The starting position is clear: Larry Ellison's Oracle Team USA wants to win the America's Cup for the third time in a row and for the 30th time overall as an American team. The five challengers in this edition want to prevent this at all costs and put their own hands on the coveted silver jug. YACHT online introduces the six teams that will make their mark on the 35th America's Cup - each in their own way. In the end, the old Cup motto will remain: There is no runner-up!
What was, what is and what is to come: The preview of the 35th America's Cup looks back at the history of the most important international sailing regatta and at the same time shows what fans can expect from tomorrow onwards
What the skippers have to say about their goals and expectations shortly before the start
Update, 25 May, 9.50 pm: The organisers have just announced the postponement of the first race day to Saturday. Strong winds have made the first starts and the opening ceremony originally planned for Friday impossible.
ORACLE TEAM USA
The defenders are ideally equipped technologically, sailing-wise, financially and - after their comeback of the century in the last edition - also psychologically. The 37-year-old helmsman James "Jimmy" Spithill is heading for his third consecutive Cup triumph on the US cat "17". He has earned his nicknames such as "Spitfire" or "Pitbull" with his own brash attacking style. The father of two has already trained with the Navy Seals, flown with the Blue Angels, has a pilot's licence himself, loves boxing and, as a world sailor, has only one goal in 2014: to win the most important trophy in international sailing for the third time. His tactician and strategist is 32-year-old Australian Tom Slingsby. The general manager of Oracle Team USA is Australian Grant Simmer. Due to the very Australian-influenced campaign, it is also known in sailing circles as "Oracle Team AUS". Racing team owner Larry Ellison founded the team in 2000 and the crew competes under the American flag for the San Francisco Yacht Club, operating with an estimated budget of around 100 million euros. Oracle Team USA is the favourite of the bookmakers and many experts.
Previous Cup starts of the team: 3
Total number of AC deployments of the sailing crew (top 6): 12
Average age of the sailing crew (Top 6): 32 years
Total number of sailors in the team: 14
EMIRATES TEAM NEW ZEALAND
The two-time Cup winners (1995, 2000) have not only drastically rejuvenated and reinvented themselves for the 35th edition. They are also doing things very differently to the other teams. Glenn Ashby is the only skipper who is not at the helm himself off Bermuda, but instead uses his extensive foiling experience to trim the sails. He leaves the helming to high-flyer Peter Burling, who won his first Olympic silver medal at 17 and sailed to Olympic victory in Rio with his 49er foresailor. Burling is regarded as the new "Russell Coutts", the talent of the century with strong nerves. Unlike other teams, Burling does not control the setting of the foils himself. This job as "flight controller" is done by Blair Tuke, who is also one of the cyclists who generate the power on the New Zealand boat instead of the conventional grinders. Team boss Grant Dalton, who stayed on after the fiasco in the 34th America's Cup, has also stayed on for the 35th edition: "It was so brutal that you never get over it. But it can't be over yet." The Kiwi team, founded in 1993, with its "Aotearoa" (Land of the Long White Cloud) is not only considered the strongest challenger by the bookmakers.
Previous Cup starts of the team: 5
Total number of AC deployments of the sailing crew (top 6): 6
Average age of the sailing crew (Top 6): 32 years
Total number of sailors in the team: 12
LAND ROVER BAR
In principle, the British lack nothing. They are led by Sir Ben Ainslie, the most successful Olympic sailor in sporting history with four gold medals. The dream budget is estimated at 100 million euros. This puts the team on a par financially with Oracle Team USA and enjoys the support of the brightest design minds. In former McLaren manager Martin Whitmarsh, Ainslie has been able to recruit a charismatic leader for his campaign. The 58-year-old is regarded as a visionary driver with excellent contacts in the British technology and Formula 1 forges. As a team with a very English flavour, Sir Ben and his fellow campaigners want to bring the silver jug back to their home country in the name of the legendary Royal Yacht Squadron. Great Britain has not won the America's Cup in 166 years. That is set to change at the 34th edition. However, in the training races over the last few weeks, the British, who are aiming for the Cup for the first time as a newly formed team, have not yet looked dominant and even caused a crash with the New Zealanders last week. Whether Ainslie's catamaran "Rita" has a speed problem or her team was just playing poker will soon become clear in the first duels on 26 May.
