Grand gestures, beautiful show: With the America's Cup overture, the Cup hunters officially kicked off the 36th Cup cycle in Cowes on the Isle of Wight on Friday afternoon. The who's who of international sailing met at the place where it all began in 1851 with a regatta around the island and the surprising victory of the schooner "America". 167 years later, the current teams celebrated the restart of the next edition.
Team boss Grant Dalton and his skipper and helmsman Peter Burling had the longest journey. They represented the defenders from Emirates Team New Zealand. Sir Ben Ainslie and Sir Jim Ratcliffe led the Ineos Team UK, with whom England's sailing superstar is aiming to win the silver jug for the first time in his second Cup chase under the British flag and bring it back to his home country. You can read an exclusive interview with Ainslie in an upcoming issue of YACHT. Terry Hutchinson and a delegation from the New York Yacht Club reported on the American Cup plans.
Prada patriarch Patrizio Bertelli and his team Luna Rossa with skipper Max Sirena were responsible for the beautiful show in Cowes as Challenger of Record and future sponsors of the challenger series called the Prada Cup and the 36th America's Cup presented by Prada. In addition to a press conference, there was a visually stunning holographic presentation of the Cup's history and the latest technological developments. The new America's Cup logo, created by Australian designer Marc Newson at the personal request of Patrizio Bertelli, was also unveiled in various versions.
The New Zealand America's Cup defenders have also announced the schedule for the 36th duel for the most important trophy in international sailing. In Cowes, Great Britain, where the first regatta for the "bottomless jug" took place in 1851, New Zealand's team boss Grant Dalton named 6 to 21 March 2021 as the date for the match between the defenders and the winning team of the preceding challenger series.
The America's Cup will be sailed off Auckland in 2021
Sailing will take place in Waitemata Harbour and Auckland's Hauraki Gold. So far, only three syndicates - Prada patriarch Patrizio Bertelli's Italian team Luna Rossa, Team American Magic from the New York Yacht Club and Sir Ben Ainslie's Ineos Team UK - have submitted their challenge. All three are considered highly competitive and financially strong. The British, for example, operate with a 126 million euro budget. There is no German team in sight.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
