37th America’s Cup: Competition ramps up as vessels unveiled

The America’s Cup cycle is gearing up, with only three months until festivities begin in Barcelona. April saw the start of the business end of the regatta, with much for fans to get excited about. In the past month, several boats have been revealed as design breakthroughs and ideas come to fruition, and the sailors begin the task of raising their game to new heights.

The foiling AC75s revealed in April are some of the pinnacle sailing vessels of their generation, the result of tens of thousands of man-hours and computer number crunching. All the boats are different, with radical solutions to similar problems. Here’s MIN’s roundup of what the America’s Cup teams have been up to in April.

Emirates Team New Zealand

The first to launch, the first to tow-test and the first to sail, Emirates Team New Zealand was a model of efficiency in April. Based down in Auckland, the team knew that they had to be quick off the blocks to get the maximum amount of training time concluded before the boat was shipped up to Barcelona, and with the late antipodean summer capable of producing a variety of conditions, it’s no surprise to see them pulling very long hours in order to work the boat up to race-ready.

Ineos Britannia

An early-morning delivery on 6 April in Barcelona from an airfield hanger in Turweston, Northamptonshire, where the boat was fitted out, saw INEOS Britannia’s challenge for the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup take a huge step forward.

After a short time in the team’s shed on the Port Vell, the new AC75 was revealed to the world. It has a radical hull form that has British fans believing has a real chance of going deep in this event.

The first sail of the British Challenger’s AC75 took place on 1 May in Barcelona, with Olympic gold medallists Sir Ben Ainslie and Giles Scott at the helm. Cycling sailors ‘Cyclors’ were seen on the British boat for the first time, after a collaboration between INEOS Britannia, INEOS Grenadiers and Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team. Ainslie said it “felt amazing” to be sailing the race boat after years of development.

All eyes are on the Challenger of Record, who might have a boat capable of reversing 173 years of history.

Alinghi Red Bull Racing

The Swiss team opted for a glitzy evening reveal of its new, and incredibly radical boat on the 5th April, the first team to unveil a new generation AC75 amidst floodlights, smoke, acrobats, and the haunting sound of the enormous Swiss bell that the team have onsite at its Port Vell base. There was innovative aero thinking with pods ending abruptly into a cutaway aft transom. The big bustle, chine detailing on the bow and ‘bumps’ on the foredeck were immediately seen and at the launch on the 16th April, the long-span foils were also revealed into the daylight.

NYYC American Magic

April saw the conclusion of a very dynamic block of two-boat AC40 training for the American team, which has a clear ‘A’ and ‘B’ team. The teams pushed each other harder and harder, with some desperately close-quarter racing on display.

Tom Slingsby and Paul Goodison are clicking well on the helms, and with Andrew Campbell and Michael Menninger emerging as the lead Flight Controllers/Trimmers, this is a team that is more than race-ready.

Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli

Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli revealed its silver-hulled racer on 13 April, with Miuccia Prada cracking the bottle of champagne on the bow of the boat that Italian fans are hoping is enough to avenge the defeat of the AC36 Match and win the 37th Louis Vuitton America’s Cup.

The hull shimmered at the Molo Ichnusa team base in Cagliari, revealing a smooth underbody with a considerate bustle. Once the boat was in the water, the aero deck, finished in naked carbon, hinted at the design direction that the Italians have taken.

Orient Express Racing Team

According to team principal Bruno Dubois, the French have been putting in huge hours on the water throughout April in the AC40, getting up to speed and really making positive gains. The arrival of the team’s new AC75 on 6 April was a serious milestone and the team is now deep into the technical fit-out with an expected reveal sometime in early May.