Team Australia 38th America’s Cup challenge confirmed

Rumours had been circulating since the new year that a new Australian syndicate was being formed to challenge for the 38th America’s Cup. Those rumours were confirmed earlier this week when a letter appeared on social media in which the commodore of the Royal Prince Edward Yacht Club in Sydney, Sven Runow, informed his members that the club had indeed issued a notice of challenge to the Royal New Zealand Yacht Club for AC38. 

Then, in the early hours of the morning in Europe, an official press release revealed that a challenge by the newly minted Team Australia syndicate for AC38 had been officially accepted by the Kiwi Cup holding club.

Team Australia is backed by John Winning and family and spearheaded by Tom Slingsby as head of sailing, Glenn Ashby as head of performance, and Grant Simmer in the role of CEO. 

Although not confirmed in the release, the team is believed to have purchased Te Rehutai – the AC75 used by Emirates Team New Zealand in 2021 to win the 36th America’s Cup. 

John "Herman" Winning Jr. is a successful Australian businessman and an accomplished racing sailor. Having won the 29er skiff world title in 2002 at the age of 18, he moved on to become a top performer in the 18-Foot Skiff Class, as well as winning the Sydney to Hobart Race in 2016 and 2018 aboard the 100-footer Perpetual Loyal. In 2024, he was patron of the two Team Australia teams in the inaugural Women's and Youth America's Cup in Barcelona. This week, Winning is racing in San Diego at the Etchells World Championship, where he currently sits in 15 place in the 76-boat fleet after six races.

Tom Slingsby requires little introduction to sail racing fans. After winning gold at the 2012 London Olympics, he went on to win the America’s Cup with Oracle Team USA, and won back-to-back Moth world titles in 2019 and 2021. As well as skippering the NYYC American Magic campaign at the 37th America’s Cup, Slingsby’s Australian SailGP team has dominated the international F50 circuit since its inception in 2019.  

“The opportunity to represent Australia in the America’s Cup with an Australian team is something that genuinely means a lot to me,” Slingsby said. “It’s been a dream throughout my career to be part of bringing Australia back to the Cup in a meaningful way. 

“To now have that opportunity alongside Herman Winning, a close friend of more than 30 years makes it even more special. There’s a huge sense of excitement around what we’re building together, and I’m incredibly proud to be part of the beginning of this new chapter for Australian sailing.”

Likewise, Ashby too is an ultra-well-known figure in Australian sailing. He has 17 world championship titles across several multihull disciplines and won silver in the Tornado class at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. He has won the America’s Cup three times – first with BMW Oracle in 2010 and then twice with Emirates Team New Zealand (2017, 2021). In 2022 he set a new world land speed sailing record of 222.4 kilometres per hour. 

More recently, Ashby was recruited to lead the rig programme for the groundbreaking Ferrari Hypersail giant offshore foiling monohull project, and has earned a reputation as a ‘super sub’ on the SailGP circuit. Unfortunately, last weekend he suffered a broken leg after falling during a manoeuvre aboard the French DS Automobiles F50 in Bermuda. 

“For more than half my sailing career I have had a dream to see an Australian team return to the pinnacle event of our sport of sailing - The America’s Cup,” Ashby said. “As Aussies we love our sport, and the connectivity and camaraderie it brings. It is extremely humbling and a huge honour to help create and be part of a new and significant chapter in Australian sport, whilst honouring and respecting the legacy of those who have come before us. 

“Team Australia aims to build on this legacy, combining expert Australian experience and knowledge with new talent to build into the future across multiple departments. This new team will leverage modern engineering and design tools, simulation and performance optimization to ensure we hit the ground running in Naples, Italy, early next year. 

“This entry to sailing's biggest stage was only possible with the desire, courage and belief of John Winning and family who have enabled the dream of so many, to become a reality.”

Australia has had a unique role in the history of the America’s Cup ever since the crew of the 12 Metre Australia II – led by skipper John Bertrand – famously staged a come-from-behind victory over Denis Conner’s American defender Liberty on the waters off Newport, Rhode Island. That victory ended the Americans’ 132-year winning streak and made national heroes out of Bertrand and his crew.

Team Australia CEO Grant Simmer was a member of Bertrand’s victorious Australia II crew and has been involved in every America’s Cup cycle since – including wins with Alinghi (2003,2007), and Oracle Team USA (2013). 

Simmer said the new Team Australia campaign was both deeply personal and incredibly exciting. 

“I first became involved in the America’s Cup in the early 1980s and was fortunate to be part of the legendary Australia II team that changed the course of the Cup forever. Since then, I’ve been involved in every America’s Cup edition, including Australia’s successful hosting of the event in Fremantle, still regarded as one of the greatest Cups in history. 

Over the decades, Australian talent has spread across teams all over the world. Thanks to John Winning and this new challenge, we now have the opportunity to bring that talent back together to compete again for Australia. What excites me most is helping build the next generation of Australian America’s Cup sailors, designers and engineers, while creating a long-term foundation for Australia in the modern era of the Cup.”

Also announced as a Team Australia sailor was Australian Olympian and member of Slingsby’s SailGP crew Tash Bryant. 

“This feels like an exciting new era for the America’s Cup,” she said. “The evolution of the boats and the competition is opening the door to broader opportunities and visibility for women in elite sailing, while also creating clearer pathways for younger generations coming through the sport. For young Australian sailors watching this campaign launch today, that representation and ambition matters greatly.”

There’s no word on which other Australian sailors may be recruited to join Slingsby and Bryant aboard the Aussie AC75. One possible target would be young match racer Cole Tapper, who led the Team Australia youth team in AC38 and recently stormed to victory in the prestigious Congressional Cup match racing event in Los Angeles. 

Or might Slingsby reach out to two-time America’s Cup winner Jimmy Spithill, alongside whom he won his first America’s Cup with Oracle Team USA in 2013 on San Francisco Bay? 26 years ago it was Spithill (aged 19) who led Australia’s last AC campaign when he skippered Young Australia in the challenger selection series for the 30th America’s Cup. 

After two campaigns with the Italian Luna Rossa syndicate, Spihill officially retired from America’s Cup campaigning after losing the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger series final in Barcelona to Ben Ainslie’s INEOS Britannia. Currently, Spithill is CEO and co-owner of the Red Bull Italy SailGP team – and whether he might be tempted back into the America’s Cup by the chance to represent his country once again is not known.

Team Australia joins America’s Cup holders Emirates Team New Zealand and challengers GB1 (GBR), Luna Rossa (ITA), Tudor Team Alinghi (SUI), La Roche-Posay Racing Team (FRA), and American Racing Challenge Team USA as competitors in the 38th America’s Cup.

The team will not be participating in next week’s AC40 preliminary regatta in Cagliari, Italy with its focus now being on carrying out the AC75 modifications and design work around the boat’s foil and aero packages. There has been no word yet on whether the team will purchase an AC40 for training purposes.