America’s Cup: Team New Zealand bring back winning AC75 Te Rehutai for Barcelona preparations

Team New Zealand move Te Rehutai to their base on Wynyard Point. Photo / NZ Herald

Emirates Team New Zealand are gearing up for a full-scale return to local waters, with their America’s Cup winning AC75 Te Rehutai set to undergo a reconfiguration.

The team have moved Te Rehutai to their base on Wynyard Point to set it up in a way that allows them to build toward their 2024 defence.

Most notably, grinding handles are expected to be swapped out for cycling pedestals with the return of cyclors confirmed, while the constantly developing technology in the boats is sure to be upgraded.

For the 37th edition of the Cup, which will be contested in Barcelona next year, existing teams are only permitted to build one new vessel, so making use of their boats from the regatta in Auckland is a vital element in planning.

A spokesperson for Team New Zealand said while it was a development in the teams preparations, Te Rehutai wouldn’t be getting on the water immediately.

”We will sail it in due course in a configuration more towards AC37. But for the meantime still focusing on AC40 sailing.”

It will be interesting to see whether or not Te Rehutai emerges with a dual-helming configuration when the boat does return to the water. Luna Rossa succeeded with that configuration in Auckland to win the Challenger Series and contest the America’s Cup match, as it limits the crew movement while executing manoeuvres.

While Peter Burling took on the helming duties for their triumph in Auckland, the team signed Nathan Outteridge last year who would be a ready addition if they did want to sail under a dual-helmsman configuration.

That is how the AC40 is set up, with Burling and Outteridge sharing the helm on the smaller boat.

The team have been doing plenty of work on the Waitematā Harbour in the AC40 this year, recently launching a second vessel which has allowed them to carry out two-boat testing and run through race scenarios.

Not since 2012 has Team New Zealand had two boats together on the water, when a couple of SL33 catamarans were used to verify the significance of foiling versus non-foiling in the America’s Cup.

With the AC40 being used for the women’s and youth America’s Cup regattas in Barcelona, Team New Zealand have also taken the opportunity to give “prospective” members of those teams Liv Mackay and Leo Takahashi some time at the helm to get familiar with the new class.

The first invitations have been sent to potential competitors in the women’s and youth America’s Cup, with six invitational spots in the fleet available. There are 12 places on the starting line available for the two events, however the six syndicates entered in the America’s Cup must also put forward a team in the other two regattas.

Three teams expressed interest in sailing in both regattas - Team Canada, DutchSail (Netherlands), and Sail Team BCN (Spain) - and those teams have been invited to join the fleet. The remaining spots will be filled at a later date.

The regattas will run sequentially in Barcelona, with the youth competition starting on September 19, 2024 and the women’s America’s Cup on October 3. Both series begin with a week of practice for the teams.

The Youth America’s Cup final will be run on the same day as the showpiece America’s Cup challenger final on October 2, while the Women’s America’s Cup final will be held on October 16, the date scheduled for two America’s Cup match races.