Defending the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup is one of the toughest accomplishments in the world of sport. The only thing more difficult would be a successful Challenger taking the cup from the Defender. There is no second place. Either you win, or you lose.
With 173 years of racing history behind the event, this year’s Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand, will face off with Challenger INEOS Brittania in one of the most riveting matchups in recent memory. While the impressive cup weighs in at just 14 kilograms of sterling silver, many sailing aficionados considers the value immeasurable. In that 173-year history, just four countries have brought the Auld Mug home: The New York Yacht Club in the USA, The Royal Perth Yacht Club in Sydney, Australia, New Zealand, and Switzerland.
The Louis Vuitton America’s Cup, the oldest international sporting trophy in the world, takes place from October 12th to the 27th in Barcelona. The location, chosen by the Defender, saw teams arrive back in August for the Louis Vuitton Cup Challenger Selection Series, bringing their boats and crews along with their skills and passion, to win the opportunity to challenge New Zealand in the 37th America’s Cup.
A grueling competition to determine who would meet the Defender Emirates Team New Zealand for the America’s Cup, the Selection Series had five boats competing for the role of Challenger. The eliminated teams include Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team of Italy, Alinghi Red Bull Racing of Switzerland, Orient Express Racing Team of France, and NYYC American Magic of the USA.
The Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand, will sail Taihoro under helmsman Peter Burling. CEO of the team, Grant Dalton, will be cheering them on. British Team INEOS Britannia will see the experienced and talented hand of Sir Ben Ainslie as helmsman and CEO of the team.
Team New Zealand had the privilege, as Defender of the cup, of creating rules for the event. They brought cyclors back on board the boats to power the sails, eliminating the dangerous topside grinder positions. Two crew on each side, four to a team, are tasked with pedaling furiously to gain an edge. Teams were permitted to build just one AC75 yacht for the race. You break, you fix, and you race.
Foils on the catamaran designs must be at minimum, 2,890 cm long, a good bit larger than the first version of the AC75 rule used in the 2021 America’s Cup. Other changes include reducing the crew from 11 to eight with the stipulation that 100 percent of the race crew must hold a passport for the country of the team’s club for at least 18 months during the span of March 2018 to March 2021. Additionally, each team’s boat must be completely designed and built in the country they represent.
Foiling catamaran yachts may seem rather new, but the Kiwis developed the technology in the 2012, bringing foils to the America’s Cup in the 2018 race through a new AC75 Class Rule. The races proved a smashing success, increasing the speeds of the boats to at least the high 40s in an average 12 knots of wind, for a very fast start.
This year’s boats will be lighter and quicker to lift for faster flight. The highest speed ever recorded was 53.31 knots by American Magic in the first race of the semifinals of the Prada Cup in 2021. According to Dalton, speeds in Barcelona 2024 are likely to be more than 10 percent faster.
Additional tweaks to the boats include things that will not likely be detectable by most spectators. Control systems are updated, changing how to sail these incredible foiling catamarans. Spectators will not see as many bodies crossing from side to side, as the cyclors will be staying in their seats.
As Emirates Team New Zealand and INEOS Brittania prepare for the race, crowds of spectators and tensions of teams are building. On October 12, the two teams will begin a series of 13 match races, each win worth one point. The first team to score seven points will win the America’s Cup.
The racecourse measures 1.7 nautical miles long and varies between 0.5 and 0.8 nautical miles wide, enclosed by boundaries that the boats must observe. The windward-leeward orientation of the course will see an upwind start, windward to the first mark, then downwind or leeward to the next. Then, as they say, rinse and repeat.
If team INEOS bests the Kiwis, it will be the first win ever for this founding nation of the America’s Cup trophy. They would probably choose to host the race in the original location around the Isle of Wight. Should Emirates Team New Zealand emerge victorious, it could be the waters in the South Pacific. Know, however, that the New York Yacht Club, which is fighting to stay relevant in the race, wants to see some rules changes.
A draft protocol written by one of the original trustees of the event, the NYYC, has proposed that the winner’s right to choose the race venue through a bidding process be replaced by a schedule decided 12 years in advance. That would eliminate the “home team” location advantage. They also want to fix budgets for each cup cycle and have a say in defining the details of future races, publishing a 154-page draft protocol.
So, can Team INEOS bring the Auld Mug home to the UK and the Royal Yacht Squadron? Or, does Emirates Team New Zealand keep the cup on the islands of the long, white cloud until it again is up for a challenge in 2027?
Some glorious wins are a clear cut, flat out, fast boat and crew victory. Others are won by a few seconds, or a mechanical or technological failure, or even an assessed penalty. Will rules and right-of-way scenarios play a part in team strategies? Will these boats hold up?
Photos: Ricardo Pinto, Ian Roman / America’s Cup | Words: KL Turner
