There’s been plenty of speculation over recent months about what is going to be in the protocol document for the 38th America’s Cup. There have even been – according to various sailing media channels – leaked draft versions reportedly doing the rounds. The truth is, though, that only a very select group are fully aware of what the final version is going to contain – and it will likely stay that way until the Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand releases it publicly – hopefully in just a few weeks’ time.
Until that happy day, however, we are all free to speculate as to what we think should be in the AC38 Protocol. What changes would we like to see made to the Protocol used for the 37th America’s Cup in Barcelona in the late summer / early autumn of last year? I imagine it’s not likely to influence the final outcome much, but, for what it’s worth, here are my suggested improvements for the 38th America’s Cup.
The reintroduction of the America’s Cup World Series
The two AC40 preliminary regattas in AC37 produced some fantastic fleet racing in the AC40s – the only issue was that there weren’t enough events. The sailors all loved the AC40 events too and they provided valuable racing time for all the teams – as well as delivering plenty of value to the team and event sponsors in the lead-up to the main event. Those preliminary events also kept the sailing public engaged and entertained too – an important factor in an international competition that only takes place every three years – to say nothing about feeding the ever-hungry media corps, who, quite honestly, would have had nothing to write about otherwise. The added kicker was it gave the event a chance to visit a brand new country – yes, I know that, in this case, it was Saudi Arabia, but I’m not going to get into all that here – and introduce the America’s Cup to a whole new audience.
So, all round a big win for everyone involved. So let’s do the same again but next time with more events. I think all the competing teams should host an ACWS event in their home country – including the Defender.
We are not sure just exactly which teams are going to challenge – we know Alinghi Red Bull Racing and Ineos Britannia are definitely out – but let’s imagine Ben Ainslie’s Athena Racing Challenger of Record manages to raise the necessary funds (fingers crossed), and NYYC American Magic challenge again, along with Italy’s Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli and France’s Orient Express Racing Team. That would open up the potential for ACWS events in Cowes (England), Pensacola (Florida), Cagliari (Sardinia), and a French event in St Tropez (or Lorient even). Add in an Auckland event and one at the chosen host city (wherever that might be) and you have the makings of a great 2026 season of America’s Cup racing. If we are fortunate enough to recruit a new Challenger then they would be excused from having to organise an event – unless of course that was part of the appeal of joining the America’s Cup circus.
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The return of the Youth and Women’s America’s Cup
This one is a bit of a no-brainer, given the success of the Women and Youth racing in Barcelona, which, let’s be honest, was in danger of eclipsing the AC75 racing. It was a fantastic crash and burn spectacle. The sailors clearly thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the America’s Cup and everybody – even the cynics – loved watching it. I would be surprised, then, if the return of the Youth and Women’s America’s Cup is not already inked into the AC38 protocol document.
Once again, though, let’s have more of it in AC38. Here’s my suggestion: each of the ACWS events also includes racing for the five Youth and Women’s teams representing an America’s Cup syndicate, plus three wildcard places for some of the non-affiliated teams from AC37. If running two separate women and youth divisions is too time-consuming or too expensive, then let’s have one mixed-gender event with crews made up of two male and two female sailors. Then, to make sure the Youth/Women teams don’t end up as the poor relation to the full AC teams (there was a bit of that last time), we introduce a separate overall trophy for the ACWS events that incorporates the scores of the AC teams’ and the Y&W teams. The L'Oréal Cup has a nice ring to it.
Some Changes to the America’s Cup Racecourse
I generally enjoyed the racing at the 37th America’s Cup. The changes to the AC75 from the 36th edition made a big difference to the boats’ ability to foil at the lower end of the wind range and that meant less delays and lost race days.
There are, I think anyway, a few improvements that could be made:
A Longer Pre-Start Period and a Narrower Start Box
We did see some pretty exciting match racing going on in the pre-start period at AC37 – particularly in the later stages of the competition when the weaker teams had been excluded. That said, the match racing gambits did start to get a bit predictable as the competition went on.
To facilitate more prestart match racing engagement I propose a longer pre-start period. Instead of the two minutes used in AC37, let’s go for five minutes. And while we are at it let’s reduce the width of the start box a little to make sure we keep the boats engaged.
An Extension of the Port Boundary for the First Leg of the Race
I love that the America’s Cup under the Kiwis has maintained the windward start. Reaching starts work fine for fleet racing like in SailGP but for a match racing event like the America’s Cup a conventional windward first leg is the right option.
What doesn’t work as well is the short distance from the pin end of the start line to the left-hand boundary of the racecourse. So many times we saw races decided in the opening minute or two when one boat gained control in the first tack at that boundary. It was an issue I had hoped would be remedied in AC37 but we still saw plenty of these sprints to the boundary happening. So, for AC38, my suggestion is that for the opening leg after the start the first quarter of the port boundary is pushed back to open up the racecourse and to provide some additional tactical options. Once the first boat rounds the windward gate, the ‘normal’ boundary is put back in place. It seems like such an obvious fix that I worry that I’m not seeing the glaringly obvious reason why it wouldn’t work. Perhaps, given all the AI capability of the syndicates these days, some simulations could be run to work out whether this idea might work?
Replacing the Windward and Leeward Gates with Single Starboard-Hand Marks
This is the suggestion that I have the least confidence that it is a good idea, but here goes. Windward gates work really well in fleet racing to avoid major congestion and collisions at either end of the course. That is not an issue in match racing so why not switch over to single starboard-hand marks at either end of the course? Surely it would keep the boats closer together if they don’t have the option to split? As I say, I’m willing to be shouted down on this one, but, once again, maybe some simulations might shine a light on whether it’s a good idea or a stinker.
Crew Configuration on the AC75s
The entire AC37 fleet adopted the cyclor option to generate the hydraulic oil required to trim the sails aboard the AC75s. The option of using arm grinders was a non-starter – legs can turn pedals faster than arms can turn handles, after all. For me though, the re-introduction of the bikes cost the America’s Cup a little of its soul. Given that the foils and rudder controls on an AC75 are all powered by batteries, how about for AC38 we go one step further and let the batteries take over from human power? That would free up space on the boat for more sailors.
My suggested crew combination is as follows: 2 x helmsmen; 2 x Flight controllers; 2 x Sail trimmers; 2 x Tacticians
I think the roles should be predominantly discrete, i.e. helmsmen steer the boat, flight controllers fly the boat, sail trimmers trim the sails, and tacticians call tactics. To me that is more relatable to sailing fans than the previous setup and also avoids newcomers to the AC being befuddled as to why there are bikes on a boat.
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Of course, none of us on the outside know exactly what’s coming in the AC38 Protocol and, I fully accept that very many of my suggestions may never see the light of day. But that’s part of the fun of speculating, isn’t it? The America’s Cup has always been about evolution and pushing boundaries — not just of design and technology, but of format and spectacle too. If the powers that be can craft a Protocol that delivers more racing, showcases new and diverse talent, and gives us thrilling, close-quarters match racing at every stage, then fans and media alike will surely have plenty to cheer about. Fingers crossed that when the document does drop, it contains at least a few surprises — and perhaps even a nod or two to ideas like these.
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