america's cup yacht race

Number 1 America’s Cup Guide

Table of Contents

What is the America’s Cup?

The America’s Cup is a well renowned yacht racing regatta between international yacht clubs that dates back to 1851. It is the oldest competition in professional team sport and widely regarded as sailing’s most prestigious competition.

The America’s Cup has been contested 36 times with the most successful nations being the United States with 30 wins, New Zealand with three wins, Switzerland with two wins, and Australia with one win.

The current holders are the Royal New Zealand Yacht Club syndicate Emirates Team New Zealand who pulled off back to back victories in 2017 and 2021.

The next edition of the America’s Cup will be held in Barcelona, Spain in 2024.

A summary of the history of America’s Cup

The America’s Cup is the sport of yacht racing’s oldest and most prestigious competition.

It dates back to 1851 – during the reign of Britain’s Queen Victoria – making the America’s Cup trophy the oldest in international professional world sport – predating golf’s Ryder Cup, the football World Cup, and even the modern Olympics.

The competition came about after a visiting American yacht called ‘America’ – owned by a syndicate led by John Cox Stevens – won an invitational race around Britain’s Isle of Wight against a fleet of 14 of the best British racing yachts of the time.

The esteemed British yacht club the Royal Yacht Squadron awarded the victorious syndicate of American owners – all members of the New York Yacht Club – a trophy called the 100 Pound Cup (also sometimes referred to as the 100 Guinea Cup).

Six years later in 1857 the America’s owners permanently donated the trophy to the New York Yacht Club on the provision that it be renamed the America’s Cup and be awarded to the winner of a new perpetual international competition between yacht clubs.

Under the rules stipulated by America’s owners – known as the Deed of Gift – any yacht club meeting a strict set of requirements could challenge the incumbent yacht club to a race for the trophy – with the winner taking over its stewardship.

The first challenge did not come until 1870 when British railway James Lloyd Ashbury entered his schooner Cambria in the New York Yacht Club’s Queen’s Cup race in New York city on August 8 against America and a fleet of 17 American schooners.

The race was won by the American yacht Magic owned by Franklin Osgood and in doing so completed the United States’ first defence of the America’s Cup.

In the 171 years since the yacht America won the 100 Pound Cup in 1851 35 more editions of the America’s Cup have been contested.

The United States dominated the competition until the 25th edition in 1983 when the American’s 132-year winning streak – the longest in sporting history – finally came to an end when the Royal Perth Yacht Club’s yacht Australia II (skippered by John Bertrand) defeated the USA’s Liberty (skippered by Denis in Newport, Rhode Island.

The most recent edition of the AC took place in 2021 in Auckland, New Zealand when the Royal New Zealand Yacht Club’s Emirates Team New Zealand syndicate defeated the Italian yacht club Circolo della Vela Sicilia’s Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli.

The 37th America’s Cup is scheduled to take place in September – October 2024 in Barcelona, Spain when Emirates Team New Zealand will try to retain the trophy for a record breaking third consecutive time against challengers from Great Britain, Italy, Switzerland, and the United States.

How does the America’s Cup work?

Although early editions of the America’s Cup involved fleet racing the event is best known as a match racing competition where just two yachts race against each other one-on-one.

America’s Cup rating rules

The AC has adopted several different rating rules over the years to try to meet the challenge of fairly matching differently-sized yachts against each other.

New York Yacht Club Rule

The New York Yacht Club Rule was used from 1885 to 1887. It factored in waterline length and sail area and penalised yachts with waterlines over 85 feet (25.91 metres).

Seawanhaka Rule

The Seawanhaka Rule was in force from 1889 to 1903 and saw a steady increase in boat sizes. This trend culminated in the American yacht Reliance which was designed by Nathanael Herreshoff and launched in 1903 and at 201 feet (61.2 metres) overall was the largest America’s Cup yacht ever built.

Universal Rule

The Universal Rule – in force from 1914 through to 1937 – was created by Herreshoff and spawned the creation of the fast and powerful J Class yachts that many regard as the most beautiful of all America’s Cup designs.

