay Sailing Club in Hobart.

By 13 he went to India to represent Australia with his brother in the international cadet class of sailing.

It was through this event that he made connections with John Bertrand, who would skipper Australia II in the 1983 victory.

Bertrand, starting up as a sailmaker in Melbourne at the time, provided the sails for the young champions' boat.

Rees later joined Bertrand as an apprentice sailmaker at 17, a craft he describes as like "complicated dressmaking".

"Back then, a sailmaker would lay out on the floor what the sail should look like, put the curves on the sail, sew it all up," Rees said.

"You'd then put the edges on and the holes in the corners to hold the ropes onto it and fold it up and there you go — there's a sail.

"It was good fun.

"I've always been fascinated by what makes a boat go fast."

Newport-bound

Rees joined the Australia II team in Melbourne through his employer Bertrand, who had been involved in other America's Cup campaigns.

"It was clear to me, even at a young age, this challenge was different to the previous challenges," he said.

With a revolutionary winged keel design by Ben Lexcen and lessons from Bond's three previous unsuccessful cup attempts, the team was looking serious.

Rees asked if the team would need a sailmaker overseas, but his request fell flat.

Although he was young, Rees had already been to three world titles and knew what was involved in the campaign.

With a 20-year-old's sense of adventure he decided to go to the United States anyway and it wasn't long before his services were required on the team.

Working on the campaign was a full-time job in Newport from May to September, and sometimes sail repairs could take all night.

Rees said Bond was big on team culture, with all roles treated equally.

Days were spent with team meetings, fitness, keeping the boat running smoothly and preparing it for the more than 60 races in the season.

"We also spied on the Americans," he said.

'World Cup' campaign

Unlike the annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race, the America's Cup is a whole season of racing and doesn't occur every year.

"It's basically a footy season or World Cup campaign," Rees said.

The cup campaign involves about a dozen challenges before the final boats are selected.

"It's really boat on boat," he said.

"You got down to an elimination situation where Australia II was finally the challenger and Liberty was the defender."

Rees said he learned a lot of life lessons from his time with the Australia II team.

"For me, it was just a boat race," he said.

"But the nonsense that went with it was very exciting."

He said by the time the campaign was nearing finals all the Australians living in America gravitated to Newport, which is about 160 kilometres from New York and known for its Gilded Age mansions.

"I don't think I met any Australian young fellas who didn't say they were on Australia II," he laughed.

Rees recalls the exhaustion that followed the win, from months of long days and hard work.

"It was a bit deflating, we went back to the crew house for dinner and all the hangers-on were there," he said.

"I snuck off to bed fairly early.

"I actually missed the presentation of the cup because I slept through it."

The team had to take the boat out for filming the next day, and then start packing it up along with the house they'd lived in for months which was a boarding school.

Back home, the country woke to news of the victory and at the Royal Perth Yacht Club then-prime minister Bob Hawke declared: "I tell you what, any boss who sacks anyone for not turning up today is a bum."

When the team got back to Australia, there was a parade that stretched from Fremantle to Perth and many celebratory events including lunch with Hawke at the Lodge.

Rees said he had kept in touch with the team, which reunites about every five years.

The Fremantle Maritime Museum will hold a party on Sunday, September 24 to celebrate the historic event.

It will feature performances by Australia's Eurovision contenders Voyager, the Baby Animals and the Hoodoo Gurus, along with a drone show.

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America's Cup 2021

The 36th edition of the America's Cup - also known as AC36 - will take place at Auckland , Waitemata Harbour and the Hauraki Gulf in New Zealand commencing on the 6th of March 2021 and concluding on the 21st of March 2021.

Five courses have been selected that span from the north Auckland suburb of Takapuna to Waiheke Island. According to Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton, the courses were chosen to cater for all wind and tide directions and conditions while ensuring that land-based spectators and the large spectator fleet that is expected have excellent views of proceedings.

