American Magic launches PATRIOT

Auckland, New Zealand (October 16, 2020) – With each America’s Cup team permitted to build two boats, New York Yacht Club American Magic, the U.S. Challenger for the 36th edition, were the first to launch their second AC75 into Auckland’s Waitematā Harbor this morning. Named PATRIOT, it is the boat the team will use in their pursuit to win the 2021 America’s Cup.

“We could not be more excited to get PATRIOT into the water after all of the hard work it has taken to get her designed, built, transported and fitted-out for sailing,” said Terry Hutchinson, Skipper and Executive Director of American Magic.

“When you think about the whole course of the program and what the team has achieved with the Mule, DEFIANT, and now with PATRIOT, it’s pretty remarkable. I think what PATRIOT represents is an incredible display of teamwork, design, production and everything our team stands for. It’s a pretty proud moment for us.”

Dean Barker, American Magic’s helmsman, reflects on the journey that has taken the team through three different sailing venues. “To be launching PATRIOT now, here in Auckland, and knowing we are in the final run to the start of racing is exciting; for the team this is an amazing day.

“Without any regattas yet, we still do not really know where we sit in the whole pecking order. We have to trust that we have followed our process all the way through, and I think the final product we are putting in the water today is very special.”

U.S. Consul General Katelyn Choe christened the yacht, and shared a few words with the team prior to breaking a champagne bottle over the bow. “I am so thankful to each of you for bringing the spirit of American magic to us, which feels even more poignant during these uncertain times. We can’t control the wind, but we can direct the sails,” said Choe. “It is my true honor and privilege to stand with you today to honor the new boat’s name and celebrate all of the patriots in our life.”

In terms of resuming sailing operations, the team is looking to press the new boat hard after initial systems tests are complete. Barker said that the schedule will be aggressive over the coming weeks before the first preliminary races during America’s Cup World Series Auckland (December 17-20, 2020).

“We have to hit the ground running flat out [in PATRIOT] because every day is precious in terms of being ready for racing. Given the time frames of the design work needed and everything else it sort of forces you to be running a reasonably late time frame [for the campaign], and we know we have our work cut out for us to be ready.”

In terms of how the new boat differs from DEFIANT, their first boat, Barker said that every new boat launch involves a familiarization process. “The most notable difference is the helm position, so it’s going to be quite a different perspective [for the helmsman] and it’s a lot more forward on the boat compared to DEFIANT. We are going to quickly adapt and we are very aware of the changes we need to make. Every boat has its different tendencies and different traits and we hope PATRIOT’s biggest trait is that it’s going to be a lot faster.”

American Magic Principal Designer Marcelino Botin recognizes the progress thus far. “This team didn’t exist three years ago, and now we have three boats built [including the AM38] and two AC75s launched,” said Botin.

But to win the America’s Cup, the design team has much still to do. “The first thing we need to focus on next is to make sure the new boat is sailed the way we want it to be sailed,” explained Botin. “We’ve got some predictions of how that should be [done] and we want to make sure that we help the guys on the boat follow our plan.

“Obviously after that [initial phase] there’s evolution and changes, but the first thing is to do analysis of the performance. We are all interested in knowing how the boat performs compared to our predictions and compared to our previous boat.”

Source: American Magic, Will Ricketson

Details: www.americascup.com

36th America’s Cup
In addition to Challenges from Italy, USA, and Great Britain that were accepted during the initial entry period (January 1 to June 30, 2018), eight additional Notices of Challenge were received by the late entry deadline on November 30, 2018. Of those eight submittals, entries from Malta, USA, and the Netherlands were also accepted. Here’s the list:

Defender:
• Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL)

Challengers:
• Luna Rossa (ITA) – Challenger of Record
• American Magic (USA)
• INEOS Team UK (GBR)
• Malta Altus Challenge (MLT) – WITHDRAWN
• Stars + Stripes Team USA (USA)
• DutchSail (NED) – WITHDRAWN

Of the three late entries, only Stars+Stripes USA remains committed, however, it is unclear what entry payments have been made, nor is there knowledge of a boat being actively built or sailing team assembled.

Key America’s Cup dates:
✔ September 28, 2017: 36th America’s Cup Protocol released
✔ November 30, 2017: AC75 Class concepts released to key stakeholders
✔ January 1, 2018: Entries for Challengers open
✔ March 31, 2018: AC75 Class Rule published
✔ June 30, 2018: Entries for Challengers close
✔ August 31, 2018: Location of the America’s Cup Match and The PRADA Cup confirmed
✔ August 31, 2018: Specific race course area confirmed
✔ November 30, 2018: Late entries deadline
✔ March 31, 2019: Boat 1 can be launched (DELAYED)
✔ 2nd half of 2019: 2 x America’s Cup World Series events (CANCELLED)
✔ October 1, 2019: US$1million late entry fee deadline (NOT KNOWN)
✔ February 1, 2020: Boat 2 can be launched (DELAYED)
✔ April 23-26, 2020: First (1/3) America’s Cup World Series event in Cagliari, Sardinia (CANCELLED)
✔ June 4-7, 2020: Second (2/3) America’s Cup World Series event in Portsmouth, England (CANCELLED)
• December 17-20, 2020: Third (3/3) America’s Cup World Series event in Auckland, New Zealand
• January 15-February 22, 2021: The PRADA Cup Challenger Selection Series
• March 6-15, 2021: The America’s Cup Match

Youth America’s Cup Competition (CANCELLED)
• February 18-23, 2021
• March 1-5, 2021
• March 8-12, 2021

AC75 launch dates:
September 6, 2019 – Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Boat 1
September 10, 2019 – American Magic (USA), Boat 1; actual launch date earlier but not released
October 2, 2019 – Luna Rossa (ITA), Boat 1
October 4, 2019 – INEOS Team UK (GBR), Boat 1
October 16, 2020 – American Magic (USA), Boat 2

Details: www.americascup.com