Twelve Metre Rule

After a 19 year hiatus due to World War II the America’s Cup finally resumed again in 1956 With the J Class viewed as too expensive a design for post war times, the more cost effective Twelve Metre Rule was introduced and stayed in force until 1987.

Mercury Bay Yacht Club

In 1988, a surprise Deed of Gift challenge from New Zealand’s Mercury Bay Yacht Club based on a 90-foot (27.4 metres) monohull caught the Cup holders San Diego Yacht Club somewhat unawares. After a judge ruled the challenge was valid the Americans designed and built a state-of-the-art 60-foot (18-metre) wingsail catamaran with which they easily defended the Cup.

International America’s Cup Class

To avoid the mismatch scenario of 1988 the International America’s Cup Class (IACC) was introduced in 1992. This rule resulted in large (82-foot / 25 metre) technologically advanced boats with huge sail plans. The rule prevailed until 2007 and for many observers is synonymous with the start of the America’s Cup’s ‘modern era’.

Golden Gate Yacht Club

A second Deed of Gift match took place in 2010 when – after a protracted court case – the United States’ Golden Gate Yacht Club’s BMW Oracle Racing faced off against the Swiss Cup holders Alinghi in two giant multihulls in Valencia, Spain. After long delays for the right wind conditions the American’s wingsail trimaran proved too fast for the Swiss to take the series two races to zero.

AC72 and AC50 Catamaran Rules

2103 saw a new multihull rule introduced and the advent of the spectacular AC72 foiling catamarans. Although the rule was not originally intended to allow for flying boats it also did not prohibit them. When images emerged in the run up to the Cup of the New Zealand team successfully foiling the other teams had to scramble to respond.

The following edition of the America’s Cup in 2017 was raced in smaller but quicker five person foiling catamarans known as the AC50.

Introduced in 2021 the AC75 Class was a radical departure from anything the America’s Cup had seen before featuring 75-foot (23 metre) foiling monohull yachts. These super complex and difficult to sail yachts are the fastest craft in America’s Cup history and reach peak speeds of over 50 knots.

How many countries have won the America’s Cup?

The United States is the most successful country in the America’s Cup having won it 25 times in a row between 1851 and 1980 and then again five more times in 1987, 1988, 1992, 2010 and 2013.

New Zealand is the next most successful country with three wins in 2000, 2017 and 2021.

Switzerland has won the America’s Cup twice: in 2003 and 2007.

Australia won the America’s Cup in 1983 becoming the first country other than the United States to do so in 132 years.

List of countries that have won the America’s Cup:

United States 30 New Zealand 3 Switzerland 2 Australia 1

Has Great Britain ever won the America’s Cup?

Great Britain has never won the America’s Cup – despite challenging 22 times – in 1899, 1901, 1903, 1920, 1930, 1934, 1937, 1958, 1964, 1980, 1983, 1987, 2003, 2017, 2021.

Who is the most successful America’s Cup skipper?

American yachtsman Dennis Conner is arguably the best known skipper in the America’s Cup but he shares his three victory record with two other skippers – New Zealand yachtsman Russell Coutts and British skipper Charlie Barr.

Dennis Conner won the America’s Cup in 1980, 1987, and 1988.

But he is also renowned for in 1983 becoming the first American skipper to lose the Cup after 132 years of US domination when his stars and Stripes campaign was defeated by John Bertrand’s Australian crew on Australia II.

Russell Coutts won the America’s Cup as a skipper in 1995, 2000, and 2003 and was unbeaten in 14 consecutive races across those victories.

British skipper Charlie Barr won the America’s Cup three times – in 1899, 1901, and 1903 – sailing for American owners on each occasion and with a 9 to zero win loss record across the three editions.

Australian/American sailor Jimmy Spithill is a two-time America’s Cup winner, having in 2010 – at age 30 – become the then youngest ever winning America’s Cup skipper, before winning the next edition in 2013 when he staged a spectacular comeback in which he won eight consecutive races to defend the Cup nine points to eight.

New Zealand Olympic silver and gold medallist Peter Burling has won the America’s Cup twice. His first victory was in 2017, when at age 26 he became the youngest ever America’s Cup winning skipper. His second America’s Cup win was in 2021.

Who won the last America’s Cup?

