"When the time comes and the teams can safely set up their operations centres in Auckland, I would hope that the America's Cup becomes a beacon of hope on the horizon." This was the emotional comment recently made by "American Magic" skipper Terry Hutchinson about the prospect of the Cup in coronavirus times. Sailors, technicians, partners and fans are currently left with nothing other than the fragile hope that at least the prelude in Auckland, the challenger series (Prada Cup) and the 36th America's Cup presented by Prada can take place by December after the cancellation of all previously planned pre-regattas.
Hutchinson's American team has not sailed with either the test boat or the AC75 yacht "Defiant" since mid-March. An exact date for the resumption of training with the Cup yacht has not yet been set. Meanwhile, the team from the New York Yacht Club is pressing ahead with the construction of its second Cup yacht in Rhode Island - a difficult task without the racing expertise that all the teams so urgently needed for the development of their futuristic projectiles in the new sophisticated AC75 class. The dispatch of this second boat to Auckland is planned for the end of August. If the journey is made by ship, it will take about a month.
The Italian Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team has now repaired the broken bowsprit of its first Cup yacht and recently installed electric motors on board "Luna Rossa" to replace the grinder. In this way, the Italians can resume their water training in compliance with social distancing rules. Sir Ben Ainslie's British Ineos Team UK has also had to do without water training since the hurried return from Cagliari and is testing intensively in the AC75 simulator. Four-time Olympic champion Ainslie says: "In times like these, we all need a light at the end of the tunnel. For us, it's the America's Cup."
The Cup defenders from New Zealand are already back in action. The Kiwis have been training and testing with their twelve-metre test boat Te Kāhu since 28 April, as Cup yacht number 1 has not yet returned from transport to Italy. The team led by team boss Grant Dalton has also resumed the construction of their second Cup yacht.
The latest news from Cup circles came at the weekend: Australian Iain Murray was introduced as the new regatta director for the challenger series Prada Cup and the 36th duel for the silver jug, taking over the position that had been vacant since the end of 2019 due to the resignation of his predecessor John Craig. With Murray, the Cup organisers have been able to fill the key position with an international "heavyweight" of the scene. The Australian enjoys a great deal of recognition in the various camps. This will be the third time the man from Sydney has held this position. Previously, he had also left his mark on the America's Cup as skipper and designer in various positions since 1983. He made his first Cup appearance in 1983 on the twelve-metre yacht "Advance", before winning the Australian defender elimination in 1987 with "Kookaburra", which was defeated in the Cup itself by Dennis Conner's "Stars & Stripes". Murray was also on board "One Australia" when it dramatically broke centre and sank in the 1995 America's Cup. At the 2008 Olympic Games, Murray was eighth in the Star boat with Andrew Palfrey off Qingdao. The Cup world associates Murray with two valuable qualities in particular: experience and integrity.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
