America’s Cup: Secrets of scale

Published on January 26th, 2023

Tom Morris is a talented British dinghy sailor, who aside from his sailing achievements – that include winning in 2022 the RS800 National Championship and the UK’s champion of champions Endeavour Trophy – is also host of the highly popular YouTube channel Mozzy Sails where he and his friends provide analysis of the 37th America’s Cup.

As there are limitations on what types of boat the teams can use for training, among the options are the provided AC40 or a LEQ12 (less or equal to 12m) prototype boat. This episode discusses the challenges of using something smaller than the AC75:

A defining choice of the Cup so far has been whether teams use a full size legacy AC75 with old parts or manufacture a miniature test platform with next generation technology. With that said, the scaling is far stranger than it first seems, so it’s worth understanding the compromises each team has made.

Thank you to Emsworth Radio Sailing for allowing me to hop in the water alongside their Sunday series racing. If you are interested in RC yachting then check out their website here: https://www.emsworthradiosailing.org/

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 will be held in September/October 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)
• K-Challenge Racing (FRA)

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