Emirates Team New Zealand representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Club won the 37th America’s Cup which took place in Auckland, New Zealand in 2021.

The New Zealand syndicate defeated the Italian yacht club Circolo della Vela Sicilia’s Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli.

When is the next America’s Cup?

The next edition – America’s Cup 37 – is scheduled to take place in September and October of 2024 in the Spanish city of Barcelona.

More information on the America’s Cup:

America’s Cup website

Cup Insider website

America’s Cup story archive on Yacht Racing Life

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American Magic Just Unveiled Its Sleek New America’s Cup Race Boat

The ac75 foiler hit the waters of barcelona for testing ahead of the upcoming preliminary regatta., rachel cormack.

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“Today is an important step in the commissioning process for American Magic and B3,” American Magic skipper and president of sailing operations Terry Hutchinson said in a statement. “Our shore crew and engineers have been working methodically over the last 30 days to get us to this moment.”

For the unversed, the AC75s that will compete in the upcoming America’s Cup are the most complex and technologically advanced racing yachts ever built. The highly engineered foilers “fly” across the water at up to 50 knots. Crafted from lightweight carbon fiber, the racers are capable of lift in just 6.5 knots of wind but strong enough to survive an extreme crash in 25 knots.

The B3 will undergo further testing and sea trials in the coming months before her official naming ceremony and inaugural sail. American Magic will then set its sights on the upcoming America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta. The first two preliminary regattas of the AC40s were held in September and November, respectively. (American Magic actually won the September race.) The third and final preliminary regatta, which will take place in Barcelona from August 22 to 25, will see all six AC75s compete for the first time.

Rachel Cormack is a digital editor at Robb Report. She cut her teeth writing for HuffPost, Concrete Playground, and several other online publications in Australia, before moving to New York at the…

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America’s Cup 2024 dates confirmed

• Toby Heppell
• November 30, 2022

Racing in the 2024 America's Cup match will take place in Barcelona, Spain in mid-October, with a calendar for racing now released

Despite confirmation that the 37th America’s Cup would be raced in Barcelona back in March 2022, the specific dates in which the event would take place have only been revealed today, Wednesday 30th November 2022, with racing due to start on Saturday 12th October 2024.

We knew the event would need to take place at the tail end of the year in order to avoid clashing with the Olympic Games, which will take place in the summer of 2024 in France and the America’s Cup Event Authority had stated an intention to race in the September-October window, which offers a decent range of weather, with wind speeds usually around the 9-15 knot mark.

Racing in the 37th America’s Cup Match itself, which is a best of 13 (first to seven) format will start on Saturday 12th October with two races scheduled, followed by a further two races on Sunday 13th October 2024.

Racing will then pause for two days – at the discretion of the Regatta Director and after consultation with both the Defender and the Challenger – and depending on conditions, both of these days could be used to complete two races a day. The schedule as it stands, without the use of the Monday or Tuesday, would recommence on Wednesday 16th October 2024 for one race (race 5) in the Match followed by the final of the Women’s America’s Cup, which has now also been confirmed.

The Women’s America’s Cup Regatta Final will take place straight after Race 5 on October 16th 2024, with a stated aim to provide the women’s event significant coverage and profile.

Thursday 17th October is officially not scheduled for America’s Cup racing but again, subject to the Regatta Director’s discretion and agreement with the competitors, could be allocated for two further races depending on conditions, whilst Friday 18th October 2024 is officially marked as a ‘Spare Day’ for up to two more races. Two races per day are also scheduled for Saturday 19th October and Sunday 20th October 2024, if required.

As with the last America’s Cup in New Zealand in 2021, the Event Authority hopes to have racing concluded over a weekend (19th/20th October 2024), however the schedule does allow for racing to continue into the following week from the 21st October 2024 through to the 27th October 2024, on reserve days if required.

Speaking about the format announcement, Grant Dalton, CEO of America’s Cup Events Limited commented: “We are excited to confirm the dates determining the Match racing period and our huge thanks go to the Capitán Marítimo and the Port of Barcelona authority who have been so pro-active and accommodative throughout the process. This is a significant event to plan for, with safety concerns at the top of the list for both spectators and competitors.

