The Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Has Begun

The largest spectacle in sailing is here! The Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup started on August 22 in the beating heart of beautiful Barcelona, and will run through October, 2024. With 60 days of events, this rendition of the time-honored sailing event promises to be a heart-pounding performance of high-speed sailing and fierce competition. Here’s what you need to know about the race format, the teams, and the boats.

 

THE PATH TO THE AMERICA’S CUP

The Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup will comprise several events culminating in the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Match between the Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand and the Challenger, the winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup, to be decided. Leading up to the main events, two Preliminary Regattas were held in the second half of 2023 at Vilanova i la Geltrú in Spain and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia where the America’s Cup teams raced one-design AC40s in fleet and match-races to both spread the message of the America’s Cup and also to get an early indication of sailing form. NYYC American Magic won the first of these regattas in Vilanova i la Geltrú before Emirates Team New Zealand secured the win in Jeddah. At the time of this writing, the third Preliminary Regatta is taking place in Barcelona from the 22–25 August 22-25, 2024, but this time, the teams will all be racing in their brand-new AC75s, the boats they will use in the racing for the Cup.

 

Louis Vuitton Cup (Challenger Selection Series) 

This selection series will determine the team to face the Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand, in the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Match. It will consist of two Round Robin stages, with the first elimination after the second Round Robin, to decide the four semi-finalists. The winning boat from the Round Robin stage gets to select the opponent they wish to race and at the conclusion of the semi-finals, two challengers will meet in the final for the prestigious Louis Vuitton Cup. The winner gets not only a magnificent trophy but also the right to challenge Emirates Team New Zealand in the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup.

 

Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Match

The America’s Cup is the race where famously “there is no second.” Either you win or you lose, and it has been this way for some 173 years. Starting on October 12, 2024, a national holiday in Spain, the Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand, will face the winner of the Challenger Selection Series in a 13-race one-on-one Match. Each race will be a one-on-one ‘match-race’ between the two teams, the winner of each race scores one point, the loser scores zero points. The first team to score seven points will win and become the Defender of the 38th America’s Cup. In the original Deed of Gift, George L. Schuyler stated that the competition was to be: “Perpetually a challenge cup for friendly competition between foreign countries.” In the heat of battle, hopefully Schuyler’s words are not forgotten.

 

MEET THE TEAMS

 

Defender – Emirates Team New Zealand 

Representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, Emirates Team New Zealand were the stand-out winners of the America’s Cup in 2021 and as holders are viewed as a mighty force in sailing and design innovation. The winning helmsman from 2021, Olympic gold and silver medallist Peter Burling, has been retained for 2024 and Nathan Outteridge— also an Olympic gold and silver medallist—has been brought in to share helming duties. The core team of sailors are of the highest order and the wider team has real strength in depth with huge competitiveness between the Cyclors, driving the whole team forward. Emirates Team New Zealand, for sure, will field the strongest possible line-up of sailors across the America’s Cup.

 

Challenger of Record – INEOS Britannia

Representing the Royal Yacht Squadron Ltd is the Challenger of Record for the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup, INEOS Britannia. INEOS is the key backer initiated by INEOS Chairman and Founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who previously supported the team’s 36th America’s Cup challenge. Being part of the INEOS Sport Group affords the sailing team and designers access to a wider sporting family which includes the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, the INEOS Grenadiers cycling team, the All Blacks, and football clubs OGC Nice, FC Lausanne-Sport and most recently Manchester United Football Club.  INEOS Britannia is one of the largest organizations in the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup with the deepest of resources.

 

Challenger – NYYC American Magic

New York Yacht Club American Magic was formed in 2018 by principals Hap Fauth, Roger Penske, and Doug DeVos with the intent of regaining the oldest trophy in international sports for the yacht club that held the America’s Cup for 132 years from its inception in 1851. It is a loss that is deeply felt by the membership of the NYYC, but American Magic is delivering a campaign worthy of the club both on and off the water. The team competed in the 36th America’s Cup and had perhaps the most dramatic of regattas after suffering a capsize and significant damage to the hull of their AC75 Patriot during a semi-final race that they were leading by a significant margin against Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli. Widely acknowledged as having a very fast boat, they were the only team to beat the Kiwis in a competitive race before the Finals. American Magic is, in many people’s eyes, the hottest tip to make it to the America’s Cup Match.