The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and Circolo della Vela Sicilia, who are represented by the Emirates Team New Zealand and the Challenger of Record - Luna Rossa respectively, have collaborated on the building rules for the AC75 to ensure there is plenty of room for creativity and innovation while maintaining fair competition between vessels. The rules include:

• Strict limitations on the number of components that can be built including hulls, masts, rudders, foils, and sails, thus encouraging teams to do more R&D in simulation and subsequently less physical construction and testing

• Supplied foil arms and cant system to save design time and construction costs

• Supplied rigging

• One design mast tube

While the previous two editions used catamarans, the 36th edition of the America’s Cup will be contested in the AC75 mono-hulled foiling yacht, which has a hull length of 20.7m/67.9ft with a bowsprit of 2m/6.5ft, and a maximum beam of 5m/16.4ft. The total weight will not exceed 6.5T, while a crew of 11 has an expected weight range of 960-990kg.

The twin canting T-foils have a maximum span of 4m/13ft and a depth of 5m/16.4ft, while the centreline T-foil rudder has a maximum 3m/9.8ft span and a draft of up to 3.5m/11.5ft.

Attached to the 26.5m/86.9ft mast is a sail plan with a main sail of 135-145m2/1453-1560.7ft2, a jib of 90m2/968.7ft2 and a code zero of 200m2/2152.8ft2.

The World Series will take place in the second half of 2019 and in 2020, with a Christmas Regatta to end the year.

Timetable running up to the 36th America's Cup:

• Entries open - January 1 2018

• Entries close - June 30 2018

• America’s Cup World Series - 2019 - 2020

• America's Cup Christmas regatta - December 2020

• Prada Cup Regatta (Challenger Selection Series) - January - February 2021

• America’s Cup - 6th-21st March 2021

Save the Date

• 29th January to the 1st of February 2020: New Zealand Millennium Cup Superyacht Regatta in the Bay of Islands

• 31st December 2020: Royal New Zealand Rock Squadron – New Year’s Eve Race to Kawau Island

• January 2021 (exact dates to be confirmed): Prada Cup Challenger Series in the Hauraki Gulf

• 1st January 2021: Royal New Zealand Rock Squadron – 150th Anniversary & New Year’s Day Round Kawau Island Race

• 3rd to 6th of January 2021: Royal New Zealand Rock Squadron – Cruise to Great Barrier Island

• 12th to 14th February 2021: Superyacht Fishing Competition at the Bay of Islands Swordfish Club

• 15th to 18th February 2021: New Zealand Millennium Cup Superyacht and J Class Yacht Regatta in the Bay of Islands

• 24th to 26th February 2021: Royal New Zealand Rock Squadron – Superyacht Regatta

• 1st to 5th March 2021:

• 6th March 2021: J-Class Exhibition Sail J-Class Championships in the Hauraki Gulf

• 6th to 21st March 2021: 36th America’s Cup in the Hauraki Gulf

• 24th to 26th March 2021: The Superyacht Gathering

Four teams have been confirmed by the 1st of July 2019 deadline set by the defending Emirates Team New Zealand. They are:

• Emirates Team New Zealand

On 6 September 2019, Emirates Team New Zealand launched its mono-hull racing boat TE AIHE. Her aerodynamic design represented by an arrow-headed appearance, while two deep cockpits are desgined to increase efficiency while underway. TE AIHE was designed to strict rules of the competiton and her total weight doe not exceed 6.5T. This racing boat is expected to reach a speed of more than 50 knots. 

• Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli

• INEOS Team UK

• American Magic NYYC

Of note is a change in the rules requiring at least 10 of the 12 crew to have to be citizens of the country that they represent, while the other two must meet strict residency criteria.

In addition, defenders Emirates Team New Zealand will not be taking part in the challenger series unlike previous winners ORACLE Team USA and will enter the competition once the America's Cup commences.

Stars + Stripes Team USA have joined the competition as late challengers and are liable to pay a $1,000,000 USD late entry fee with is due in instalments before the 1st of October 2019.

Although Royal Netherlands Yacht Club, DutchSail, were one of the original contenders, they were unable to secure a naming rights sponsor and therefore could not commit by the set deadline, resulting in their withdrawal from the competition.

