An old lady who's about to turn 170..
Born in 1851, the America's Cup is the oldest trophy in the world. It is awarded to the winner of a duel between a defender and a challenger. The defender, who puts his title back on the line every four years, chooses the support and the water surface.
The challengers compete against each other beforehand to select the best among them. In 2021, against the defender Emirates-Tean New Zealand, the three challengers will be:
- the Italians of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team
- the British INEOS Team UK
- the United States will be represented by New York / American Magic.
What boat is the America's Cup on?
Historically, the Cup has been contested on monohulls, but after two editions raced on hydrofoil catamarans, the defender has chosen to contest the 2021 edition on an AC-75 monohull. Back to the roots for the old lady, but on a flying version, namely a hydrofoil monohull without keel. The concept presented in 2017 left many observers sceptical, but the first navigations showed that the support was just as spectacular as the flying catamarans.
This new foiler measures 75 feet (23 meters) and is hoisted on appendages with a "draft" of 5 meters. Equipped with a 26.5-metre mast, it displaces approximately 7.5 tonnes. Propelled by a rigid wing in the last edition, the Cup boats are now equipped with a soft wing, which is a kind of double mainsail designed to reproduce the performance of a rigid wing, with fewer constraints.
Upwind, an AC-75 will be sailing at twice the wind speed. Downwind, it will be sailing at more than three times the wind speed, with a ceiling around 51 knots. The foiler is operated by a crew of 11. Some elements such as the foiler arms or the mast are one-design.
The gauge imposes a minimum weight of 1.15 tons for the foils, including arms. So if a syndicate uses a foil with shorter wings, it must compensate by ballasting it with a lead warhead.
Finally, everything in the water (rudder, rudder rake and foils flaps) is operated by the hydraulics on board, the batteries being designed to hold a whole regatta. But the sails are trimmed manually, and regulated from the grinders operated coffee grinders.
Team New Zealand: the Defender
After its victory in 2017, Team New Zealand has chosen to race the Cup off the Kiwi capital. Auckland Bay is taking over from Bermuda, the scene of the previous edition. Launched in November, the boat for the New Zealand challenge was christened "Te Rehutai", in reference to a Maori expression referring to the strength and energy of the oceans. Skippered by multiple champion Glen Ashby, her hull is designed to sail close to the water, developing a "skimming" effect. New Zealanders have opted for T-shaped foils, while other syndicates have inverted V-shaped appendages. TNZ has also optimised its aero by almost completely fairing its cockpit.
The challengers: American Magic , Luna Rossa and Ineos
New York Amercian Magic is the most fortunate syndicate of challengers. With a boat launched very early and an optimized training level, it is the sharpest challenger. The Americans were the first to launch an AC-75 and also the first challenger to sail in Auckland, under former TNZ helmsman Dean Barker.
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Time, led by Jimmy Spithill, trained off Cagliari before heading to New Zealand waters. It should be noted that Luna Rossa will be run by two helmsmen, who will each remain on their own. The boat was built at the Persico shipyard, as were the foils arms of all the syndicates.
The boat of the English syndicate Ineos Team UK is helmed by Sir Ben Ainsley, multiple Olympic medallist. The hull of the English syndicate is the most marked by the bustle (mini hull), which is supposed to facilitate take-off.
American Magic and Ineos have chosen to fly high, with very flat hulls that are designed to fly without any contact with the surface of the water. Like Team New Zealand, Luna Rossa has chosen to fly a little lower in order to favour aerodynamic flows.
Strict training conditions
During the preparatory phases, the challengers were allowed to build two AC 75s, but they could not sail at the same time. In the same vein, the competitors were not allowed to sail side-by-side until the first day of the regatta, which took place in mid-December. No joint training was allowed. Not easy to measure yourself against your opponents in these conditions. These intimist training phases were marked by two spectacular damages, which did not cause any human damage.
Luna Rossa dismasted in front of Cagliari in tough conditions.
Team New Zealand gently capsized during a training session in Hauraki Bay.
The Prada ACWS, the first confrontation
Since the withdrawal of the historical partner Louis Vuiton, the preparatory phases to designate the challenger are sponsored by Prada. The first regatta between the AC-75s took place in mid-December in Auckland. Team New Zealand confirmed its status as the favourite, but American Magic demonstrated a level of performance very close to that of the Kiwis. But this first confrontation showed that the numerous small damages encountered were very penalizing, as the speeds reached could very quickly widen the gaps.
The official regattas will start on January 17th during the Prada Cup, which will select the challenger. Then the final final match between the challenger and the defender will take place from March 6, 2021.
Big money, controversy and battle of lawyers
The old lady is accustomed to the courts and legal battles between unions. This edition is no exception to the rule. Members of the New Zealand team have been fired for spying. The Kiwi union has been the victim of hacking and an attempted computer scam. The defender repeatedly changed the choice of venue, resulting in the de facto filing of a multitude of appeals by the challengers.
Four unions threw in the towel along the way. The Maltese of Altus Challenge withdrew in May 2019. The Dutch Sails Challenge, based in the Netherlands, withdrew due to funding problems. Well before all that, the Team France syndicate, led by Franck Cammas, had given up due to a lack of partners. A historic syndicate of the Cup, the American Stars and Strips, wanted to take a late start by renting the first AC 75 built by the Neo Zed. But legal pressure from the other syndicates made them give up.
In its 170-year history, the America's Cup has been played both on the water and in the courts, allowing the best sailors or lawyers to express their talents...
