Happy Friday everyone...
In today's newsletter:
- Ainslie and Dalton on the new America's Cup landscape
- Podcast: Iain Percy – CEO Artemis SailGP Team
- Emirates Team New Zealand announce new sailors and sail for first time in AC38
- Sam Goodchild to race Vendée Globe 2028-29 aboard new-build Macif IMOCA
- Quiz Question...
Ainslie and Dalton on the new America's Cup landscape
As few as four and as many as seven – that’s the range of potential entries that Challenger of Record CEO Ben Ainslie believes is in prospect for the 38th edition of the America’s Cup.
Speaking to a select group of sailing media last night on a Zoom call alongside Emirates Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton, Ainslie said: “I think it’s going to be anywhere between four and seven teams – that’s the reality. Of course we want all seven – that would be amazing – but we will know in the next couple of weeks.”
Less than 48 hours earlier, and after many months of behind-the-scenes wrangling and intense negotiation between the existing America’s Cup teams and other interested parties, the news broke that the long-awaited America’s Cup Partnership agreement had finally been signed by all parties...
Podcast: Iain Percy – CEO Artemis SailGP Team
My guest on the latest episode of the Yacht Racing Life Podcast is British double-Olympic medallist Ian Percy, CEO of Artemis Technologies and the newly-announced Swedish Artemis SailGP team – which will be skippered by Nathan Outteridge in Season 6 of the global high-performance circuit.
During our chat we discuss Iain's role at Artemis Technologies, the reasons for Artemis joining SailGP, his thoughts on the relative merits of the America’s Cup and SailGP – and he gives us a clue into just what we might expect from the new Swedish kids on the block when the new season gets underway next year.
Emirates Team New Zealand announce new sailors and sail for first time in AC38
Almost a year to the day since Emirates Team New Zealand sealed victory in the 37th America’s Cup in Barcelona, Spain, the Kiwi syndicate has taken to the water for the first time in their latest campaign to mount a defence of sailing’s biggest prize.
Following quickly on the heels of yesterday’s landmark announcement of the new America’s Cup Partnership Agreement – which kicks off a two-year rolling cycle for the Cup, beginning with the 38th edition scheduled for Naples in 2027 – the New Zealand team went sailing in one of their AC40s yesterday from the team’s base in Auckland on the Hauraki Gulf.
Joining the Kiwis’ previously-announced core squad of Nathan Outteridge, Andy Maloney, Blair Tuke, Chris Draper, and Sam Meech, is a fresh new batch of talent in the form of: double Olympic medallist Jo Aleh, two Emirates Team New Zealand youth sailors – 2025 49er European Champion Seb Menzies and IQFoil sailor Josh Armit who finished fourth at the Paris 2024 Olympics – and the 20-year-old Moth phenomenon Jacob Pye, who finished second and third at the last two Moth world championships...
Sam Goodchild to race Vendée Globe 2028-29 aboard new-build Macif IMOCA
The French mutual insurance company Macif has announced the continuation of its support for ocean racing with an ambitious three-year project that will see a newly-constructed IMOCA on the starting line of the Vendée Globe 2028-29.
The new boat will be skippered by British sailor Sam Goodchild with 2024-25 Vendée Globe-winning skipper Charlie Dalin in the role of naval architect advisor and performance consultant.
The design of the new boat will be conceived by renowned French offshore designer Guillaume Verdier, with MerConcept as the project management partner and CDK Technologies Port La Forêt carrying out the construction.
The team say the new boat will be highly innovative and at the cutting edge of the IMOCA design thinking with a planned launch date of spring 2027.
Goodchild will skipper the boat for the entire 2027/30 program. The highly experienced skipper was the IMOCA Globe Series 2023 champion, and for the 2025 season – standing in for Charlie Dalin – and sailing with Loïs Berrehar won both the Course des Caps and Azimut Challenge events.
Working alongside Goodchild, Dalin will play a central and key role as naval architect advisor and performance consultant. After beating the world record by nine days in the last Vendée Globe, health problems have prevented him from returning to the race for the next edition.
Charlotte Yven, recently crowned French Elite offshore racing champion, also joins the team as replacement skipper or co-skipper. Yven has an impressive record: she is the first woman to reach the podium in the Solitaire du Figaro, the winner of the Transat Paprec, and now the French Elite offshore racing champion.
Quiz Question...
What year was the 470 introduced to the Olympic Games?
Answer in the next newsletter...
Tuesday's answer: The acronym IMOCA stands for International Monohull Open Class Association – you can find more about IMOCA here.
