PHOTOS COURTESY OF
ACEA
(INSET); OF
BRONNY DANIELS
(ABOVE)
JULY 2018
Getting into Gear
A year into the latest Cup cycle, the teams are starting to get serious By Adam Cort
W
hile much of the yacht racing world has had its eyes glued
to the Volvo Ocean Race these eight past months, the
behemoth that is the America’s Cup has also been slowly
but surely lurching into motion, following the publication
of the oi cial AC75 class rule in late March.
Here at home, the New York Yacht Club’s “American Magic” campaign
(so named in honor of the schooner that started it all back in 1851)
continues to pick up steam, with its sailors i rst winning the Ficker Cup
and then taking second overall this past April in the Congressional Cup,
behind former World Match Racing champion Taylor Cani eld of the
U.S. Virgin Islands.
Interestingly, while renowned U.S. sailor Terry Hutchinson is currently
leading the ef ort, at the helm is Kiwi
America’s Cup veteran Dean Barker,
the skipper on the losing side of the
Jimmy Spithill-led “Comeback” on
San Francisco Bay in 2013.
“So far, the overall experience has been very good,” said Hutchin-
son. “The Ficker and Congressional Cups were an opportunity to test
ourselves, to see where we are, and to apply some pressure [to our
team]. Over 12 days, American Magic had a record of 39-7 against
some really strong competition. Unfortunately, we didn’t win on the
last day of the Congressional Cup, but we did a lot of really good
things as a team.”
RACING UNDER SAIL
Dean Barker (inset) and the rest of the
“American Magic” campaign (above, to
windward) had a chance to start honing their
match-racing skills at the Congressional Cup