“I think the result is going to be something pretty spectacular with racing taking place in front of the beach, along the coast from the main port entrance right along the coast, past the Port Olímpic and out further east, offering a fantastic viewing opportunity for the public to see these remarkable boats at full pace.”

The announcement of these event dates has been on the cards for some time, with the America’s Cup protocol stating that: The precise dates determining the Match Racing Period and the race schedule shall be announced by ACE on or before 30 November 2022 .

Dates for the Women’s and Youth America’s Cup series (which will take place in AC40s) have yet to be finalised.

It is, however, somewhat disappointing to see only the dates for the America’s Cup match itself and the final of the Women’s America’s Cup final announced, with the Challenger Selection Series (the competition which decides which team will face Cup Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand in the America’s Cup match) still without firm dates. And it is still unclear when the rest of the Women’s America’s Cup will take place or, indeed, the Youth America’s Cup .

In order to come up with the racing area and dates for Cup racing, an agreement needed to be reached with Barcelona’s Capitán Marítimo to create a spectator area to the south of the City along Barcelona’s beachfront.

Additionally, a permanent exclusion zone for the duration of the racing has been agreed to ensure safety for both the competitors and the expected spectator boats that will take the opportunity to see the AC75s and AC40s at close range.

Although this latest announcement from the America’s Cup Event Authority states that the racing area for the Challenger Selection Series and the America’s Cup have both been confirmed in the same location, that there are not yet dates for the Selection Series implies there may still be some further conversations to be had about the exclusion zones for that, the Women’s America’s Cup series and the Youth America’s Cup too.

2024 America’s Cup schedule

• Saturday 12th October – Race 1 + Race 2
• Sunday 13th October – Race 3 + Race 4
• Monday 14th October – Reserve Day
• Tuesday 15th October – Reserve Day
• Wednesday 16th October – Race 5 + Women’s America’s Cup Final
• Thursday 17th October – Reserve Day
• Friday 18th October – Spare Race Day (up to 2 races)
• Saturday 19th October – Race Day (up to 2 races)
• Sunday 20th October – Race Day (up to 2 races)
• Monday 21st October – Reserve Day
• Tuesday 22nd October – Reserve Day
• Wednesday 23rd October – Reserve Day
• Thursday 24th October – Reserve Day
• Friday 25th October – Reserve Day
• Saturday 26th October – Reserve Day
• Sunday 27th October – Reserve Day

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It was like a funeral at the New York Yacht Club when Australia II won the America's Cup after 132 years

Analysis It was like a funeral at the New York Yacht Club when Australia II won the America's Cup after 132 years

A weepy, funeral-like procession in midtown Manhattan and an empty champagne bottle turned upside down: two striking images from the day the US lost the America's Cup for the first time after more than a century of dominance — exactly 38 years ago.

The New York Yacht Club in mourning might be the last place you'd expect a visiting Australian to try to gatecrash.

But that's where I found myself on that fateful night: borrowing an oversized blue blazer, jumping in a yellow cab to West 44th Street and talking my way into the members' only enclave.

And all because an elitist yachting competition had somehow captivated our entire nation.

It was on September 26, 1983, that Australia II completed an improbable comeback over US boat, Liberty, winning race seven at Newport, Rhode Island, for a 4-3 victory overall, having trailed 3-1.

Back in Australia, a nation celebrated, led by a champagne-soaked prime minister in Perth.

After a night of watching the drama on television, Bob Hawke effectively declared the following day — a Tuesday — a national public holiday, saying: "Any boss who sacks anyone for not turning up today is a bum."

Three hundred kilometres south of the racing off Rhode Island, the New York Yacht Club was in a state of shock, unprepared for the end of a winning streak — the longest in sports — dating back to 1851.

There, more than anywhere else, at the club's home since 1901, the impact of Australia II's triumph was being felt. As uplifting as the result was for underdog Aussies 16,000 kilometres away, it was, in equal measure, devastating for those supporting the losing favourite.

This moment in history coincided with my first trip — a backpacker-style vacation — to the United States. I'd started the marathon journey from Sydney with Australia II headed for a noble defeat but arrived in New York City with John Bertrand's crew pulling off the near impossible.

