AC UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL

In accordance with the Protocol for the 36th America’s Cup, the race course area for the Prada Cup and America’s Cup Match was recently announced in Cowes, England.

On behalf of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, Grant Dalton officially named Auckland as the venue for the 36th America’s Cup Match Presented by Prada.

Racing will take place March 6-21, 2021. The Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand, will race against the winner of the Prada Cup, the Challenger Selection Series, in a best of 13 (first to seven points) in the America’s Cup Match.

The Racing Area encompasses the wider Hauraki Gulf, running south along the North Shore beaches around North Head, the inner Waitemata Harbour right up to Auckland’s harbour bridge and downtown CBD, across Auckland’s Eastern suburbs and all the way out the Tamaki Strait between Waiheke Island and Maraetai.

This configuration will offer a plethora of race course options, to accommodate a full range of wind directions and conditions.

One of the main objectives in identifying the specific race courses was to bring the racing as close as possible to land-based spectators. From both North Head and Bastion Point, the public will be able to hear the AC75S whistling above the water and see the wind shifts on the water without having to set foot on a boat.

On the water, the Harbour Master and all related agencies are working together to make this America’s Cup the most inclusive and spectator friendly America’s Cup ever, said Dalton.

A tentative race time window of between 4:00pm and 6:00pm local time has been agreed to allow enough time for a typical March sea breeze to reliably establish itself across the Waitemata Harbour and Hauraki Gulf race courses.

Race day cancellations due to excessive wind or swell, as was seen in the 34th America’s Cup in San Francisco, should be minimal because the course area directly between Eastern Beach and Waiheke Island provides a sheltered, all wind direction race course. This area was the training ground of Emirates Team New Zealand for their successful 35th America’s Cup challenge in Bermuda.

The definitive race distance will depend on the wind speed and selected race course each day, with an anticipated 35-minute race duration, including pre-start, based on a typical windwardleeward configuration, with potential for a dramatic final reaching leg to the finish line. www.americascup.com