America's Cup: The 317th America's Cup - Part 1 - Big Bad Dennis is back!
by Pierre-Jean M. Cottalorda 8 May 02:13 PDT
The (63+254i)th America's Cup - Part 1 © Pierre-Jean Cottalorda
Welcome to the 317th America's Cup — a regatta like no other.
Author's note and Introduction:
Set in the year 3156, this story takes us far into the future, where the America's Cup has become one of the galaxy's most spectacular events — a fusion of sport, simulation, and high-stakes storytelling. The boats still skim the surface of water — barely — but their speed and design defy imagination. Their races unfold across countless parallel simulations, followed in real time by billions of beings scattered across the stars.
But beyond the spectacle lies something deeper.
This is a tale about competition, yes — but also about legacy, identity, and the fine line between reality and illusion in a universe shaped by data and dreams.
Throughout this visual journey, you'll see many different interpretations of the navis—some sleek and plausible, others bold, surreal, or openly speculative. That's intentional. There is no definitive form here, only a field of possibilities. The point is not to limit your imagination, but to launch it.
The language of the text may demand your attention. The pacing might surprise you.
But for those who lean into it, this story offers something rare: the thrill of a race where every detail matters, and the possibility of rediscovering humanity — far from home, yet still chasing the wind.
And whether you fell in love with the America's Cup through the timeless elegance of wooden hulls or the cutting-edge choreography of foils and flight, you may find yourself at home here — where past and future race together.
So take a breath. Step aboard. Enjoy the ride.
Who's Who & What's What
- Dennis Conner - Legendary sailor from the 20th century, resurrected as an engram - a sentient synthetic entity.
- Hannah C.A.G.E.B. -Deniausian regatta champion, genetically designed after Earth sailing legends
- Marcel Lebrun - A fisherman and fluid dynamicist, grounded on Earth but fully engaged in the race through digital immersion. President of the Cercle de la Voile de Paris (CVP), club member of the Earth syndicate.
- Sibyl M. Morgan - A centuries-old digital personality and sovereign intelligence of the New York Yacht Club (NYYC). Strategist, historian, and guardian of tradition.
- Deniausians - Advanced aquatic aliens and Earth's main rivals in the Cup.
- Eudemonium - Earth's current political and cultural federation, focused on ethical progress and resilience.
- Hyperflight - A near-airborne navigation mode enabled by supercavitation, advanced foil design, and exotic non-baryonic sail materials.
- Instance - One of thousands of parallel simulations in which the race unfolds. The final result is based on a majority outcome across these instances.
- Navis - A futuristic race vessel capable of transitioning between traditional sailing, foil flight, and full hyperflight.
- Supercavitation - A technique where a boat moves through a gas bubble inside liquid, reducing drag to near zero. Enables speeds above 100 knots.
- The 8Nexus - A vast, ancient interstellar alliance. Earth and Deniau are member civilizations.
#1 - Cup Match
Start minus 2'05: A first high-progresso flying navis, in Tyrian purple, appears at the port entrance of the starting line—a colossal, double-headed bird of prey, majestic in its approach. Her speed is 118.47 knots.
Start minus 2'00: A second navis, raw fullerene grey, nearly as fast, joins from the starboard side—but lacks the speed to claim right-of-way.
The intense circling phase begins. The two opponents seek to position themselves favorably with respect to the line. The second boat configures its main foil in the shape of a delta wing for better lift. It stalks its rival, pressing closer, trying to force an error. The relentless maneuvers disrupt their hyperflight, forcing both competitors to level off at a mere forty knots.
Start minus 1'36: Dennis Conner hails: "Protest!" First one of the race. It comes from the purple ship of the Earth Eudemonium, holding its ground in leeward position while its windward opponent struggles to keep clear. Green flag from the umpires - no penalty. Not yet.
We are on May 24, 3156, according to the Gregorian calendar, still widely used in this part of the galaxy. Our solar system, through its major political entities, has become part of the 8Nexus—a vast, multi-million-year-old galactic concord, a guarantor of stability and collaboration on a scale humanity has never before witnessed.
At once everywhere and nowhere, the (63+254i)th America's Cup is officially taking place in the southern hemisphere of Deniau, a planet located along the mid rim of the Milky Way.
More precisely, it unfolds in Tadjoura, a tropical volcanic island renowned for its lagoon, whose crystalline waters shimmer with heliotropic reflections.
Yet, no physical boats exist. Far too costly and disruptive to the delicate environments involved, the regatta is conducted entirely through simulation—broadcast from multiple orbital stations where industrial and economic activities are concentrated.
Twelve meters beneath the water's surface, equidistant from the committee vessel and the starting mark, slightly downwind, a luxurious underwater platform hosts a panel of high dignitaries from the Earth Eudemonium, gathered to welcome their Deniausian counterparts. Side by side, they observe the start of the fifteenth race of this (63+254i)th Cup Match.
The Humans and Deniausians are tied at seven races each.
This fifteenth race is also the last. The winner will take the Cup home.
At the beginning of the century, non-baryonic supercavitation revolutionized high-level sailing. The required power is achieved by amplifying the propulsive force of the wind through the integration of non-baryonic components—dark matter—into the sails.
At the same time, a second breakthrough took shape—not in the discovery of the principle itself, but in its adaptation to regatta sailing. By injecting hot air into the leading edge of a foil—an immersed wing that allows a fast boat to lift out of the water—this foil no longer moves through liquid, but through a low-viscosity gas. The result? A new breed of vessel: the naves, ships that, upon reaching hyperflight, quite literally become airplanes. Maximum speeds skyrocketed.