The America's Cup was the last thing on my mind when air tickets were booked several months earlier.

In holiday mode, joining some fellow Australian journalists in a Manhattan bar, someone remarked what a great story it would be to sneak into the New York Yacht Club to see how the members were handling the shock of losing the cup.

Along with the world's most dangerous and politically unstable hotspots of the time, the New York Yacht Club on that particular September evening might have been a place where all Australians would have been advised against travelling.

Two days before the races started, the club had unsuccessfully tried through the courts to ban Australia II's controversial winged keel, effectively accusing the Royal Perth Yacht Club syndicate of cheating.

Cup transported by armoured vehicle

Precisely when I arrived at the club, its main doors opened and about a dozen members filed out towards a parked van. Half of them were carrying a large wooden box that looked like a coffin. It didn't take long to work out the America's Cup was inside.

The van was a Brinks armoured vehicle, ready to drive sailing's most famous silverware up Interstate 95 to Newport for the official handover — to the enemy.

Funerals are often slow and measured affairs but this process was rapid and urgent. While the emotions flowed as they might alongside any cortege, there was also an air of chaos and confusion as a trophy representing 132 years of achievement was ingloriously yanked from the gentrified Beux-Arts landmark in less than 60 seconds.

Once the vehicle was out of sight, a few of the members lingered on the footpath, trying to make sense of what they had just witnessed, including a middle-aged man with red eyes.

Fortunately, the man did not throw punches in a fit of New York rage when approached by a journalist from Sydney interested in hearing his views. Instead, there was an invitation to join him and his wife for a complimentary dinner at the club.

So, the New York Yacht Club visitors' book for the evening of September 26, 1983, registered one Australian guest.

'Therapy session' over steak dinner

In the heart of a city with the world's highest concentration of psychiatrists, the meal with a gracious American host had the unfettered air of a therapy session. And, with the Cold War still in full swing, it was also a kind of entente cordiale: two potential adversaries breaking bread in the name of a higher cause.

That same day, Soviet military officer Stanislav Petrov averted a possible nuclear war by correctly identifying a US missile attack warning in Moscow as a false alarm. On American soil, Zimbabwe Prime Minister Robert Mugabe, who had risen to power three years earlier, was on a tense state visit to Washington DC.

During our dinner, the man opened up in a way one wouldn't have imagined, speaking about his personal pain and sense of loss in saying goodbye to the Auld Mug. For him, the America's Cup — the trophy — was like a close friend whose reassuring presence provided almost daily comfort within the exclusive confines of the club.

The man also shared an insider's account of how the decisive seventh race of the series played out for him and the other members.

Club with no TV and 'ship-at-sea echo'

In contrast to Manhattan's rowdy sports bars, the New York Yacht Club had (in its own words) a "ship-at-sea echo". Then, like now, it was a cosy and refined refuge where members could peacefully enjoy a drink, meal and thoughtful conversation without distraction.

So, with no television or radio on the premises, the only way to get updates on the racing was from an open telephone line to Newport.

Because retaining the America's Cup was almost a formality, members hadn't felt the need to closely follow each day's racing. Most of the previous series were lopsided, with the defender rarely troubled. The US had lost only three of 39 races dating back to 1937, and had dropped just nine races since the America's Cup began in 1851.

But, with the 1983 series tied at 3-3 going into race seven, one member, with a no-dial rotary telephone in hand, was given the job of relaying information from Newport to an increasingly concerned gathering within the club.

Under respected skipper Dennis Conner, Liberty started well and seemed on course for victory. But after surrendering the lead on the penultimate leg, the American yacht was unable to get it back, despite Conner tacking 47 times before the finish.

Australia II, expertly piloted by Olympic medallist Bertrand, crossed the line 41 seconds ahead to clinch the series, meaning the challenger had defied sudden death by taking the last three races to win.

After we had a magnificent steak dinner in the dining room, the man introduced me to other members, with an invitation to look around the club that had operated on that site since 1901. Walking through the various sections, the detail and quality of the many replica boats and ships on display in its trophy room was impressive.

Champagne bottle replaces missing cup

What stood out was the sizeable display case that had protected the America's Cup until a few hours earlier.

