Small margins and suspense: How America's Cup picture will get clearer

Sailors Peter Burling and Blair Tuke. Photo / Nick Reed.

In the coming months, the America's Cup picture will become a lot clearer.

After the Covid-19 pandemic saw the cancellation of the America's Cup World Series events in Cagliari and Portsmouth, the teams will launch their second full-scale AC75 without having any competitive sailing.

Both Team New Zealand and American Magic are currently working out on the Hauraki Gulf on their first vessels in preparation for the 36th America's Cup in Auckland next March. However, being unable to line up alongside each other on the water, they can only rely on intel to try and figure out what each other are doing.

"It's always incredibly hard to tell," Team New Zealand's Peter Burling said when asked how he thinks they match up with American Magic. "The margins are pretty small, so we won't get a 100 per cent gauge until we line up for the first time in a race."

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The first opportunity the syndicates will have for competitive racing is in mid-December in Auckland, in what was supposed to be the final leg of the World Series. Now it will be the only regatta before the Prada Cup Challenger Series, and the only chance to iron out kinks in a racing environment.

Before then, teams will launch their second vessels, which will be what they race in during the Challenger Series and America's Cup. As per the protocol set out for the event, teams have been able to launch their second vessels since mid-February.

"Everyone's going to have their second boats out at some stage which is really going to be a good check in to what pathways everyone's gone down over the past couple of years," Burling said.

"Our second boat's going really well and everything's on schedule. The guys at work have done an incredible job catching up post-lockdown and making sure all our plans line up with where we feel we need to be. We're in a really strong position."

Contesting the Challenger Series alongside American Magic will be Italian syndicate Luna Rossa and British outfit INEOS Team UK. A second American challenge, Stars and Stripes Team USA, had entered the event but to this point have been unable to complete the build of their first boat in the USA.

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The hope was that the team would be able to sail the first boat of either the defender or another challenger, but the Arbitration Panel ruled against them as the Protocol states competing yachts must be constructed in the country of the team's yacht club. The syndicate is yet to confirm its position, but it looks unlikely they will make the starting line.

While Team New Zealand was hopeful of getting many challenging syndicates Down Under as possible, Burling said for the sailors, it didn't really make too much of a difference.

"For us as the defenders, we have to go out there and beat the best challenger," Burling said. "So, for us it's about how we make our boat go quicker and how we position against whoever is going to be the best challenger.

"That's what we spend our time worrying about."

Key dates (all in Auckland)

America's Cup World Series - December 17-20, 2020
Prada Cup Challenger Series - January 15 - February 22, 2021
36th America's Cup Match - March 6 - 21, 2021