Prada Cup: Taking the next step

With so little opportunity for comparison prior to the PRADA Cup Challenger Selection Series, the bookmakers had it all wrong for the Round Robin Stage on January 15-24. INEOS Team UK proved to be the class of the field as American Magic went winless. So much for experts!

While the USA team licks its wounds, which were extensive following a capsize and near sinking, the Semi-Final stage will test whether their recovery is sufficient to match the well sailed Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli. With racing on January 29 to February 2, this best of seven series will eliminate one of them.

As the Italians and Americans keep racing, the British effort will keep developing their boat, preparing to meet the remaining challenger in the Prada Cup Final between the 13th and the 22nd of February.

This final stage is a best of thirteen race series where the first team to reach seven wins will win the Prada Cup trophy and be awarded the rights to be the Challenger for the 36th America’s Cup presented by PRADA and to race the Defender Emirates Team New Zealand.

Two races per day are scheduled during the Prada Cup, the race window between 3:00pm – 6:00pm NZT with the exception of the Final’s races which will be between 4:00pm – 6:00pm NZT.

The racecourse will be a windward-leeward configuration outlined by boundaries with an upwind start and its length (approximately between 1.1 to 2.2 nm) will depend upon the exact location of the course and prevailing weather conditions.

The permitted wind range is between 6.5 and 21 knots for the Semi-finals and between 6.5 and 23 knots for the Prada Cup Final.

Factoring into course length are the time limits in which Leg 1 must be completed in 12 minutes and the entire race can not exceed 45 minutes.

The course on which the teams will sail, will be decided every racing day by the Race Management and detailed information for on-water spectating will be available on americascup.com.

All dates and times are for Auckland, New Zealand. To convert to your timezone, click here.

HOW TO WATCH:
• Details on watching the races, click here.
• Current standings, click here.
• Specific viewing options in the USA, click here.
• The Cup Experience, a pre-race show hosted by Tucker Thompson and Jack Griffin, will be on Facebook and YouTube one hour before the start time on every race day.

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) – WITHDRAWN
• DutchSail (NED) – WITHDRAWN

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
October 17, 2020 – INEOS Team UK (GBR), Boat 2
October 20, 2020 – Luna Rossa (ITA), Boat 2
November 19, 2020 – Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Boat 2

Details: www.americascup.com