Royal Malta Yacht Club also intended to take part in the 36th America's Cup, however a $40,000,000 USD package promised by backers did not come to pass.

No fee for luxury yachts dropping anchor in waters around Auckland

Auckland Council in consultation with NZ Marine have dropped fees for luxury yachts over 40m/131ft in length that wish to drop anchor in the waters surrounding the city. Instead, there will be a new visitor-friendly 12-month navigation and safety fee for vessels that fit into this size category, allowing foreign visitors and New Zealand residents from other parts of the country to take their time exploring the clear waters, coves and sandy beaches surrounding the metropolis. Find out more...

Upgraded marina facilities in the run-up to the 36th America’s Cup

New Zealand has a wall-established marine industry with shipyards on both islands and extensive repair and refit facilities in Auckland, and these are being further developed along with additional berthing ahead of the influx of superyachts expected for the America’s Cup.

New infrastructure includes a marina in the Bay of Islands plus a superyacht village in Auckalnd for the event. There will also be travel lifts available at Vessel Works in the Bay of Plenty and at Orams Marine in Auckland.

DYT Yacht Transport is also providing extra services to take luxury yachts to New Zealand waters for 2020/21 and returning them to the Mediterranean in time for the summer luxury yacht charter season.

Local luxury yacht charter attractions

Auckland is New Zealand's largest city and as such has a massive array of galleries, museums, boutiques and shopping centres with international brands on offer. Nicknamed the 'City of Sails', one in three households owns a boat and the stunning surrounding islands and coast are well worth exploring on the water. 

The Bay of Islands - North of Auckland, the Bay of Islands reportedly has the second bluest skies anywhere in the world (after Rio de Janeiro) boasts some incredible beaches and ideal conditions for sailing and wind-powered water toys. The sport-fishing here is known internationally, with visitors coming to hook a kingfish or marlin. Dolphins and whales can also be spotted within the region, and the uninhabited islands make for a quiet sunbathing spot away from the pressures of the modern world.

The Bay of Plenty & Hauraki Gulf Marine Park - With 80 islands to explore by yacht, it's possible to spend an entire week exploring the northern tip of the North Island and still not see all of its wonders. Rangitoto Island is a dormant volcano and the closest island to Auckland. Trails lead to the summit where visitors have sweeping views of the surroundings, and the island is also home to the world's largest pohutukawa forest, a tree that blooms with red flowers over the southern hemisphere summer and is often called the 'New Zealand Christmas Tree'.

Great Barrier Island is covered in historic sites including a whaling station, shipwrecks, and gold and copper mines. Snorkelers, Scuba divers and fishing groups come to the region to explore the crystal clear waters, and hikers will be in their element with the pristine beaches and trails through the forest on offer.

Poor Knights Islands - This area has a reputation as one of the best locations for Scuba divers to visit, offering incredible biodiversity in crystal clear waters, with attractions including a nudibranch wall and caves to suit more experienced divers, whereas beginners also have a selection of impressive sites to practise skills and gain experience.

• Asia Superyacht Rendezvous
• MIPIM Yacht Charter
• China International Boat Show (Shanghai)
• Singapore Yacht Show
• The London Yacht, Jet & Prestige Car Show
• Antibes Celebrates Yachting
• Malaysia Yacht Show
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• CNR Eurasia Boat Show

• Fort Lauderdale Boat Show (FLIBS)
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• Thanksgiving
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• Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
• The Australian Open
• Chinese New Year
• Monaco Historic Grand Prix
• Commonwealth Games
• Cannes Lions
• Ocean Reef Vintage Weekend
• Tax Free World Exhibition
• Art Basel Miami
• Asia-Pacific Superyacht Association (APSA)
• The East Mediterranean Yacht Show (EMYS)
• Club Vivanova Luxury Lifestyle Gala Dinner
• Thailand Yacht Show
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• Louis Vuitton
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America's Cup Sailing Experience

• Duration 2 Hours
• Category Sailing
• Location Auckland
• Operating Season Year round
• Price $195 Adult $135 Child
• America's Cup Sailing Experience

Feel the thrill of the wind in your face as you sail across the Waitematā Harbour. Join our professional crew to help sail an authentic America’s Cup race yacht...

