The Rat attempts to make sense of the current AC38 state of play…
It’s just business as usual for the elite professional cohort who now run the America’s Cup, but it must seem utterly bizarre to the general public. How else to describe a competition in which the preliminary rounds are sailed nine months before the event itself, in boats that won’t contest that event, by people who won’t crew in the final series, and where the results have no bearing on the outcome?
Here’s the timeline. The next preliminary regatta begins in Naples in late September – six weeks away – and will be sailed in AC40s. The first racing in the Cup itself is scheduled for late May 2027 with the final challenge series starting on July 10.
Until then, anyone hoping to keep up with developments has to rely on the so-called “ReCon” reports produced by the Cup management. This service was intended to replace the tiresome intelligence-gathering (read: spying teams) that every syndicate employed to keep tabs on their opposition. Needless to say, they all now do frame-by-frame analysis of this shared video footage.
Then there’s the nonsensical restriction on “sailing days”. If a team has their boat ready for testing and crew training, why should their time on the water be restricted just because other teams are dragging their feet, or short of funding? It’s the Cup after all. Money and time have always been its real currency. Quotas on sailing time won’t level that playing field.
In any case, the “preparedness gap” is already huge.
The Kiwis have been sailing and refining their revamped AC75 for days (above). Likewise, the Italians and French, with the Swiss reportedly not far behind.
Meanwhile, we’re yet to see anything of the American challenge other than a flashy little video on Facebook and a silly slogan. The British GB1 syndicate is still re-building their boat (which they might lose anyway if INEOS wins its case against Athena in the UK Admiralty Court). As for the Australians, there’s been nothing heard since their media launch in May. They’ll be lucky get a week or two of sailing in Naples before the Cup regatta begins.
Adding to this crazy scramble is the pending case in the New York Supreme Court that contests the legality of the whole event. The Rat understands that some kind of settlement has been brokered by Cup veteran, Ernesto Bertarelli. AC38 is to go ahead as planned, but after that the whole gimcrack commercial empire created by Grant Dalton & Co could be demolished.
It seems there’s life in that 1857 Deed of Gift yet!
The Rat