Instead of showing off precious silverware, the structure now housed an empty champagne bottle, its spout pointing to the floor, symbolic of an institution whose world had been turned upside down.

After the man and his wife had gone home, I wrote my story by hand on New York Yacht Club letterhead in a quiet corner of the club. Then, in those early days of computers long before email, the article was dictated on a reverse-charges telephone call to a typist back at the Sydney Morning Herald for the next day's edition.

Just after midnight, this Australian visitor was the second-last person to leave the club, let out the front door by the night security guard.

For someone who didn't live through Australia's unexpected success off the Rhode Island coast, it is difficult to explain four decades later the significance of winning — let's face it — a relatively obscure sporting event.

But Bertrand's unexpected success, powered by Ben Lexcen's winged keel and Alan Bond's cash, seemed to energise a nation down on its competitive luck.

Australia had won just nine medals at the ill-fated and partly boycotted 1980 Moscow Olympics and only five — with no gold — at the Montreal Games four years before that. Compare that to 46 medals, with 17 golds at the recent Tokyo Olympics.

Boxing Kangaroo flag galvanises a nation

The boxing Kangaroo flag that fluttered in the Rhode Island breeze off Australia II's forestay became a symbol of its triumph. And it would epitomise our fighting spirit in decades of other sporting battles to come. Rather than the nagging feeling that we might not be good enough, sticking it to the Yanks in their own — ahem — waterways when all seemed lost, proved that anything was possible.

The triumph came just seven months into Bob Hawke's first term as prime minister and remains one of his most endearing moments, setting the tone for his tenure. Wearing a gaudy Australian-branded sports coat, his euphoria bubbled over in the early hours amongst a packed crowd at the Royal Perth Yacht Club. Indeed, as a proud West Australian, this moment was even sweeter.

Years later, the America's Cup would be voted by the readers of my old newspaper as the greatest day in Australian sports history, more significant than winning world cups in rugby and cricket and staging the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.

It remains the only time Australia has actually won the America's Cup. In a disastrous defence at Fremantle four years later, Kookaburra III was trounced 4-0 by Stars and Stripes 87, skippered by 1983 loser, Dennis Conner. Conner's tale of redemption is featured in a 1992 film, Wind.

New Zealand is the current holder of the America's Cup, having successfully defended the trophy in March — winning it for the fourth time — after  Emirates Team New Zealand defeated Italy's Luna Rossa by seven races to three off the coast of Auckland.

After leaving the New York Yacht Club on that autumn night in 1983,  I took a reflective stroll back to my accommodation a few blocks away near Times Square.

I rounded a corner, past the open doors of a late-night bar whose house band was cranking out a raucous version of Who Can It Be Now? by Men At Work. The Melbourne group's other big hit, Down Under, was the unofficial anthem of Australia II's challenge, but I'd never heard US musicians covering Australian artists before.

In those pre-Crocodile Dundee days, the full brunt of Australia's cultural awakening and transformation — and the resulting international invasion — was still a few years away.

But for a split second on that last Tuesday in September 1983, I caught a glimpse of the future.

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When and where will the next America's Cup be held?

It’s been a challenging period for those involved with the America’s Cup . But where will the crucial next race be held, and is it the right call?

Long before Emirates Team New Zealand flew across the finish line to win the America’s Cup match in March , jockeying was underway for the next edition. In its secretive way, the America’s Cup is like an iceberg: the greater part lurks invisibly beneath the surface.

Relations between Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli and Emirates Team New Zealand had cooled and the British INEOS Team UK was being lined up to replace the official Challenger of Record should the Kiwis win.

This is an important role. The winner gets to decide the format, type of boat raced and venue, albeit in agreement with the official challenger. The role gives the British team a seat at the top table for the first time, and an opportunity to press for what it wants. That includes the possibility of racing for the next Cup in the UK.

First, however, the easiest agreement to find between the two teams and the yacht clubs they represent was to continue with the foiling AC75 class for “at least the next two editions of the America’s Cup”. “It will be a condition of entry to the 37th America's Cup that each team agrees to this commitment,” Emirates Team New Zealand spokesman Hamish Hooper told us.

