The Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup is now just one month away from exploding into life with the start of the third and final Preliminary Regatta, starting on Thursday 22nd August 2024 and running through to Sunday 25th August where the talking stops, for a few days at least, and it’s down to business as the AC75s go head-to-head for the very first time.
All the hours of training, the work in the simulators, the designer’s theories and the sailor’s skills and prowess will be tested to an extent. No-one wants a bad regatta, and despite the fact that the Preliminary Regatta points do not count towards progression or elimination, everyone will be eyeing everyone else to define the pecking order ahead of the start of the Louis Vuitton Cup on the 29th August where there is simply no hiding place.
As America’s Cup fans are we finally going to get answers to our questions: Who is fast, and in what conditions? Who can manoeuvre best in the starting box? What will the top speeds be? Who has the racecraft and skills to deliver their platform to the winning line?
Right now, as it stands today, nobody knows, and everyone is guessing. Will we see sand-bagging with teams holding back technology (and outright speed) to spring a surprise when it really matters – and will we, as spectators, be able to recognise it? These are the questions on everyone’s lips and the hopes of fans from New Zealand, Great Britain, Switzerland, Italy, America and France hang on the foils and the spills and thrills of the most fascinating Preliminary Regatta in the 173-year history of the America’s Cup.
What we know for sure is that every team will be operating at their highest level at this given point of their campaign, all eager to take scalps and speed test relentlessly. There is little time to make dramatic improvements but enough time to work on the finest of details. The format will be one-on-one match racing with defined, boundary courses and rounding gates where the side of course can be selected. Conditions may well play into the overall standings with many of the boats having a sweet spot defined by the design teams whilst others are angled as all-weather AC75s, able to be moded at will. It’s a fascinating design conundrum and even the most experienced America’s Cup commentators, those who have watched the boats and the training day-in, day-out for years make it too close to call.
@AmericasCup
