Looking in the America’s Cup toolbox

The Winter 2021 edition of Sailing World magazine went all-in with America’s Cup coverage. Here’s what’ been posted online:

• Weather forecasting: In Auckland, New Zealand, the 75-foot foilers will be wedged into small, inshore boundary-constrained racetracks where wind shifts still matter, but given the speed of the boats and the dimensions of the racecourse, it’s about a minute of sailing between ­boundaries. Tack on shifts? Maybe not. Given the cost of maneuvers, it could very well be worth the distance loss of sailing a header for a short period in order to earn a longer board on the other tack. Change is ubiquitous in the America’s Cup, and when the boat type changes, so too does the role of the weather team, an important component of every serious Cup syndicate. – Full report

• AC75 sails: Whether you’re for or against the new America’s Cup-class yachts, we can all agree that the massive lifting foils and wings have everyone’s attention. But another thing we can agree upon is that the AC75 is still a sailboat powered by the wind. If the sails aren’t fast, then a team will need to find a substantial advantage somewhere else to have any chance of hoisting the Cup aloft next March. So, in the spirit of the belief that “everything changes and everything stays the same,” the new technology we should be talking about this time around is the sails, what the inside techies refer to as the “aero package.” – Full report

• AC75 foils: Winged keels, Deed of Gift-controlled matches, rule changes, cheating allegations. The America’s Cup is no stranger to controversy, and for much of the past decade, the hot button has also been the new big thing: foiling. To traditionalists, this is heresy. The Cup is a yacht race, and sailing boats belong in the water. Others believe the Cup is a design, engineering and innovation contest that should be raced at the bleeding edge of technology. So is the modern AC75 the spiritual descendant of the 1903 superboat Reliance? Or should it go the way of the Seawanhaka Rule—collateral damage to Reliance’s one-sided victory? It may yet come to pass. No one knows what the 37th edition of the Cup will look like at this point, but whatever the future, the genie has soared out of the bottle: Foiling is now at the forefront of sailing. – Full report

• AC75 hulls: Hull design has always been the most venerated aspect of an America’s Cup yacht. The name on the drawings has often been remembered with the same reverence as that of the skipper. This might not hold for much longer because the result of the 36th America’s Cup is just as likely to be determined by the work of a systems engineer as by a naval architect. – Full report

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) – WITHDRAWN
• DutchSail (NED) – WITHDRAWN

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 2
October 17, 2020 – INEOS Team UK (GBR), Boat 2
October 20, 2020 – Luna Rossa (ITA), Boat 2
November 19, 2020 – Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Boat 2

Details: www.americascup.com