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AC75

Racing yacht used in the 2021 America's Cup

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The AC75 (America's Cup 75) is a racing yacht used in the 2021 America's Cup and 37th America's Cup matches and planned to be used for the 38th America's Cup match. The 23 m (75 ft) monohulls feature wing-like sailing hydrofoils mounted under the hull, a soft wingsail, and no keel.

01The rule

Following the 2017 America's Cup, winners Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron accepted a notice of challenge from Circolo della Vela Sicilia stipulating a monohull would be used in 2021. Conceptual graphics of a monohull with soft sails and topside canting hydrofoils were released on 21 November 2017, and the first draft of the class rule was published by the defender and the challenger of record on 29 March 2018. The return to monohulls with soft sails after three America's Cups on multihulls with wingsails is reminiscent of earlier America's Cup classes and seaworthy traditions, but the rule included hydrofoils to attract high performance crews and large TV audiences.

Under the protocol, each competing club could build two yachts, but two-boat testing was excluded except during the PRADA Christmas Cup on 17-20 December 2020, and for the defenders during the PRADA Cup 15 January, 22 February 2021. To reduce design and testing costs of the class unique class features, the rule specified foil controlling systems all manufactured by defender team and foil arms all manufactured by the Challenger of Record's builder Persico Marine.

02List of AC75 yachts

SyndicateNameShipyardLaunchedCompetitive historyCurrentNotes
Emirates Team New ZealandTe AiheETNZAuckland, 6 September 2019Trial boat (never raced)Sold to Alinghi as a training boat for AC37. Renamed BoatZero
American MagicDefiantAmerican MagicNewport, RI, 14 September 2019Trial boat (never raced)
Luna Rossa Prada PirelliLuna RossaPersico MarineCagliari, 2 October 2019Trial boat (never raced)
INEOS Team UKBritanniaCarrington BoatsPortsmouth, 4 October 2019Trial boat (never raced)
American MagicPatriotAmerican MagicAuckland, 16 October 2020Raced in the 2021 Prada CupUsed as training boat for AC37. De-commissioned in February 2023
INEOS Team UKBritanniaCarrington BoatsAuckland, 17 October 2020Raced in the 2021 Prada Cup
Luna Rossa Prada PirelliLuna RossaPersico MarineAuckland, 20 October 2020Winner of the 2021 Prada Cup
Lost the 2021 America's Cup to Emirates Team New Zealand (7-3)
Emirates Team New ZealandTe RehutaiETNZAuckland, 18 November 2020Winner of the 2021 America's CupSold to Team Australia Challenge for AC38
Emirates Team New Zealand Taihoro ETNZ Auckland, 11 April 2024 Winner of the 2024 America's Cup
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Luna Rossa Persico Marine Cagliari, 13 April 2024 Raced in the 2024 Louis Vuitton Cup
Alinghi Red Bull Racing BoatOne ARBR Barcelona, 16 April 2024 Raced in the 2024 Louis Vuitton Cup
INEOS Britannia Britannia Carrington Boats Barcelona, 1 May 2024 Winner of the 2024 Louis Vuitton Cup
Lost the 2024 America's Cup to Emirates Team New Zealand (7-2)
American Magic Patriot American Magic Barcelona, 7 May 2024 Raced in the 2024 Louis Vuitton Cup
Orient Express Team Orient Express Multiplast Barcelona, 29 May 2024 Raced in the 2024 Louis Vuitton Cup

The visible differences between designs have been commented by most of the yachtbuilding community and the specialized press as each of the boats were launched.

03Speeds

Potential speed of 50 kn (93 km/h; 58 mph) was claimed based on computer simulations.

Notable high speeds actually recorded in racing were:

  • 49.1 kn (90.9 km/h; 56.5 mph) by Te Rehutai (in 15 and 19 kn (28 and 35 km/h; 17 and 22 mph)) on 17 December 2020.
  • 50.25 kn (93.06 km/h; 57.83 mph) by Britannia during day 4 of the Prada Cup 23 January 2021.
  • 53.31 kn (98.73 km/h; 61.35 mph) by Patriot (American Magic) during day 1 of the Prada Cup Semifinals (in breeze gusting up to 22 kn (41 km/h; 25 mph)) on 29 January 2021.
  • 55.2 kn (102.2 km/h; 63.5 mph) by Luna Rossa (Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli) during day 3 of the Louis Vuitton Cup Final on 29 September 2024.
  • 55.5 kn (102.8 km/h; 63.9 mph) by Britannia (INEOS Britannia) during day 5 of the Louis Vuitton Cup Final on 1 October 2024.

04Controversy

Following the release of the canting hydrofoil design in 2017, Brazilian shipwright Manoel Chaves contacted ETNZ to inform them that he held a patent for the proposed design. Team New Zealand apparently ignored correspondence from Chaves' patent attorneys for over two years before simply dismissing the allegations. ETNZ defended themselves with the statement "every good idea has 1000 fathers".

Watch videos about AC75Explainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article AC75, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Images, from Wikimedia Commons:

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