AC37—Some cards revealed at the Louis Vuitton Preliminary Regatta
by David Schmidt 28 Aug 2024 01:00 AEST
August 27, 2024
Emirates Team NZ - winners of the Louis Vuitton Preliminary Regatta - Prizegiving - Louis Vuitton Preliminary Regatta, Race Day 4. August 25, 2024 © Ian Roman / America's Cup
Cast your mind back to the depths of the pandemic winter of 2020/2021. There wasn't a heck of a lot to be happy about or to look forward to in the sports world, with the lone exception of the America's Cup, which was contested on the waters off Auckland, New Zealand (March 10-17, 2021). This was the first time that the sailing world got to see AC75 foiling monohulls in action, and while exciting, it was the imagery of maskless fans gathered ashore, in large numbers and without the need for any social distancing, that was one of the indelible memories from this Cup match that—like many before it—saw the Defender prevail on their hometown waters against three challenging teams.
Thankfully, (most of) the world is in a far better place in 2024 (at least as far as the pandemic is concerned), but a few things remain constant from the dim days of 2021: AC75s are still the world's fastest and most exciting boats (of any hull count), and Emirates Team New Zealand is still the fastest gun afloat.
A small rewind for anyone who hasn't had their face pressed against the glass of the America's Cup world for the last three and a half years.
After winning the 36th America's Cup in Auckland, ETNZ decided to host "AC37" in Barcelona, Spain, despite the success of their 2021 hometown defense.
Since then, two additional teams have joined the foiling melee, bringing 2024's total to six teams, with ETNZ sailing as the Defender, and INEOS Britannia racing as the Challenger of Record. These teams are joined by 2021 veterans Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, and New York Yacht Club American Magic, plus the two newcomers, namely Alinghi Red Bull Racing, flying the Swiss flag, and Orient Express Racing Team, flying the French flag.
Since then, all five challenging teams have been working hard to design and build their Version 2 AC75s, train their crews, and build the speed, control, and boathandling needed to contest the Louis Vuitton Cup (August 29 to September 7), which will determine the team that will face ETNZ in the Cup match (October 12-27).
For their part, ETNZ has also been busting hump to create a Cup-winning boat and team.
While question marks abound as to which team has built the best mousetrap, the world finally got a peek at the speed, performance, and sailing skills of all six teams this past weekend as the Louis Vuitton Preliminary Regatta (LVPR; August 22-25) unfurled off of Barcelona.
Not surprisingly, ETNZ, as the Defender and co-creators of the V2 AC75 design rule, were the fastest team, winning four out of the five LVPR round robin races that they contested, as well as the LVPR final against Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (LRPP).
"It's all about making sure you get the phases right and sail the boat in the right places," said Peter Burling, ENTZ's skipper, in an official release about the weekend's racing. "I think we were a little frustrated with how we sailed today, but [we have] plenty to go back and have a look at afterwards."
While Burling and ETNZ beat LRPP in the final, which saw leaderboard changes and great hand-to-hand nautical combat between the two most polished teams (and the two teams that contested AC36) in a race that was characterized by east-southeasterly winds and a significant swell, Burling's frustration likely stems from the team's single round robin loss.
Enter the Americans.
While New York Yacht Club American Magic lost two LVPR round robin races—one to LRPP, the other to Orient Express Racing Team (N.B., this second loss was a result of a mechanical issue with the rudder that forced the Americans to retire from racing)—the American-flagged team drew the preliminary regatta's only blood against the otherwise impeccable Kiwis.
"It was really satisfying the way we sailed today," said Paul Goodison, an Olympic gold medalist (2008) and the port helmsman aboard Patriot. "We were very disappointed yesterday to miss out on racing with the French and to come out today get a win is just great. It's especially satisfying to do that in the lighter trickier conditions we are more expecting to see as we move through this competition. To be able to perform well in those conditions and to race well as a team was a big, big, win for the team."
Goodison's boss, Terry Hutchinson, who serves as NYYC American Magic skipper and president of sailing operations, agreed that the team's win against ETNZ was an important victory.
"The way the guys sailed today was really consistent and it was everything that we've been talking about, so we have an almost vertical learning curve of improvement in front of us which is really encouraging because you can see the potential of Patriot and you can see the potential of our team," said Hutchinson in an official AC communication. "We've just got to keep chipping along and getting it all together. It's hard not to be happy, but we still got third, so if you win a couple battles but don't win the war, you've got to keep the bigger picture in mind, and I think that's what we will do."
This brings us to the LVPR finals, which saw LRPP square off against ETNZ in a race that involved penalties (to LRPP) and leaderboard changes.
"It was painful to lose that race, we fought hard and I'm very sorry for the whole team because obviously part of those penalties are due to mistakes I made," said Francesco Bruni, LRPP's port helmsman in an official event communication. "We have to review deeply all the situations because we have very small screens on board that are super hard to judge if the penalty was for you or for your opponent. Hats off to New Zealand, for a great race, but I'm very proud [of] the team. I think we have a great boat, a great team, a great sailing team and I think it will be a very interesting America's Cup."
While some cards have now been laid on the table in terms of each team's boatspeed, control, and choreography, other questions remain.
For example, given that the LVPR is—as the name implies—simply a preliminary regatta, did each team show their full potential, or were some gears kept in reserve? Moreover, did the LVPR's racecourse conditions happen to favor some teams' sweet spots? And, as the boats continue to evolve, will the kind of mechanical failures that led to the Americans' loss to Orient Express Racing Team continue be a factor?
Fortunately, the wait for answers on this tranche of questions (plus myriad others) won't be long: Racing in the Louis Vuitton Cup is set to begin on August 29.
Giddyap!
May the four winds blow you safely home.
David Schmidt
Sail-World.com North American Editor