View Details

Departs 1pm April - October

Departs 11am & 2pm November - March

Not suitable for children under 10 years Schedule subject to change due to tides - please confirm at time of booking.

A unique opportunity to participate as crew on an actual America’s Cup yacht - we offer everyone the opportunity to sail these grand-prix racing machines, no experience necessary.

With guidance from our professional crew you will become part of the team sailing this authentic race vessel. Take the helm, exert energy on the grinders or sit back relax and enjoy the action as we sail the beautiful Waitemata Harbour.

Highlights:

• Opportunity to participate in sailing as part of our crew; take the helm or exert energy on the grinders with guidance from our professional crew
• Sit back, relax and enjoy the view of the city from the water
• Enjoy an informative commentary from our knowledgeable crew about the harbour, the America’s Cup and its history

Need to know:

• Please wear a light jacket and flat soled shoes
• Please check in for your trip 15 minutes prior to departure
• This trip is suitable for children 10 years and over
• Participation is not compulsory if you prefer to sit back and watch the action
• The experience includes a full safety briefing before departure
• Lifejackets will be supplied
• In wet weather rain jackets will be provided
• This is an adventure activity and not recommended for pregnant women and people with medical conditions, please discuss any medical issues with us at time of booking

Looking for a gift voucher?

Gift your loved ones something they will never forget! Contact our reservations team today to book a gift voucher valid for 12 months from date of purchase.

0800 397 567

Have a promo code you would like to redeem?

Once you click 'Book Now' you will prompted to enter your promo code in the booking portal.

Alternatively phone our friendly team on 0800 397 567 and quote your promo code prior to booking.

"We purchased this trip as present for my father in law, being an avid sailor. He can’t speak English, so I came along for the ride. I think I was more than impressed than he was! Very professional and friendly. Great info. Great day out!"

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Published on May 14th, 2024 | by Editor

Bringing the America’s Cup into the classroom

Published on May 14th, 2024 by Editor -->

New York Yacht Club American Magic and New England Science & Sailing (NESS) have unveiled their newly released “Sail Locker” of experiential learning materials and resources to bring the best of sailing and the technology behind American Magic into the classroom.

The digital “Sail Locker” includes a comprehensive suite of K-8 lesson plans and classroom activities, utilizing the America’s Cup challenger as a dynamic learning platform to advance students’ academic achievements and enrich social-emotional development.

Specifically designed to benefit high-needs learners, these resources are tailored for schools and community sailing programs across the United States. They will increase access to sailing for all youth and ignite their passion for learning in innovative and unprecedented ways.

“The partnership between the American Magic America’s Cup team and NESS, resulting in the Sail Locker and curricular units, uniquely brings the power of high-tech and high-performance sailing together with experiential education to power all students’ learning,” said NESS CEO Eric Isselhardt, PhD.

“This amazing partnership brings opportunity to students far beyond the sailing racecourse by building students’ confidence, perseverance, and team skills. The American Magic team and NESS are excited to share the Sail Locker and curricular units with students worldwide!”

By participating in these educational resources, students can explore topics such as the science of how boats sail faster than the wind, the technology that enables boats to foil, the design cycle that leads to constant advances in sailing performance, and success skills – such as resilience, perseverance, and teamwork.

“By harnessing the excitement of sailing and technology, we aim to inspire the next generation of innovative problem solvers,” said Mike Cazer, CEO, NYYC American Magic. “Through the Sail Locker initiative, we are thrilled to share our passion for the sport and its educational opportunities with students everywhere.”

The “Sail Locker” is accessible for free at NESSF.org/AmericanMagic .

More activities and resources will be added to the suite leading up to the 37th America’s Cup in September and October 2024.

Following the publication of the AC37 Protocol and AC75 Class Rule on November 17, 2021 , the AC75 Class Rule and AC Technical Regulations were finalized on March 17, 2022 . The entry period opened December 1, 2021 and runs until July 31, 2022, but late entries for the 37th America’s Cup may be accepted until May 31, 2023. The Defender was to announce the Match Venue on September 17, 2021 but postponed the venue reveal, confirming it would be Barcelona on March 30, 2022 . The 37th America’s Cup begins October 12, 2024.

