AllAmerican challenger in America’s Cup

AUCKLAND: Stars & Stripes Team USA has been accepted as a challenger for the 2021 America’s Cup, promising to have an allAmerican squad in a competition in which nationality has mattered little in recent decades.

The name is a nod to Dennis Conner, who won the America’s Cup four times, the final two with boats named Stars &

Stripes.

It is the fifth challenger to be accepted by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Club for the 36th America’s Cup in Auckland.

It joins Challenger of Record Luna Rossa of Italy, the New York Yacht Club’s American Magic, INEOS Team UK and Malta Altus Challenge in the group that will contend for the Prada Cup and the right to face Emirates Team New Zealand in the America’s Cup match.

Stars & Stripes Team USA was cofounded by professional sailors Taylor Canfield, one of the world’s top matchracing skippers, and Mike Buckley.

The team is backed by the Long Beach Yacht Club, which hosts the prestigious Congressional Cup matchracing regatta. Canfield has won the Congressional

Cup four times in the last five years.

Canfield (29) said the goal was to have an allAmerican effort, from the design team to the builders to the sailors.

‘‘There are a lot of great sailors in this country, so there’s no doubt we can put a great team together,’’ he said.

Buckley (36) said that when he began doing research on former American challengers, he found that Conner had appeared on the cover of Time and Sports Illus

trated in the 1980s.

‘‘I was absolutely stunned and I realised that what was missing was this authentic story,’’ Buck ley said.

‘‘Why hasn’t that happened recently? Dennis used to have an allAmerican challenge . . . when we decided to do this, that was one of the driving factors. It’s not about Mike or Taylor. Let’s do this for American sailing and America in general, so that people get inspired.’’

The 167yearold America’s Cup was originally viewed as ‘‘friendly competition between foreign countries,’’ but nationality rules have been obliterated in recent decades. Although Oracle Team USA won the America’s Cup in 2010 and 2013, there were few Americans on the crew.

While the New York Yacht Club’s American Magic is led by skipper Terry Hutchinson of Annapolis, Maryland, the helmsman is New Zealander Dean Barker and there are other international sailors on the crew.

Canfield said he and Buckley first started talking about doing a campaign after Emirates Team New Zealand upset Oracle Team USA in Bermuda in June 2017, ending tech billionaire Larry Ellison’s grip on the Auld Mug.

Stars & Stripes Team USA gained traction in April after Canfield skippered US One Sailing Team to victory over Barker’s Team American Magic in the Congressional Cup.

Buckley, who lives in New York, said the budget will be less than $100 million. Funding so far has come from a number of private sponsors the team declined to identify.

The team bought a design package from Team New Zealand to jumpstart its programme and has begun building a boat in Michigan. Its design team is led by JD Braun of Marblehead, Massachusetts, who worked with Oracle Team USA in its 2013 and 2017 campaigns. — NZME

Let’s do this for American sailing and America in general, so that people get inspired