Previous Cup starts of the team: 0
Total number of AC deployments of the sailing crew (top 6): 12
Average age of the sailing crew (Top 6): 36 years
Total number of sailors in the team: 13
ARTEMIS RACING
The surprise team of recent months is Artemis Racing. The team's "Magic Blue", sailing under the Swedish flag, has impressed experts and fans in the training races with strong performances, many victories and confident handling. The trauma of the last edition, in which Artemis sailor and Olympic champion Andrew "Bart" Simpson drowned after capsizing during training, seems to have been overcome. Foiling champion and Olympic gold medallist Nathan Outteridge steers the boat with a great deal of experience. The Australian had to learn to walk and sail again after a car accident in 2005. Seven years later, he won gold in the 49er off Weymouth in 2012. At his side is team manager Iain Percy, an outstanding team player with great tactical skills, high intelligence and a great British sense of humour. Founded in 2006 by Swedish industrialist Torbjörn Törnqvist, the team has - so far it seems - done its technological homework properly. With a good budget beyond the 50 million euro mark, the Swedish team is operating at a comfortable level. Artemis Racing was founded in 2006 and competes for the Kungliga Svenska Segel Sällskapet.
Previous Cup starts of the team: 1
Total number of AC deployments of the sailing crew (top 6): 7
Average age of the sailing crew (Top 6): 34 years
Total number of sailors in the team: 12
SOFTBANK TEAM JAPAN
The Japanese campaign was only founded in 2015 and wants to score points for the Kansai Yacht Club with its catamaran "Hikari". The CEO, skipper and helmsman is New Zealander Dean Barker, the tragic figure from the last edition of the Cup. Barker had given away eight match points in the 34th Cup duel with an 8:1 lead against Oracle and was ultimately beaten 8:9 by the Americans in tears. The now 44-year-old was subsequently demoted by his team and took the consequence by leaving the team. Russell Coutts, who had already left the young Barker at the helm 17 years ago when the Kiwis were sailing towards their second Cup victory, took over from him. For father-of-four Dean Barker, this is probably the last chance to fight for the Cup of his life. His SoftBank Team Japan is also known in sailing circles as the "Mini-Oracle" due to its technology partnership with the Americans. The best-known Japanese sailor on board and team manager is Kazuhiko Sofuko. The team operates with an estimated 40 million euros and relies on a largely New Zealand-based core crew.
Previous Cup starts of the team: 0
Total number of AC deployments of the sailing crew (top 6): 18
Average age of the sailing crew (Top 6): 42 years
Total number of sailors in the team: 11
GROUPAMA TEAM FRANCE
The David among the Goliaths and, like the Japanese, only founded as a team in 2015: Groupama Team France and its catamaran of the same name are not only considered to be a blatant underdog by the bookmakers. The smallest budget of around 20 million euros sets natural limits to the possibilities of the creative French team. Nevertheless, skipper Franck Cammas, Volvo Ocean Race winner, two-time world champion in catamaran class C and sailing jack-of-all-trades, and his team have some interesting aces up their sleeves. One of them is the German "foil guru" Martin Fischer. Born in 1962 in Celle, Lower Saxony, the French design coordinator has been designing foils (A-Class, Flying Phantom, GC32) since 2011 and is one of the most renowned international experts in the "flying" sailing business. Although the French are considered to be the underdogs, they have what it takes to give one or two opponents a leg up. However, reaching the Challenger play-offs would be a minor sensation.
Previous Cup starts of the team: 0
total number of AC deployments of the sailing crew (top 6): 4
Average age of the sailing crew (Top 6): 39 years
Total number of sailors in the team: 9
