8 November 201775ft monohull is to be the
new America’s Cup class for
challenger series and match in
March 2021. This was part of a tranche of
changes to the Cup format announced by
Grant Dalton, CEO of Emirates Team New
Zealand, as he revealed the new protocol
in September.
Joined by team principal and chief
financial backer Matteo de Nora, and
Patrizio Bertelli, principal of the Luna
Rossa campaign and CEO of Prada
Group, Dalton revealed that the monohull
design chosen, the new AC75, will be a
75ft high performance yacht. It will be
sailed by 10-12 crew and be ‘suitable for
match racing and close competition’.
Initial concept details of the design will
be announced on 30 November, but the
full class rule will not be published until
31 March 2018.
Asked if the new class would feature
foils, Emirates Team New Zealand chief
designer, Dan Bernasconi smiled coyly
and said: “It might have!”
At the press conference, broadcastBertelli’s Prada Group will sponsor
the preliminary regattas, challenger
series (replacing Louis Vuitton) and
be ‘presenting sponsor’ of the 36th
America’s Cup Match.
The venue details even left open the
possibility that the Cup match could be
sailed in Italy instead of New Zealand.
‘It is intended that The Match venue
and Challenger Selection Series be in
Auckland, New Zealand in March 2021,’
the announcement read, but went on:
‘The alternate venue, included in the
protocol, in the unlikely event that
Auckland/New Zealand is unable to host
the event, will be Italy.’
But the protocol, with Luna Rossa
as challenger of record and Prada
bankrolling the entire show, has been
dubbed “a duopoly” by Sir Ben Ainslie,
whose Land Rover BAR (the only other
confirmed campaign for the next
Cup) was left out in the cold during
consultations. “There are clear conflicts
of interest in this protocol,” he said.Containing the costs
Ainslie’s team may be bitterly
disappointed that the framework plan to
race every two years in foiling multihulls
is dead, but a large swathe of the
worldwide sailing audience never cared
for the AC50s. Hardcore sailing fans
found the catamaran racing unexciting
and will be pleased to see a return to lots
of close action and crew running aroundNEW AMERICA’S CUP CLASS IS GOING TO BE A 75FT MONOHULL, BUT BEN
AINSLIE WARNS THE PROTOCOL WITH LUNA ROSSA IS ‘A DUOPOLY’
Team New Zealand confirm
America’s Cup monohull
A
ON THE WIND
Key points
on Facebook, Patrizio Bertelli explained
that he had helped Emirates Team New
Zealand during the last Cup cycle. This
confirmed the widely held belief that,
in exchange for Luna Rossa designers,
sailors, a test boat and a rumoured $
million, there had been a pact to return to
a monohull should the Kiwis win. Yacht will be 75ft monohull
Cup Match is ‘intended to be’ in
Auckland in 2021, with pre-regattas
in 2019 and 2020
Challenger series organised by the
challenger of record
Some one-design components but
design ‘open in important areas’
10-12 crew. Cycle grinders allowed
No tank testing or wind tunnel
testing allowed
Longer races of 40 minutes each
and upwind start
Nationality rule 20 per cent
citizenship and a residency requirement