NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand defends 36th America’s Cup in race of flying monohulls

March 6, 2021

Emirates Team New Zealand faces Italy’s Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team for the 36th America’s Cup. The Italian team scored an emphatic victory over Ben Ainslie’s INEOS Team UK in the best-of-13 Prada Cup final in February, winning 7-1. American Magic’s bid for the cup ended on Jan 17, when its yacht, Patriot, capsized and nearly sank during a race against the Italian team.

All the crews have been sailing futuristic AC75s monohull yachts, which Cup organizers describe as "designed to fly." They replace the foiling multihulls of the previous three America’s Cup races.

The trophy defender and the Challenger of Record win the right to set the agenda for the following Cup, so the New Zealanders and Italians made the key decisions for 2021.

Encyclopedia Britannica notes that the America’s Cup has often resulted in litigation, particularly over boat design. The controversial race of 1988, between the winning American 60-foot catamaran (multihull) and New Zealand’s 132-foot monohull had to be decided in the courts. It led to a redefinition of the rules governing future races.

According to Britannica, the America’s Cup was first offered as the Hundred Guinea Cup in 1851 by the Royal Yacht Squadron of Great Britain for a race around the Isle of Wight. The cup was won by the America, a 100-foot (30-metre) schooner from New York City, and subsequently it became known as the America’s Cup. The American winners of the cup donated it to the New York Yacht Club in 1857 for a perpetual international challenge competition.

#23671 Updated: FEB 22 TO REFLECT PRADA CUP RESULT