Following the ‘warm-up’ Preliminary Regatta that took place last week, the 37th America’s Cup officially kicked off its ‘Round Robin’ stage of the ‘Louis Vuitton Cup’ in Barcelona on Thursday, and which will run until 8 September. It will be followed by the semi-finals (14-19 September) and then the final (26 Sept – 5 Oct) before the winner of the LV Cup will take on the the Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand, in the grand final match of the America’s Cup from 12-21 October.
The LV Cup consists of two Round Robin stages, with the first elimination after the second Round Robin, to decide the four semi-finalists.
The winning boat from the Round Robin stage gets to select the opponent they wish to race and at the conclusion of the semi-finals, two challengers will meet in the final. The winner gets not only a magnificent trophy but also the right to challenge Emirates Team New Zealand in the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup.
Emirates New Zealand boat damaged
Emirates Team New Zealand says it has had to remove a piece of the hull of its boat that was damaged in a crane incident after the opening race of its America’s Cup title defence.
The mishap happened late on Thursday when the 75-foot Taihoro yacht was being removed from the water after racing.
Team leader Grant Dalton said the multimillion-dollar boat fell some six metres onto the support cradle on their team base inside Barcelona’s old port. Dalton said the impact sounded ‘like a bomb went off’. He and skipper Peter Burling inspected the boat after a crew had lifted the tips of its critically important hydrofoils off the concrete ground.
‘There is some structural damage, but the main force was taken on the forward cradle splash,’ Dalton said in a statement released on Friday. ‘Overnight this area has been removed (in other words we have cut the piece out of the hull bottom) and the repair has started which means building a new piece of boat. It is too early at this stage to say when we will be sailing again but I have seen these guys work miracles before.’
Dalton said on Thursday that the repair job could keep his team sidelined throughout the double round-robin phase that lasts through next week. That would be a setback, but it would be manageable if the boat can be refitted in the coming days or even weeks since as defending champions the Kiwis are guaranteed a spot in the finals held in October.
The incident meant that New Zealand didn’t participate in the two races it was scheduled for Friday. That won’t impact the standings since its races don’t count; they are essentially only for practice to keep the team sharp for the final.
One of the five challengers (see ‘Who is racing?’ below) will be eliminated after the opening phase before the final four enter a two-round playoff series.
Who is racing?
The holders of the America’s Cup are Emirates Team New Zealand, but some strong competition is coming for them, with INEOS Britannia, from the UK as the ‘Challenger of Record’. The unique format of the Cup affords the Defender, as the holder of the America’s Cup, the automatic right to bypass selection and proceed directly to the final ‘Match’ whereas the Challengers will undertake an intense multi-race series of round-robins to find the top yacht to take on the New Zealand team.
The entries are: INEOS Britannia (UK), Alinghi Red Bull Racing(Switzerland), Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (Italy), NYYC American Magic (USA) and Orient Express Racing Team (France).
Every team for the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup is unique. The design of their boats and the technology they employ will be bespoke and highly refined, the result of tens of thousands of hours of computer and on-water testing.
The Crews
The core make-up of teams in the America’s Cup can number up to 120 each with extended research and development teams taking that number, in some cases, above 200 – and there are a wide variety of skills employed.
Each team has a maximum numbers of eight sailors on board the AC75 – with a number of reserves on stand-by on any given race day. Four of the crew on the new AC75s are ‘Cyclors’ powering the sail control, mast and hydraulic functions of the yacht.
All of the sailors competing at the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup are professional, and most are multiple World Champions and Olympic medallists (even amongst the Cyclors) and some are winners of previous editions of the America’s Cup.
Key Race Dates in Barcelona
The key race dates still to come are as follows:
- 29 August to 8 September – Louis Vuitton Cup Round Robins
- 14-19 September – Louis Vuitton Cup Semi Final
- 26 September to 5 October – Louis Vuitton Cup Final
- 12 October to 21 October – Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Match
- 17-26 September – UniCredit Youth America’s Cup
- 5-13 October – Puig Women’s America’s Cup
Where to watch and enjoy the America’s Cup
Situated along the Moll de la Fusta on the northern side of the Port Vell, the Race Village will be the must-visit attraction for all fans and spectators coming to the event. Free to enter, the Race Village will be the heart of the event with daily post-race sailor interviews on the main stage one hour after racing, four jumbo-screens to watch all the day’s action with expert commentary plus a host of sponsor activations, gastronomic delights to suit all tastes and budgets, and a celebration of music, art, culture and design all in a space of some 24,500 square metres, with a capacity for 9,500 people.
In addition there will be dedicated America’s Cup Corners, America’s Cup sponsor activities, as well as Host Venue Partners ‘Vila del Mar’ exhibits in the Fan Zones and at the Race Village where visitors can immerse themselves in the regatta, its rules, history, competing teams and sailor profiles.
There are also more Fan Zones closer to the water, in Plaça del Mar and around Bogatell. The regattas will take place between 2pm and 4pm, depending on the weather conditions of the day, and can be followed from Barcelona’s beaches with the naked eye.
The main Race Village along the Moll de la Fusta will be open every day until the end of the competition in late October. The Race Village will also be open when there is no racing, showing replays from previous days’ racing. The planned format and schedule for the Race Village is as follows:
- 12:00–14:00 (local time) – Pre-Race show with all the build-up to the day’s racing
- 14:00–16.30 – Live racing with full expert commentary (on race days)
- 16:30–18:00 – Entertainment followed by sailors’ interviews one hour after the day’s racing has concluded
- 18:30 – Live music sessions and entertainment
- 18:30–22:00 – Evening entertainment show, live music, local culture and gastronomy
ALSO READ: Ben Ainslie, British skipper in America’s Cup, robbed at knifepoint in Barcelona.
ALSO READ: America’s Cup kicks off in Barcelona with Preliminary Regatta – read our full guide (Part 1).
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