It means the design and development work done over the last four years can be built upon, and it will take in the knowledge and skills built up by incumbent teams. Fans should be pleased, too, because the flying monohulls were spectacular and the racing closer and more exciting than anticipated. The next big question: where and when will the next America’s Cup be raced?

The British suggestion: A Deed of Gift match

The rumours are true that the British have proposed a one-off Deed of Gift match against the Kiwis to be raced in the UK, including or culminating in a race around the Isle of Wight. That would be an historic rerun of the original contest in 1851 between the British and the Americans, but this time explicitly excluding the Americans and any other challengers.

A so called “DOG match” has two precedents: between the New Zealanders and the Stars & Stripes US defenders in 1988, and in 2010, when Alinghi lost the Cup to BMW Oracle Racing. Feasibility studies were carried out with possible venues in the Solent and a bid has been received. The suggestion the British team made was that a rapid-turnaround Cup match in 2022 could keep the momentum while the world slowly returns to normal and New Zealand opens up to visitors. It would be a coup for Sir Jim Ratcliffe of INEOS to bring the racing to home territory, and maybe it would be easier for the home team to win here.

“It’s something that has been tabled as a mechanism to get through this Covid-19 world we have been battling through,” says Ben Ainslie. “It was [a question of] how do we get through to the next Cup four years down the road, and put [it] on the line to get some more teams interested.

"But, in all honesty, it is very much a distant idea, and I’m saying this with my Challenger of Record hat on,” he continues. “There are no plans in place and it is still leftfield thinking. Having a Cup on the Solent would be my preference and I do favour it, but I think we all have to understand the commercial realities of Emirates Team New Zealand.”

Luna Rossa and the New York Yacht Club’s American Magic have both said they want to continue challenging for the Cup and are opposed to being excluded in a one-on-one match. The Americans have made no secret of their furious opposition.

“A Deed of Gift match off the Isle of Wight would be a huge step in the wrong direction,” says Christopher Culver, commodore of the New York Yacht Club. “The two previous Deed of Gift matches were distinct low points in the history of the America’s Cup. The New York Yacht Club will not support a Deed of Gift match or an America’s Cup competition that is effectively open to only the defender and Challenger of Record.” It would, he added, undo the progress made in previous Cup cycles in increasing team numbers. “To waste this opportunity on a two-team event is not in the best interests of the Cup or the sport,” Culver declared.

In June the New Zealand team concluded a three-month negotiation with the New Zealand government and failed to reach agreement. Team chief Grant Dalton said the NZ$99 million offered in funds and in-kind support was not sufficient for a strong defence and a home contest was now “extremely unlikely”.

Shortlisted bids to host the Cup are said to have been received from venues in Cork, Cowes, Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, Oman, Singapore and Valencia. The process is being run for Team New Zealand by Origin Sports Group, the sports management company set up by Sir Keith Mills, who led the team that delivered the London 2012 Olympic Games from bid to execution. Sir Keith is a keen sailor and was instrumental in establishing Ben Ainslie’s America’s Cup racing team in 2012. Some of the these locations could eliminate US team American Magic. Skipper and CEO Terry Hutchinson says their preferred choice is New Zealand but if that can’t happen, he told us, they prefer a venue with “a high historical context”.

“If you look at the list that has been proposed, Auckland is clearly one, Cowes is clearly one, Valencia is clearly one, Cork is clearly one, and then from there it is a change in mentality, and there is no historical significance of the America’s Cup heritage. It’s up to our principals to decide… but some of the venues that the Defender has laid out would be a show-stopper for American Magic.”

A presumptuous proposal

While negotiations continue behind locked doors, the New York Yacht Club (NYYC) raised the stakes on 6 May by publishing an extraordinary draft protocol. Despite having no official part to play in defining the terms of the next Cup, it posted online a highly detailed 154-page document defining every aspect, from entry costs to nationality rules. It wants the next America’s Cup to be raced in New Zealand in 2024.

