America’s Cup: USA launches Cup boat

by Duncan Johnstone, Stuff.co.nz
(October 16, 2020) – American Magic revealed a significantly refined second boat, officially launching Patriot in Auckland today in their quest to win back the America’s Cup for the New York Yacht Club.

As expected, the sleek blue 75-footer sees the syndicate move their hull design from a flat-bottomed scow to a deeper skiff for their second AC75.

The move brings them in line with the original thinking of defenders Emirates Team New Zealand and Italian challenger of record Luna Rossa who had a jump on the design race as they formed the class rule for this 36th edition of the Cup.

Other obvious features included a flared deck over the bow and a reorganized double cockpit that sees the steering wheel shifted significantly forward for helmsman Dean Barker and the grinding stations appearing to be deeper, allowing for better aerodynamics.

The emergence of Patriot starts a flurry of launches of the second generation boats. INEOS Team UK will unveil their new boat on October 17 and Luna Rossa have a launch planned for October 20.

There is still no official word when Team New Zealand will launch their new boat but it is expected to be imminent.

American Magic’s New Zealand helmsman Dean Barker is excited at what he will soon have in his hands with Patriot to undergo structural testing and looking to be under sail as soon as possible.

“It will have its own challenges, and we will take a bit of time just to know the boat a bit better. The hull is very, very different so it will have different tendencies in sailing which we will figure out,” Barker said. Full story.

Details: www.americascup.com

36th America’s Cup
In addition to Challenges from Italy, USA, and Great Britain that were accepted during the initial entry period (January 1 to June 30, 2018), eight additional Notices of Challenge were received by the late entry deadline on November 30, 2018. Of those eight submittals, entries from Malta, USA, and the Netherlands were also accepted. Here’s the list:

Defender:
• Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL)

Challengers:
• Luna Rossa (ITA) – Challenger of Record
• American Magic (USA)
• INEOS Team UK (GBR)
• Malta Altus Challenge (MLT) – WITHDRAWN
• Stars + Stripes Team USA (USA)
• DutchSail (NED) – WITHDRAWN

Of the three late entries, only Stars+Stripes USA remains committed, however, it is unclear what entry payments have been made, nor is there knowledge of a boat being actively built or sailing team assembled.

Key America’s Cup dates:
✔ September 28, 2017: 36th America’s Cup Protocol released
✔ November 30, 2017: AC75 Class concepts released to key stakeholders
✔ January 1, 2018: Entries for Challengers open
✔ March 31, 2018: AC75 Class Rule published
✔ June 30, 2018: Entries for Challengers close
✔ August 31, 2018: Location of the America’s Cup Match and The PRADA Cup confirmed
✔ August 31, 2018: Specific race course area confirmed
✔ November 30, 2018: Late entries deadline
✔ March 31, 2019: Boat 1 can be launched (DELAYED)
✔ 2nd half of 2019: 2 x America’s Cup World Series events (CANCELLED)
✔ October 1, 2019: US$1million late entry fee deadline (NOT KNOWN)
✔ February 1, 2020: Boat 2 can be launched (DELAYED)
✔ April 23-26, 2020: First (1/3) America’s Cup World Series event in Cagliari, Sardinia (CANCELLED)
✔ June 4-7, 2020: Second (2/3) America’s Cup World Series event in Portsmouth, England (CANCELLED)
• December 17-20, 2020: Third (3/3) America’s Cup World Series event in Auckland, New Zealand
• January 15-February 22, 2021: The PRADA Cup Challenger Selection Series
• March 6-15, 2021: The America’s Cup Match

Youth America’s Cup Competition (CANCELLED)
• February 18-23, 2021
• March 1-5, 2021
• March 8-12, 2021

AC75 launch dates:
September 6, 2019 – Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Boat 1
September 10, 2019 – American Magic (USA), Boat 1; actual launch date earlier but not released
October 2, 2019 – Luna Rossa (ITA), Boat 1
October 4, 2019 – INEOS Team UK (GBR), Boat 1
October 16, 2020 – American Magic (USA), Boat 1

Details: www.americascup.com