Teams revealed to challenge defender Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL): • INEOS Britannia (GBR) • Alinghi Red Bull Racing (SUI) • Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team (ITA) • NYYC American Magic (USA) • Orient Express Racing Team (FRA)

2023-24 Preliminary Regattas September 14-17, 2023 (AC40): Vilanova i la Geltrú, Spain November 30-December 2 (AC40): Jeddah, Saudi Arabia August 22-25, 2024 (AC75): Barcelona, Spain

2024 Challenger Selection Series August 29-September 8: Double Round Robin September 14-19: Semi Finals (Best of 9) September 26-October 7: Finals (Best of 13)

2024 America’s Cup October 12-21: 37th Match (Best of 13)

For more schedule details, click here . Additionally, 12 teams will compete in the 2024 Youth & Women’s America’s Cup .

Noticeboard: https://ac37noticeboard.acofficials.org/ Additional details: www.americascup.com/en/home

Source: ACE

Tags: America's Cup , American Magic , education , New England Science & Sailing

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EXCLUSIVE: Louis Vuitton Launches Capsule Collection for America's Cup Sailing Race

PARIS - Louis Vuitton is in a Barcelona state of mind.

Ahead of its cruise show in the Mediterranean port city on May 23, the French luxury brand has unveiled a capsule collection for women and men in honor of sailing's biggest event, the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup Barcelona.

The sporty line, set to land in stores and online from July 18, includes ready-to-wear, bags and accessories blending house emblems with bold colors and nautical codes.

Vuitton has developed its own logo for the collection, a graphic V originally designed by Gaston-Louis Vuitton in the 1920s, which appears as an emblem on items ranging from weekender bags to socks.

The looks are divided into three themes: Riding the Waves, consisting of technical pieces like windbreakers with clashing red, white and blue Damier check patterns; A Day on the Deck, which revisits the house's signature Damier and Monogram motifs in the style and colors of maritime signal flags, and Elegant Summer Evening, which caters to dressier occasions with items like plain black or white jersey crepe column dresses.

Accessories include practical new shapes like the Sailor sling bag and the Float wearable wallet, in addition to a selection of city bags adorned with the America's Cup insignia. There is also a collectible Keepall 50 with a Damier Flags print, and smaller items such as an America's Cup square, nautical tie or bandeau, baseball caps or a life buoy tag.

Vuitton will kick off its Spanish hospitality with the cruise event showcasing the latest collection by Nicolas Ghesquière, artistic director of women's collections at Vuitton, in tandem with an exhibition, cultural activations and educational programs in the city.

The brand has been a sponsor of the America's Cup, said to be the world's oldest international sporting trophy, since 1983 and this year returns as title partner of the event, in addition to organizing the qualifying stages, the Louis Vuitton Cup.

The races - often described as the Formula 1 of the sea - are to take place around Barcelona's Port Vell and along the beach to Port Olímpic between Aug. 29 and Oct. 27.

Five challengers in the Louis Vuitton Cup regattas - Ineos Britannia, Alinghi Red Bull Racing, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, New York Yacht Club American Magic and Orient Express Racing - will battle it out on the water to face off with "defender" Emirates Team New Zealand for the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup Barcelona.

Vuitton was last the title partner of the America's Cup in 2017 in Bermuda. The brand has ramped up its links to sports ahead of the Olympic Games in Paris, signing up a clutch of high-profile ambassadors including Spanish tennis star Carlo Alcaraz , French swimmer Léon Marchand and fencing champion Enzo Lefort.

Vuitton has played a role in America's Cup races in the United States, Australia, Bermuda, Hong Kong, Dubai, France and Spain, burnishing the regattas' visibility and prestige.

The New York Yacht Club held the trophy for 132 years before losing it to an Australian team in 1983. Since then, the America's Cup has only ever been held by three other nations: the United States, Switzerland and New Zealand.