Since the Deniausians pioneered and later authorized the use of these technologies in the America's Cup, there is no better vantage point than underwater. It is also beneath the surface that the most delicate and spectacular maneuvers take place: the transition from Archimedean mode—a floating boat—to one of the flying states: classical foils or full hyperflight through supercavitation. The riskiest moments? The potential stalls during these transitions.
Among the dignitaries, the board of directors of the Allied Terrestrial Yacht Clubs Syndicate. Sibyl M. Morgan, Commodore of the New-York Yacht Club (NYYC), is more absorbed in the data stream she's directly processing than in the ongoing starting procedure above her head. This stream comes from servers on which the entire regatta is emulated in thousands of synchronous instances, using a necessarily statistical approach for greater realism. The result of each race is determined by the realization of its expected mathematical outcome across all simulations. The winner simply needs to prevail in more than 50% of the instances. For an enthusiast, following numerous instances simultaneously can feel almost demiurgic: watching all contingencies unfold at once.
From the arms of Orion, Perseus, and part of Sagittarius, hundreds of billions of living beings simultaneously follow the progress of the race, by synaptic immersion in one of the instances allowing access to the simulation. The computational power required is monumental. Realism is such that it is very often impossible to distinguish between virtuality and reality without safeguards—ones that have been painstakingly refined over centuries.
Sibyl leans in slightly, her voice a whisper meant only for Marcel Lebrun, her counterpart at the Cercle de la Voile de Paris (CVP): "You know, even the strongest currents can be steered—if you understand their rhythm."
Marcel responds soberly, without looking at her, his eyes fixed on the action unfolding above the submerged hall: "You know me, Sibyl. I prefer to let the tide do its work. Control only creates more resistance."
Between them, no tension—only the quiet weight of two minds seeing the same storm from different shores.
The Deniausian opponent is a juggernaut. Having dominated the last 38 editions, the Defender from the Sovereign Thalassocratic League of Deniau has held the trophy for 153 standard years.
The Deniausians are a race of highly advanced aquatic cephalopods—naturally polyglot, as inquisitive as they are xenophilic. They have established trading posts across the 8Nexus, forging deep ties with their partners. Their appetite for recreation—cultural, sporting, or scientific—is boundless.
They also boast one of the highest computronium densities per capita in the 8Nexus. The Thalassocratic League, fueled by its vast knowledge and influence, thrives in unparalleled prosperity.
Hannah C.A.G.E.B., skipper of the sharply angular Deniausian navis, the Ark, is nothing less than the greatest regatta sailor of the last half-century. She is the product of a cutting-edge biogenetic selection program, orchestrated by the Thalassocracy to create the ultimate regatta sailor. Her genetic profile was meticulously engineered from the recovered DNA and cognitive imprints of the greatest champions of the Titan Era of Competitive Sailing: Hannah Mills, Russell and Mattias Coutts, Ben Ainslie, Torben and Martine Grael, Paul Elvström, and Peter Burling.
Whether an unmatched athlete or a controversial product of engineered excellence, she is, undeniably, the pinnacle of high-performance sailing. Hannah has dominated nearly every competition she has entered, particularly in one-design sailboats, where she has achieved an unrivaled feat: winning gold at the Pan-Galactic Ortho-Human Games on seven occasions. She has also led the Thalassocratic League to victory in the last six America's Cup events.
The Deniausians, accustomed to multi-racial crews, seamlessly optimize the physiological advantages of each crew member. On the Ark, only the tactician, the navigator and the strategist are actually Deniausian.
One minute to the start: As the P flag is removed, the boats' trajectories lengthen, forming sweeping ellipses as their velocities surge toward the line.
Start minus 0'42: Dennis Conner—Mister America's Cup since his three victories in the 1980s—has regained all his brilliance. For this edition of the Cup, more than a millennium after his exploits, he has been recreated as a fully sovereign digital entity—a synthetic engram, brought to life through quantum emulation. His consciousness has been reconstructed from historical regatta footage, video recordings of the time, his writings, press conferences, and interviews.
Big Bad Dennis is more aggressive than ever. He seizes the leeward lane and begins to luff his opponent, who reacts a fraction too late. Contact is avoided—but not the foul. Penalty against Hannah C.A.G.E.B. and her Deniausian teammates.
As the penalty is confirmed, Dennis allows himself a grin, his voice crackling over the open comms.
"That was sloppy, kid. They could program you with all the talent in the universe, but instinct? Instinct can't be engineered."
Hannah clenches her jaw, gripping the helm tighter. She doesn't take the bait. But her voice, when it comes, is cold steel.
"I don't need instinct to beat a wraith."
Dennis just chuckles. Big Bad Dennis is back.
On board the Charybdis—a polymorphic purple vessel, 90 feet at the waterline, extending to 140 feet in hyperflight—the crew remains focused, while Dennis, their skipper, sets the pace.
Beneath the surface, Sibyl, Marcel, and the other members of the Earth Eudemonium syndicate exult, under the perplexed gaze of their Deniausian guests, immersed in a section of the room maintained in a liquid state.
Above them, the Charybdis tenses, every surface taut with stored momentum. The navis doesn't wait—it's already leaning into the fight.
Marcel's gaze lingers on the purple hull above, his expression unreadable. With the subtlest nod, he acknowledges it. A silent pact. A shared understanding.
Steady now, big guy. Your moment is coming.
At 14:10 Universal Galactic Time, The Ark virtually clears the start line 0.77 seconds ahead of The Charybdis, three boat lengths to leeward. Both naves have fully entered supercavitation mode, surging toward the windward mark at over 120 knots.
To be continued.