What the America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta in Jeddah will reveal about competing syndicates

For the final time in this America’s Cup cycle, pure sailing abilities will decide things.

When the six syndicates take to the waters of the Red Sea in Jeddah for their second of three preliminary regattas, it will be the final time the America’s Cup crews race on their AC40s.

Unlike their under-construction AC75s, which will be in action for the first time at the final preliminary regatta in Barcelona next August, the AC40s are a one-design boat. With all teams in an equal vessel, it’s skill, communication and focus that will decide this week’s regatta.

“When we come to the big boats, that’s a whole different kettle of fish,” Team New Zealand coach Ray Davies told the Herald. “The design and innovation come to the fold. Whereas, these being all one-design boats, it’s all about racing and communicating and sailing the boat accurately.”

“Then when we get into the new boats with everyone in their own design, there will be speed differences and boats will perform better in certain conditions.”

All six teams are in Jeddah to sail this week, with American Magic expected to take their place in the starting box after having their request to skip the regatta in Saudi Arabia without punishment dismissed.

The regatta in Jeddah will consist of nine races across three days, beginning on Thursday night. The first eight races will be fleet races and see all six teams racing against each other, before the top two teams on the leaderboard compete in a match-race final.

At the first regatta in Vilanova i la Geltru, Spain, American Magic claimed the event win ahead of Team New Zealand, though it was not helped in any way by the weather.

Conditions are expected to be much more consistent in Jeddah, and teams have already been out on the water to get an idea of what to expect when racing begins.

Davies said with the teams racing in one-design boats, it was an opportunity for them to familiarise themselves with the race elements of the America’s Cup, such as the use of autonomous marks, umpire calls and dealing with the racecourse.

However, from a competition standpoint, he said one thing was made very clear by the fleet racing format.

“You’re only as good as your worst manoeuvre. In these boats, you just get punished for making mistakes,” he explained.

“So, it’s not necessarily all about sailing perfectly, it’s more about minimising the errors - and that’s what tripped us up in the end in Vilanova. We saw out here today, that’s exactly what was causing boats issues; bad top-mark roundings and wiping out, or bad gybes or bottom-mark rounding.

“Even though you could have a comfortable lead, it’s never over. You’ve just got to really be able to just manage those manoeuvres well, and that’s going to be critical in these boats and these waves.”

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.