Vuitton and Barcelona go way back. Founded in 1854, the historic trunk maker participated in the 1929 Barcelona International Exhibition. George Vuitton, son of founder Louis, received a grand prize for his toiletry cases.

The luxury brand opened its first Spanish store in 1987 in Barcelona, and now counts two locations in the Catalan capital, in addition to six leather goods workshops in the region that employ more than 1,800 people.

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SHORT AND WET BUT WORTHWHILE

All credit to Alinghi Red Bull Racing who spied a tiny weather window in Barcelona just after midday and went for it despite heavily overcast conditions and persistent, driving rain that made the session a damp and tricky affair. They were rewarded with just one short upwind that got the boat flying, albeit briefly, and then it was a study in displacement sailing as the wind shut down before the team called it and towed home.

Whilst all the other teams elected for a ‘maintenance day,’ it really was a gamble on Mother Nature but the gains in terms of team process, co-ordination with the shore team and the on-water Chase Teams is not to be under-estimated. For all the glorious champagne conditions of recent weeks, this was harsh reality of an America’s Cup campaign – it’s not for the feint hearted or the sunshine brigade. These are the hard yards and often the teams take more from these days than they realise.

Bryan Mettraux, summed it up succinctly saying: “We were expecting more than what we had, we had like a short window, one hour of shifty breeze between 8 and 10 knots and yeah then it dropped pretty quickly, and we had a short day.” And asked what a day like today meant in terms of data aggregation, Bryan was upbeat saying: “Yeah I think the day was a good one for that, sometimes it’s frustrating to not achieve the take-off but it's part of the learning, we have to learn how to use the boat, find the best way to accelerate, today we could also play a bit with the waves so just trying to find the right set-up.”

Alinghi Red Bull Racing docked out with the big M1-1 (version 'B' skins as declared over the weekend) mainsail that they’ve been favouring recently and interestingly paired it with the J2-1 jib, the second biggest jib in the wardrobe. Asked why they didn’t break out the J1, when perhaps these were the conditions for it, Bryan responded: “I think we'll see in the future but it's always a tough question because you know that you need the maximum power to take-off, maximum area, but as soon as you fly it's too draggy, so it’s a difficult call.”

Some other changes include the removal of the windshields from the Trimmer and Flight Control positions in the forward pods (incidentally it sounds like the Swiss are electing to split these roles) as Bryan commented: “We removed the transparent windshield that we had in the past, it feels better now with a free view in front of me... On my side I was flying the boat today so didn’t have a lot of chance look outside the boat so it’s more the job of the sail trimmer and the helmsman.”

Asked about the new symmetric foil set-up following the weekend declaration of upgrades to both foils, Bryan responded: “It's nice now to have a symmetric boat and making the boat flight way easier than what we had in the past, and it's a good feeling.”

Great effort from Alinghi Red Bull Racing but just one of those days in Barcelona in early summer as the transition rolls through. Champagne sailing days ahead – that’s for sure. (Magnus Wheatley)

On-Water Recon Report – Alinghi Red Bull Racing: The Swiss Challenger for the Louis Vuitton 37 th America’s Cup rolled out their AC75 at 10:00. The boat was craned to the water at 10:25 and the team docked out at 12:00, as planned, after usual routine activities under the rain. The M1-1 was selected for the session, combined with the J2-1. Both sails were hoisted just before heading out of the port at 12:25.

The training started with a long upwind leg, sailing under an eight-knot easterly breeze, combined with a 0.8m swell. Nine tacks were performed. Two of them counted as fully-foiling, four as touch & go and the remaining as fully landed.

At 12:50 there was a ten-minute break in which the technicians got onboard to perform their routine checks. Unfortunately, at 13:00 once the team was ready to resume sailing, the wind had shut down and that was pretty much the end of the day.

The rest of the time was spent either on the tow going from one place to another looking for wind or sailing in displacement mode but without being even close to take-off.

Alinghi Red Bull Racing entered the port at 14:20, sails got lowered and the team docked at 14:38, indicating the end of a wet day. Sebastian Peri Brusa – Recon on Alinghi Red Bull Racing