“Your Majesty, there is no second.” Just six months to go until the America’s Cup.
The Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup begins on 22 August in Barcelona, with 6 teams competing for the oldest trophy in international sport
The Louis Vuitton America’s Cup is one of the greatest challenges in sailing. This year the event begins on 22 August, with six teams, representing New Zealand, Great Britain, Switzerland, Italy, USA and France, taking part, and from 22 August 2024 they will be competing off the Barcelona waterfront, operating from their bases in the harbours of Port Vell and Port Olimpic, competing for the oldest trophy in international sport. This year’s edition, which promises to become one of the most intense editions ever, will run until October 2024, with the main visitor focus at the America’s Cup Race Village. There will also be interactive fan zones, jumbo screens, and sponsor activities. Entrance for fans is free of charge.
America’s Cup, a complex event calendar
The official calendar begins on 22 August, with the final Preliminary Regatta running until 25 August. The Louis Vuitton Cup, which decides the single Challenger, starts with the Round Robin stages from 29 August, and culminates in the Louis Vuitton Cup Final, which ends on 5 October, or until 9 October depending on weather.
The Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Match is a 7-race series starting on 12 October, between the Defender team, Emirates Team New Zealand, and the winning Challenger. The Match could end on 18 October if one team wins 7:0 and there are no race delays, or it could go on until 27 October if reserve days are used due to weather, or if the teams are evenly matched.
Interest in the event has been fuelled in recent weeks by the activities of the Defender team, along with the challengers Alinghi Red Bull Racing, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, and INEOS Britannia, the Challenger of Record, which has the right to proceed directly to the final race match. Their announcements in recent weeks focus on the AC75 yachts, remarkable examples of marine design, with crews of eight, wide-span wings, and a performance capable of reaching speeds in excess of 50 knots. NYCC American Magic and Orient Express Racing Team have opted for later launch dates and training strategies. The Challengers will take part in a series of regattas to find the yacht that will eventually race against the New Zealand team.
New this year, the Puig Women’s America’s Cup and the UniCredit Youth America’s Cup
In addition to the senior teams in the running for the main event, Barcelona will also host the inaugural Puig Women’s America’s Cup and the UniCredit Youth America’s Cup. Both these events will feature the AC40 class, boats capable of exceeding 45 knots, totally equalised so that the focus is primarily on crew talent.
The long history of the America’s Cup
The long history of this event dates back to 1851, when the schooner “America” crossed the Atlantic from New York and competed in the Royal Yacht Squadron’s regatta around the Isle of Wight, beating the best yachts in the British fleet. In 1857 the syndicate that owned the schooner renamed the trophy the America’s Cup and donated it to the New York Yacht Club as “a challenge cup for friendly competition between foreign countries.” The trophy itself, nicknamed the “Auld Mug,” an ornate vessel that is incapable of holding liquids because it is a cylindrical vessel open at both ends, was crafted by the jeweller R&S Garrard & Co., Panton Street, London. An inscription on the vessel records the first race and celebrates the victor “America”, while the name Aurora, the yacht that was second in the 1851 regatta, is not mentioned.
American boats went on to defend the trophy successfully 24 times, from 1870 until 1980, and only in 1983 did Australia became the first ever successful challenger, defeating the New York Yacht Club and taking the Cup away from America. Consequently, Fremantle, Perth, in Western Australia, was the first venue outside the United States to host the America’s Cup, in 1987. In 1995, New Zealand’s team Black Magic won the trophy, joining the short list of winners – United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Switzerland. Britain has never won. Other challengers in the past have included Italy, France, Spain, South Africa, Germany, Japan, China, and Sweden. Emirates Team New Zealand defeated Oracle Team USA in 2017, and then successfully defended the America’s Cup in Auckland in 2021 against the Italian Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team.
There is no second
Under the rules of this competition, the oldest trophy in international sports, the winner of the competition earns the right to organise the next edition, choosing the location, the date, the rules, and the design of the boats. The colourful history of the America’s Cup includes the tale of Queen Victoria’s interest in the very first 1851 regatta, when the schooner from the United States took part in the 53-mile race around the Isle of Wight.
The Queen was watching from the royal boat “Victoria & Albert”, and asked an officer, “Are the yachts in sight?”
The signalmaster replied, “Only the America.”
“Which is second?”
“Ah, Your Majesty, there is no second.”
