America's Cup: Six teams to contest Second Preliminary Regatta on the Red Sea
by Sail-World.com/nz 31 Oct 2023 10:58 AEDT
31 October 2023
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli - America's Cup Preliminary Regatta - Day 3 - Vilanova - September 17, 2023 © Luca Butto
The second America's Cup Preliminary Regatta is set down to be sailed on the Red Sea from November 29, 2023, to December 2, 2023.
Hosted by the Jeddah Yacht Club & Marina, racing will be in the AC40 class, with all boats being put back into One Design configuration.
The format calls for the six teams to contest eight fleet races starting on Thursday, November 30, 2023. Jeddah is just the second event in which the Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand, will race against all five Challengers.
The final scheduled phase of the event is the Final - contested between the top two teams in a winner-takes-all one-on-one Match Race.
There is a disparity between the six teams - with some owning two AC40s and able to sail against each other, and those with just one AC40 who don't have the same pre-regatta training ability. However, the newest entry into the 37th America's Cup, Orient Express Racing Team, only took delivery of their AC40 One Design about three weeks before the start of the first Preliminary in Vilanova, Spain. The French placed third overall in that regatta, stunning America's Cup pundits with a win in the opening race.
"It has been an incredible start for the team to get on the podium with less than 15 days of sailing on the boat. Over the last few days we have been able to analyse the mistakes we have made in sailing or tactics, and aim to erase it the following day," co-helmsman Kevin Peponnet commented after the event.
All the racing will be shown free-to-air globally on YouTube and will be carried on Sail-World, along with complete coverage of the event.
Event Schedule:
- Wednesday November 29: Official Practice Race Day
- Thursday November 30: First Day of Racing
- Friday December 1: Second Day of Racing
- Saturday December 2: Third & Final Day of Racing and Prizegiving