Slowly but surely, the 38th America’s Cup is coming together.
After a long wait for progress around the protocol, and subsequently in finalising the America’s Cup Partnership (ACP) governance structure, the details are falling into place for the 2027 contest.
After confirmation of the five initial entries into the regatta came in late December, Emirates Team New Zealand have now given everyone a date to work towards.
The America’s Cup match will begin in Naples, Italy, with two races on July 10 and be concluded by the weekend of July 17 and 18.
Teams now have the first and last dates for racing in the campaign, with the first preliminary regatta scheduled to be held in Cagliari on the Italian island of Sardinia from May 21-24 this year. That regatta, to be contested on the scaled-down AC40s, will allow teams to enter two crews – one made up of core America’s Cup sailors and the other of Youth and Women’s America’s Cup sailors. It is the first of up to three preliminary regattas to be held in 2026.
The dates for the Cup match were revealed at an event in Naples overnight to formally initiate the America’s Cup Partnership, with members of all five teams attending and welcomed into the Partnership by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei who presented Pounamu to members of each team.
“It’s a huge day for the Cup. It’s one of the biggest changes we’ve seen in the whole 175-year history of the Cup,” Team NZ chief operations officer Kevin Shoebridge said.
“I’m really excited about it. I think it’s fantastic. I think it’s all going to be positive from here. We’ve got a really strong group of teams to start this off and I’m really looking forward to working with everyone and trying to take it to another level.”
The British America’s Cup entry has been an entity of intrigue throughout the early stages of the campaign, following their split from title partner Ineos.
Now, Sir Ben Ainslie’s team have unveiled a new identity and will contest the regatta in Naples under the name GB1.
Olympic gold medalist and reigning SailGP champion Dylan Fletcher will return to the helm, having been co-helmsman with Ainslie in Barcelona. There, the team became the first British team to win the America’s Cup Challenger Series and the first in 60 years to reach the America’s Cup Match.
“He has worked extremely hard to earn the seat, and his results on the water don’t lie. Olympic and SailGP champion, and an America’s Cup finalist all in the space of five years, these are no mean feats and highlight his absolute dedication to performance on the water,” Ainslie said of re-signing Fletcher as helmsman.
“The America’s Cup is the ultimate challenge in sport, I think. It’s that great mix of technology and getting out there on the water and the sailors doing their thing. We know that the Kiwis are going to be strong. They’re always strong. It’s like taking on the All Blacks in sailing, really, but we’re up for the challenge. We’ve got a great team, we got to the final last time. We’ve got to learn from what we developed in Barcelona and try to take it one step further in Naples next year.”
The team also confirmed two-time Olympic gold medalist Hannah Mills would return at the helm for the second edition of the Women’s America’s Cup.
New Zealand’s entry in the America’s Cup will continue on as Emirates Team New Zealand, with the airline signing on as naming-rights sponsor to extend the decades-long partnership between the two bodies.
“When Grant [Dalton] and I first met in Auckland in 2004 to sign our naming sponsorship of Emirates Team New Zealand, few could have imagined that more than 20 years later we would still be standing together as partners,” Emirates president Sir Tim Clark said.
“By lifting the Auld Mug for a third consecutive time, Emirates Team New Zealand has charted a course that no team in America’s Cup history has achieved before. That level of sustained success only comes from an uncompromising pursuit of excellence across every part of the programme. It is a philosophy we share at Emirates, and as the team prepares for the upcoming regattas and the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup in Naples, we are proud to see the Emirates name continue to sail with them.”
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.