Karen Lile interviews Terry Hutchinson about design of “Patriot” the American Magic Team sailboat representing New York Yacht Club and the USA in the 37th Louis Vuitton America’s Cup.
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Aug 8, 2024
2024 key race dates at a glance
- Preliminary Regatta Barcelona: 22nd – 25th August
- Louis Vuitton Cup Round Robins: 29th August – 8th September
- Louis Vuitton Cup Semi Final: 14th – 19th September Louis Vuitton Cup Final: 26th September – 5th October
- Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Match: 12th October – 21st October
- UniCredit Youth America’s Cup: 17th – 26th September – Puig Women’s America’s Cup: 5th – 13th October
About the Barcelona Preliminary Regatta
The journey to the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup in Barcelona began in earnest with the Preliminary Regattas that served as warm-up races ahead of the Louis Vuitton Cup.
The first event was held in Vilanova i la Geltrú, Spain between 14-17 September 2023 and despite some challenging weather conditions, it gave an early indication of form as the teams raced in one-design, fully equalised AC40s. It was NYYC American Magic who took the first victory, beating Emirates Team New Zealand by just a single point. The second Preliminary Regatta took place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from the 29th November to the 2nd December 2023, with some very notable performances through the competitive fleet. Emirates Team New Zealand emerged victorious in the final over the hard-charging Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli.
The first two regattas were raced in strict one-design AC40s – the world’s newest and most exciting foiling class with top speeds in excess of 40 knots. The AC40 was awarded the prestigious World Sailing ‘Boat of the Year’ 2023.
The third and final Preliminary Regatta will be held in August 2024 in Barcelona; the big difference will be that all teams will be racing their new AC75 yachts, built specifically for Spanish Mediterranean seas and weather conditions, before the Challengers race it out for the Louis Vuitton Cup. The winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup will face off with the Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand, at the 37th edition of the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Match in Barcelona in October 2024.
WHO WILL RACE: Defender of the America’s Cup: Emirates Team New Zealand and the five Challenger teams: INEOS Britannia, Alinghi Red Bull Racing, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, NYYC American Magic, and Orient Express Racing Team. All on new generation AC75 yachts, with eight crew members per boat – two Helmsmen, two Flight Controllers/Trimmers and four Cyclors.
WHAT’S AT STAKE: This is the first chance the teams will race on their new AC75 yachts and the last races before the start of the Louis Vuitton Cup. The winner will lift the Barcelona Preliminary Regatta Trophy.
RACING FORMAT:
Racing starts on 22 August with a single Round Robin where all teams will race each other in one-on-one match races with four races each day, before the top ranked two teams will progress to the winner-takes-all final match race on 25 August to decide the ultimate winner of the event. Official Practice racing will take place on 20 and 21 August with the opening ceremony on 22 August.
About the Louis Vuitton Cup
The Louis Vuitton Cup (Challenger Selections Series) will determine which team will face the Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand, in the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Match.
WHO WILL RACE: Defender of the America’s Cup, Emirates Team New Zealand and the five Challenger teams: INEOS Britannia, Alinghi Red Bull Racing, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, NYYC American Magic, and Orient Express Racing Team. All on new generation AC75 yachts, with eight crew members per boat.
WHAT’S AT STAKE: The winner will lift the Louis Vuitton Cup and will face the Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand, in the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Match starting on 12th October.
RACING FORMAT:
The Louis Vuitton Cup will comprise of a double Round Robin (RR) stage and a Semi-Final stage, followed by a two-boat Final, all raced in AC75 yachts. All 6 teams will race each other twice. The top scorer in the RR will get to select their opponent in the Semi-Final.
The top four teams will race in a first-to-five-points Semi-Final, with the two winners advancing to the Louis Vuitton Cup Final. The winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup, the team to first score seven points, will face Emirates Team New Zealand, the Defender of the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup, in October.
Racing begins with Round Robin stages from the 29th August and culminates in the Louis Vuitton Cup Final (first to win seven races) concluding on the 5th October with contingency through to the 9th October depending on weather.
SCORING SYSTEM: One race victory means one point.
About the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Match
From the 12th October 2024 (a national holiday in Spain) the Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand, will face the winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup (Challenger Selection Series) in a best of 13-race Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Match.
WHO WILL RACE: Defender of the America’s Cup, Emirates Team New Zealand and the winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup, which is one of the 5 Challengers. All on new generation AC75 yachts, so 8 crew per boat.
WHAT’S AT STAKE: The winner will become the Defender of the 38th America’s Cup.
RACING FORMAT & SCORING SYSTEM: The Defender Emirates Team New Zealand will face the winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup (Challenger Selection Series) in a 13-race Match. Each race will be a match race between the two teams. The winner of each race scores one point, the loser scores no points. The first team to score seven points will win and automatically become the Defender of the 38th America’s Cup
About the UniCredit Youth and the Puig Women’s America’s Cup
The UniCredit Youth & Puig Women’s America’s Cup events will take place through September and October 2024. Based at the Port Olímpic, the established America’s Cup teams will be joined by teams representing yachts clubs from Spain, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden and Germany. Each fleet will race with a total of 12 AC40s each, so 4 crew per boat
The UniCredit Youth America’s Cup will start after a practice period for all the invited teams on the 17th September. The regatta runs through to the Final scheduled to be held on Thursday 26th September in-between flights of the Louis Vuitton Cup Final.
The Puig Women’s America’s Cup starts immediately after the conclusion of the UniCredit Youth America’s Cup with practice days starting from the 28th September. The regatta starts on the 5th October and runs through to the 11th October before the Final match race scheduled for the 13th October in-between flights for the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Match itself.
The Finals in each category will be streamed live to the world, showcasing the next generation of foiling talent in the America’s Cup and lighting the pathway for the finest Youth and Women sailing athletes in the world to the very apex of the sport – the America’s Cup.
The UniCredit Youth America’s Cup programme begins with five and a half scheduled days of practice for the invited teams and one half day of practice for the America’s Cup teams that runs from 10–26 September. The fleets of 12 boats each are then split into the ‘Invited Teams’ and the ‘America’s Cup Teams’, and the competition begins with fleet racing in the UniCredit Youth America’s Cup on Tuesday 17th September.
The opening qualification rounds will see a total of eight fleet races completed for both groups and the top three teams from each group will progress into the Semi-Final Series of four fleet races to decide the top two boats. Thursday 26th September is the scheduled day for the Final of the UniCredit Youth America’s Cup and will see the top teams go head-to-head in a winner-takes-all match-race for the title and trophy.
The Puig Women’s America’s Cup starts immediately after the conclusion of the UniCredit Youth America’s Cup with a briefing on the 28th September followed by the practice days that run through to the 4th October in the same format as the UniCredit Youth America’s Cup with the Invited Teams getting five and a half scheduled days of intense practice.
Once the fleet racing starts on the 5th October, the ‘Invited Teams’ and ‘America’s Cup Teams’ will be split before rejoining for the Semi-Final Series which starts on the 11th October 2024.
The top two teams from the Semi-Final Series will progress to a match-race Final and this is scheduled to be held on 13th October 2024 in between races of the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Match
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This show brought to you by Grays Harbor Historical Seaport, the Port of Seattle and the State of Washington. Fly into the Seattle – Tacoma International Airport on your next trip and visit the Port of Seattle and her historic seaports
