WHERE NOW FOR THE CUP CHALLENGERS?

Lockdown has had a big impact on the America’s Cup schedule, with the cancellation of the first World Series event in Cagliari in April, and July’s event in Portsmouth. Barring further restrictions, the first event will now be the Auckland World Series event in December, just a couple of weeks before the Challenger series begins in January 2021.

DEFENDER, EMIRATES TEAM NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand is famously one of the first countries in the world to declare itself COVID-19 free. However, the ETNZ squad was unable to sail for most of the lockdown period, as they’d despatched their AC75 Te Aihe, along with 16 containers packed with equipment and chase boats, to Europe for the planned Cagliari and Portsmouth events. The shipment was sent straight back from Italy, arriving in Auckland at the end of May. The Kiwi team, meanwhile, began training with a scaled down ‘surrogate’ boat. New Zealand currently has stringent border restrictions and the host team now has the huge advantage of losing no further time in transport and quarantine.

INEOS TEAM UK

INEOS Team UK relaunched its first AC75, Britannia 1, in the UK in the first week of June.

“We have placed an e-grinder on the boat,” explained skipper Ben Ainslie. “That is effectively a large battery pack which reduces the requirement of the number of crew on the boat [and] enables us space out as much as possible.” The second British boat is reported to be on schedule at Jason Carrington’s build facility in Hythe, in the

UK, due to be launched in New Zealand in October. The UK and US teams have been granted NZ entry visas.

CHALLENGER OF RECORD, LUNA ROSSA PRADA PIRELLI

The Italian Challengers were preparing to host the first opportunity for the four AC75S to race against one another when Italy became one of Europe’s earliest COVID-19 hotspots. Despite stringent lockdown, the team was able to continue some construction work and was the first to launch for

‘socially distanced’ training, with additional power sources and remote controls replacing up to six crew members. “Sailing a 75ft boat that sails at 40-45 knots with only five people on board managing it is impressive. A lot of work has been done to allow us to continue developing,” reported Luna Rossa skipper Max Sirena in April.

AMERICAN MAGIC

American Magic faced multiple challenges: unable to train out of their US base in Pensacola, Florida due to COVID-19 restrictions, but unable to remain there until lockdown was lifted. “We can’t stay in Pensacola due to the approach of hurricane season,” explained skipper Terry Hutchinson. The team took a gamble to ship its first 75, Defiant, to New Zealand before the country’s entry rules were confirmed – but have now had their visas confirmed. Meanwhile, the team’s second AC75 is being built in Rhode Island, and will also be commissioned in New Zealand.