Unpacking the Team Australia challenge for the 38th America’s Cup

Understandably for a country responsible for ending the Americans’ 132-year-old winning streak in the America’s Cup, the media output from Team Australia’s announcement as a challenger for the 38th America’s Cup featured plenty of fond reminiscence about the euphoric nationwide celebrations that followed Australia II’s fateful 1983 victory over the American Defender Liberty.

Now, 43 years later, Australia are back for another tilt at sailing’s oldest and most prestigious competition. Given how late their entry is and the fact that they are planning to use a boat that was used – admittedly to very good effect – two full Cup cycles ago, it would be easy to dismiss the Aussies as simply there to make up the numbers – at least for this 38th go around.

In reality, although the team has only just been announced, plenty has been going on in the background and lots of groundwork has already been done to make sure Team Australia makes a credible return to the America’s Cup.

First off, let’s look at the senior management team. Between them, Grant Simmer, Glenn  Ashby, and Tom Slingsby have the combined experience of eight America’s Cup victories to draw on. 

Simmer has been involved in every America’s Cup cycle since that 1983 victory; surely nobody has a better understanding of what it takes to build an AC campaign from the ground up.

London 2012 Olympic gold medallist Slingsby, meanwhile, has since evolved into the undisputed king of high performance foiling. He has two Moth world titles (along with a second place in 2025) to his name, as well as consecutive wins in the first three seasons of SailGP to back that up. He was a key part of Jimmy Spithill’s afterguard in the 2013 Oracle Team USA America’s Cup victory and skippered the NYYC American Magic campaign in AC38. When it comes to building and leading high performing sailing teams there is really nobody better.

Running the technical and performance side of the campaign and responsible for the refit of the ex-Emirates Team New Zealand AC75 Te Rehutai, Glenn Ashby stands alone outside of  the Defender organisation in his experience with the massive complexities of the AC75 yachts. He is a proven expert in managing large complex projects – as evidenced by his recruitment to run the rig programme for the Ferrari Hypersail project – but perhaps more significant is his long-term track record with Emirates Team New Zealand, which he says was key in brokering a deal with the Cup holders to buy Te Rehutai and help refit it for the 38th America’s Cup. 

Which brings us neatly on to the boat itself. Many would question whether a team fielding a boat from two full AC cycles ago could possibly expect to be competitive against the latest generation designs. However, what we need to remember is that the Aussies are not subject to any of the limitations imposed on the other six teams in this latest Cup cycle. Yes they have bought a boat from AC36, but the reality is that the only part that is going to be used in AC38 is the hull itself – and even that is going to be heavily modified.

“We can pretty much change everything,” Tom Slingsby told Bow Caddy Media’s Crosbie Lorimer earlier this week. “We will have a new rig, new sails, new foils and foil arms. We will have all new control systems. Our wheels and flight control systems will all be updated.