The Italian AC75 – given the atypically un-romantic moniker of ‘Boat 3’ – arrived at the Luna Rossa team base in Cagliari on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia at the end of November last year. Since then the Italians are believed to have been busy making the modifications necessary to get the silver-hulled yacht class-compliant under the new rules for AC38.
Yesterday the Kiwis announced the return of their AC75 Taihoro to the team base in Auckland, after undergoing a lengthy modification process complete with a modified deck layout and reportedly ready to be fitted out with latest generation internal electronic and hydraulic control systems.
Neither team has publicly indicated when they plan to launch their AC75s for the first time in this latest America’s Cup cycle but the New Zealanders have said they plan to sail their boat for the first time locally on the Hauraki Gulf before it is time for the sailors – some at least – to head up to the northern hemisphere for the first of the AC38 preliminary regattas, scheduled to be held in Cagliari in May.
A move from the Italians to try to trump the Kiwis by being the first to launch their AC38 raceboat seems unlikely given that the Mediterranean is still being ravaged by winter storms. More likely perhaps is that the Defender will take advantage of the southern hemisphere summer to carry out initial sea trials on the Hauraki Gulf before moving the operation up to Naples for the northern hemisphere summer.
It’s a strategy that would mimic the team’s modus operandi from AC37 in Barcelona – when they dodged any cold weather sailing almost entirely – and would make one seriously question whether there are in fact any disadvantages to the Kiwis hosting the event so far away from home.
Meanwhile, the British GB1 challengers are planning to focus their on-the-water efforts in the AC40s with the team expected to begin sailing in early March in Cagliari in their two AC40s, before moving on to Naples as soon as their team base is operational.
“We will be sailing the AC40s – we have the Pathway boat and the senior boat – and we will start in Cagliari in March in the build-up to the Preliminary event,” GB1 CEO Ian Walker told me at the recent event in Italy. “Then we will move to Naples after Cagliari. All the time we will be working on the 75 and we are hoping to launch that towards the end of the season.”
Similarly, the French K-Challenge operation looks set to sail their AC40 in Lorient during Spring 2026, before moving to Naples at the beginning of the summer. Underfunded and painfully late to announce their AC37 campaign the French opted to build a boat for AC37 based on the New Zealand team’s design package.
It was a move that has subsequently put them in a strong position for AC38. However, joint CEO Bruno Dubois told me recently, equally important is the fact that the team managed to keep itself together in the gap between Cups and be able to announce its participation in AC38 at the same time as the others.
“Not having to stop meant we could keep on hiring sailors and engineers,” he said. “Competing in SailGP has also helped us to keep on raising our level of competence as we try to be better than we were last time. I think time is very important in the America’s Cup, so I feel like we are on track for what we want to achieve this time around.
“I could not have dreamed of a better outcome than the rules saying that no one could build another boat,” Dubois said, before adding: “But now what we need to focus on is trying to understand that boat fully. I would say last time around we understood about 20 per cent of it. It’s not only the onboard systems, it’s the foils, the mast, the sails. We are working hard on developing everything right now. With time, it will be better. We will not sail with the same boat, that’s for sure.”
Meanwhile, very little is known about Switzerland’s Tudor Team Alinghi AC38 campaign, including the status of their AC75, which sustained serious damage on a training day in Barcelona after the conclusion of racing at the 37th America’s Cup.
Amidst unconfirmed rumours circulating of some big-name signings – the most persistent of which cite ex-American Magic skipper Tom Slingsby as a possible recruit – the syndicate has so far only announced young Swiss sailor Nicolas Rolaz as a returning core team member.
Rolaz – who won the Optimist World Championship in 2014 – began his AC37 experience as a cyclor before being promoted to headsail trimmer. Asked what he could reveal about the latest Swiss America’s Cup campaign, he told me this:
“I can tell you that it’s going to be great. Everyone in the team is super excited. We have a long journey ahead – it’s short in time, but we have a lot to do. I think there are going to be some great people coming in alongside me in the team and I am looking forward to sailing with my new team mates.”
Rolaz – recently announced as a reserve sailor for the Canadian NorthStar SailGP team – did confirm that the team was likely to look very different to last time. “We need to have some Swiss blood in it,” he said. “But we will see some new guys on the boat as well.”
According to Rolaz, the Swiss are planning to begin AC40 sailing in Barcelona in March, with the AC75 coming on stream “sometime this year”.
Under the new rules for AC37 teams from the blast cycle can sail their AC75s for a maximum of 45 days up to January 15, 2027 – with a further 45 days allowed up until the first race of the final preliminary regatta in Naples.
However, extra AC75 days have been allocated to the teams based on their elimination from AC37, as follows: 10 days for the French; eight days for the Swiss; four days for the Italians; and two days for the British.
