Cup Experience

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37th America’s Cup Defense – October 2024 in Barcelona

The title says “defense” not “match” because the first defense, in 1870, was a fleet race and not a match. NYYC insisted that James Ashbury’s CAMBRIA sail against their fleet. The majority of the members reasoned, incorrectly, that AMERICA had raced against the RYS fleet when she won the RYS £100 Cup in the race around the Isle of Wight on Friday 22 August 1851.

George L. Schuyler, the only surviving member of the AMERICA syndicate, wrote a letter to the NYYC saying that the Deed of Gift specified a match. Every defense from 1871 onwards has been sailed as a match.

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AC37 Protocol – Released 17 November 2021

As of 17 November 2021...

Team New Zealand published the Protocol on 17 November, as promised. 
They also released the AC75 Class Rule, Draft 2A.

Main points:

  • America's Cup Match in 2024
  • Racing in AC75 yachts
  • Teams can build one new AC75
  • Strict crew nationality rules: 100% nationals OR met the 2021 nationality rule based on primary, permanent residence
  • Teams from "emerging nations" will have relaxed nationality requirments
  • Youth America's Cup and Women's event to be raced in new AC40 foiling monohulls

What they have not told us yet:

  • The venue: where it will be held. The original announcement date was 17 September 2021
  • When it will be held

The VENUE issue

  • TNZ has said Auckland is unlikely
  • Cork, Ireland; Valencia, Spain; and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia have all been mentioned
  • A group in New Zealand is trying to convince TNZ to defend in Auckland

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Protocol Released for 2021 America’s Cup

America's Cup 2021 - Auckland. Challenger Patrizio Bertelli, CEO of PRADA and head of Luna Rossa. Image: Getty Photos

Patrizio Bertelli, CEO of PRADA and head of Luna Rossa. Image: Getty Photos

Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa presented the Protocol for the 36th America's Cup on 29 September 2017. 

  • Next America's Cup Match in March 2021 in Auckland
  • 75 foot monohull with 10-12 crew; teams may build two
  • Strictest crew nationality requirements in America's Cup history
  • Prada is title and presenting sponsor
  • Luna Rossa will run all racing except the America's Cup Match

More details about the yachts will be available on 30 November 2019, and the AC75 Class Rule will be released on 31 March 2018. ETNZ CEO Grant Dalton claimed that the yachts will be "spectacular." Design head Dan Bernasconi said the "might" be designed for foiling.

MORE INFO ABOUT THE PROTOCOL​

As of 4 October, the new FREE Cup Experience Club is in pre-launch phase. The Club will feature more detailed information, interactive discussions among members and special content. As an example, we have articles from Seahorse Magazine written by top sailors and designers.

MORE INFO

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Oracle’s Disastrous Gybe in Race 2 – America’s Cup 2017 Bermuda

What Happened??

At the beginning of the second upwind leg of Race 2, Oracle trailed New Zealand by over 500 meters. In the light air they seemed to be on the right side of all the shifts and closed the gap. A poor tack by the Kiwis let Oracle round the right gate mark on New Zealand's transom. But when both boats gybed together on Leg 6, Oracle fell off the foils and confusion seemed to reign on board.

In this ACTV video footage, it's hard to see who's doing what in the aerial and onboard shots, but if you look closely you can see...

  • While on port gybe, Tom Slingsby leads Kyle Langford to the starboard hull to prepare the gybe. Langford then grinds while Slingsby is on the helm. The wing has not yet gybed. The sheet is slack on starboard, and trimmed on port.
  • Number 1 Graham Spence is seen on his knees on the trampoline on the port side. He starts to cross, in front of the wing, hesitates, and takes a step back towards the port hull. In the next aerial shot you can see him cross in front of the wing, to the starboard hull.
  • Number 2 Kinley Fowler starts to step out of his cockpit on the port hull, then steps back.
  • Helmsman Jimmy Spithill is not in view. Normally he would be holding the wing sheet. I assume he releases the port wing sheet and we see the wing gybe. It's not clear why the wing gybes since there is no tension on the starboard wing sheet. Did Oracle have hydraulics to tack and gybe the wing?
  • Spithill crosses to the starboard hull.
  • Slingsby crosses back to the port hull, apparently to grind at pedestal 1.
  • Fowler is grinding on pedestal 2 in the port hull.
  • Number 3 Cooper Dressler is not grinding; he seems to be sitting at the wing trimmer's position, looking up at the wing.
  • In the starboard hull we see Spence, Langford and Spithill. Spence turns the handles a few times, stops and seems to be waiting for something. The onboard mics pick up someone (Slingsby?) saying, "Pressure's coming back." Spence says something including the words "oil build."

What was going on? Did they lose hydraulic pressure during the gybe? Their accumulators should have been fully charged - they had made their last tack, to starboard some time earlier, well before rounding the mark and bearing away. Had they bled off all their pressure with the board rake controls when they tried to engage New Zealand after the Kiwis tacked? It's a bit mysterious! It was certainly disastrous - the Kiwis won the race easily and put their first point on the scoreboard.