 

Challenger – Alinghi Red Bull Racing

Two-time winners of the America’s Cup—in 2003 and 2007—the Swiss ‘Alinghi’ sailing team, the brainchild of syndicate owner and backer Ernesto Bertarelli, is one of the most respected forces in world sailing. Coming back to the America’s Cup in 2024, representing once again the Société Nautique de Genève has seen the team partner with Red Bull Advanced Technologies (the Formula 1 team), and the wider Red Bull brand to create ‘Alinghi Red Bull Racing’ which Bertarelli described at launch as, “A true partnership, to nurture young athletes and turn them into the best in their field.” ​​Alinghi Red Bull Racing has successfully fused young Swiss sailing talent with highly experienced coaches, campaigners and winners from past America’s Cups to create one of the most dynamic teams in the event.

 

Challenger – Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli

The beaten finalist from 2021, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, is back for the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup in Barcelona determined to go one better. Backed by Patrizio Bertelli, one of the greatest supporters of America’s Cup racing in the history of the event having entered and competed seven times since the team’s first entry in 2000, the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli challenge for 2024 draws on all the experience of their past campaigns. Based out of Cagliari on Sardinia’s southern coast, and representing the Circolo della Vela Sicilia Yacht Club, the team have been putting in long hours on the water with their interestingly detailed and beautifully adorned LEQ12 prototype that has proven to be the perfect platform to extract maximum data and serve as a test bed for new componentry.

 

Challenger – Orient Express Racing Team

Led by Stephan Kandler and Bruno Dubois, the Orient Express Racing Team were the final entrant to the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup but are bristling with talent. Naval architect Benjamin Muyl, skipper Quentin Delapierre, Head of Performance Franck Cammas, and Technical Director Antoine Carraz have a goal to carry the colors of Orient Express as far as possible into the competition. France’s illustrious history in the America’s Cup dates back to 1968-1970 with multiple challenges since. This time, the French challenge will benefit from a latest generation technology package provided by the design office of Emirates Team New Zealand, which has allowed Orient Express Racing Team to gain valuable time on the design process and start on more equal terms with the other challengers.

 

THE AC75

On November 15, 2021, eight months after the Kiwis defended the America’s Cup, an updated ‘Version 2’ of the AC75 Class Rule was released. A marvel in design, the AC75s will be a considerable step on, and some say ‘radical,’ from what was on the water in Auckland in 2021.

 

The foils will be considerably larger and lighter to promote quicker lift and faster flight. The boats will be all-up lighter and onboard, the electronics, hydraulics and software systems will be vastly upgraded to reflect industry changes in these areas. The number of crew on the AC75 has been reduced from eleven to eight, to save weight again with an eye on promoting earlier flight. And the move to reduce the crew means cyclor power is back in the America’s Cup again across all of the AC75s, an innovation first introduced by Emirates Team New Zealand in 2017. Several of the elements are strict one-design, such as the mast, rigging, foil cant-arms and cant hydraulics but the scope for design elsewhere is broad. Efficient delivery of power from the cyclors to the control systems is a key battleground and where the influence of Formula 1 engineering may be most influential–gear boxes, power-trains, hydraulic containers, and battery optimization are all in focus.

 

To keep costs under control, it was also determined that teams would only be allowed to build one AC75, so the demand on getting the design right from the outset is at a premium. The boats will be expected to fly at speeds well in excess of 50 knots in winds that average 12-15 knots in the late summer in Barcelona. The design challenge is real, however, and the resources being employed for the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup are vast, and we will almost certainly see the most technologically advanced America’s Cup boats in history.

 

KEY DATES

Louis Vuitton Preliminary Regatta

August 22-25

 

Louis Vuitton Cup

Round Robins

August 29 – September 8

 

Louis Vuitton Cup Semi-Final

September 14–19 (First to win 5 races)

 

Louis Vuitton Cup Final

September 26 – October 5 (First to win 7 races)

 

Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Match

October 12 – October 21 (First to win 7 races)