And that’s not all. The NYYC proposes that the winner’s right to choose the venue in a bid process be replaced with a schedule laid out for the next 12 years. It wants the 38th America’s Cup to be raced in Italy in 2027, the 39th in the UK in 2030, the 40th in the US in 2033, and from 2035 it suggests it’s raced in the winner’s country, before changing to a two-yearly cycle, and ultimately becoming an annual event.

It also proposes fixing budgets both annually and for each Cup cycle, and says a commission chaired by the Defender should be “the permanent control and consulting body of the America’s Cup” with corporations to manage the running of the regatta and its commercial arm.

Culver argues: “The cost of a competitive campaign, the lack of continuity in the class and the inability to plan beyond the current cycle have combined to create a prohibitive barrier to entry.” INEOS Team UK was quick to respond, and in steely tones. “We are delighted to hear that the New York Yacht Club are interested in continuing participation in the America’s Cup and we will keep them informed as we move forward,” its statement read. When asked for its response, Emirates Team New Zealand told us it “questions their motives for such a presumptuous statement when entries do not open for some time”.

“There have been some valid points raised by NYYC, a number of which are already being considered,” comments Hamish Hooper, but he emphasises that it is “between Emirates Team New Zealand and the RNZYS, and INEOS Team UK and the Royal Yacht Squadron, who are the two parties responsible for developing the next Protocol.” Team New Zealand says it will publish the next protocol by 17 November.

What changes might we see?

There will almost certainly be changes to the class rule to allow for more supplied equipment. This would cut down some of the design complexity, reduce budgets and make it easier for new teams to step in. However, the NYYC’s proposal for a mutual management group with centralised commercial rights is highly unlikely to happen. It is not something a defender could contemplate when dependent on commercial funding to exist.

“It is not a realistic expectation to ask the winner to give away all those commercial rights. It would take a special kind of team and a special individual to do that,” says Ben Ainslie, “though it is an admirable point to try to get to.”

Ainslie’s comments suggest that negotiations may be more advanced than is currently being let on. “We are getting to the point very soon when we as Challenger of Record can go out and engage with the [other challengers],” he says.

Does there really need to be a consensus? “No,” continues Ainslie, “but it’s right to get more people on board with the thinking and be comfortable with it. If we can help people get more of an understanding of what the event looks like to make it work, that would be good.”

Whatever its successes, the last America’s Cup demonstrated that three challengers is too few. The racing would be more exciting with a bigger field of contenders and a wider fan base. Jimmy Spithill would surely love to lead an Australian challenge. Mike Buckley’s and Taylor Canfield’s Stars + Stripes Team USA are said to be keen to join. There are also strong rumours that two-time winner Ernesto Bertarelli could return for a Swiss challenge with Alinghi.

First, though, the New Zealand team needs a financial package to stop opponents plundering key members of its design, engineering, build and sailing teams. The choice of venue will be the one that, all things considered, best helps them prosper to win again.

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Sechs Teams auf der Jagd nach dem Heiligen Gral

• 1 Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) – Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron
• 2 Alinghi Red Bull Racing (SUI) – Société Nautique de Genève
• 3 American Magic Team (USA) – New York Yacht Club
• 4 Ineos Britannia (GBR) – Royal Yacht Squadron Racing
• 5 Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (ITA) – Circolo della Vela Sicilia
• 6 Orient Express Team (FRA) – Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez

Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) – Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron

Alinghi red bull racing (sui) – société nautique de genève.

Alinghi Red Bull Racing

© Samo Vidic / Alinghi Red Bull Racing / Red Bull Content Pool

Chiara Bertarelli

American Magic Team (USA) – New York Yacht Club

Ineos britannia (gbr) – royal yacht squadron racing, marco odermatt an bord von alinghi red bull racing, stapellauf im gewässer des america’s cup 2024, luna rossa prada pirelli (ita) – circolo della vela sicilia, orient express team (fra) – société nautique de saint-tropez, youth und womenʼs americaʼs cup. mit den ac40 in der königsklasse.

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Emirates Team New Zealand AC75 Yacht

Coming Soon on August 1, 2024

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A racing yacht lego® set for adults, join the team, lego® technic™ emirates team new zealand ac75 yacht, authentic sailing yacht design.

This LEGO® Technic™ boat model includes 2 printed sails.

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HISTORY by Magnus Wheatley