(December 22, 2025) – Five founding teams of the America’s Cup Partnership (ACP) have been revealed, with this newly established entity for the competition seeking to provide long-term stability and growth of the America’s Cup.

The five founding teams are:
• Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL)
• Athena Racing (GBR)
• Luna Rossa (ITA)
• Tudor Team Alinghi (SUI)
• K-Challenge (FRA)

This follows the Protocol agreement between Emirates Team New Zealand as Defender and Athena Racing as Challenger of Record announced in August 2025, which set the terms for the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup in Naples and paved the way for the America’s Cup Partnership.

“This is about preserving what makes the America’s Cup extraordinary while building a sustainable model that benefits everyone who shares our passion for this great competition,” said Grant Dalton, CEO of Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand. “We are securing the position of the America’s Cup at the pinnacle of innovation and professional sport for decades to come.”

Sir Ben Ainslie, Team Principal of Athena Racing adds, “The ACP will ensure the America’s Cup remains the ultimate proving ground for the world’s best sailors and technological advancements. It allows us to continue pushing the boundaries of naval architecture and sailing technology, maintaining the Cup’s tradition as a catalyst for innovation, while providing the stability needed to grow our audience.”

Key features of the new Partnership include:

BIENNIAL CYCLE
A commitment to a regular, fixed racing calendar of an America’s Cup every two years — creating a set moment that fans can look forward to, growing the race’s global audience and fanbase, and allowing teams, sponsors and broadcasters to plan ahead and invest long term.

INDEPENDENT MANAGEMENT
An independent, best-in-class management team focused solely on delivering sporting excellence and commercial opportunity for the America’s Cup, whilst ensuring consistent operations from one event to the next.

ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY
Shared revenues and new cost control measures creating higher levels of competition and a more level playing field, while also ensuring the America’s Cup remains at the forefront of sailing innovation.

FUTURE FOCUSED
A continued commitment to the Women’s and Youth America’s Cup, creating accessible and diverse pathways into the sport — including at least one female onboard the AC75 race boat at the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup.

Additional Quotes:
Max Sirena, CEO Luna Rossa:
“The birth of the America’s Cup Partnership marks a historic moment for the oldest competition in international sport. Luna Rossa has chosen to join a project aimed at ensuring stability, sustainability, and continuity for the America’s Cup, while respecting its values and its capacity for innovation. A responsible choice toward the sport, our fans, and future generations of Italian sailors.”

Ernesto Bertarelli, owner of Tudor Team Alinghi:
“This partnership is the embodiment of a collective commitment to further elevating sailing on the global sporting stage, whilst remaining true to the America’s Cup’s traditions, values, and competitive spirit. By working together to create a more transparent and collaborative structure, we’re ensuring that this iconic competition will thrive for generations to come. We are proud to be part of its foundation, while renewing and strengthening our long-term partnership with Tudor.”

Stephan Kandler, co-CEO of K-Challenge:
“France is an historic country for sailing and in the America’s Cup. K-Challenge has been involved since 2001 in various French Challenges; it therefore became a mission to be involved in the America’s Cup’s future as one of the founding members of the new Partnership, alongside legendary teams like Emirates Team New Zealand, Athena Racing, Luna Rossa and Tudor Team Alinghi. It will reinforce the exposure and image of the America’s Cup. It is a fantastic opportunity for the event and the teams to grow it at the same level as other leading sport properties.”

The five founding teams will together present further details of the Partnership on January 21, 2026 in Naples, Italy with dates of the America’s Cup Match revealed.

The entry period for the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup remains open until January 31st 2026, for potential new additional teams to join ACP and the competition in Naples in 2027.

Details: https://www.americascup.com/

Defender New Zealand and Challenger of Record from Great Britain confirmed the Protocol for the 38th America’s Cup on August 12, 2025. The close of the initial entry period was October 31, 2025, with late entries considered up to January 31, 2026. If no USA team participates in the 38th America’s Cup, it will be the first time in the event’s 175-year history.

After the 2024 event, Barcelona, Spain declined hosting another edition, with the venue moved to Naples, Italy. Racing will be in the spring and summer of 2027.

Source: ACM

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We know the team at Cape Horn Engineering, but they’re just too smart for us.

We are delighted to assist Drift Energy with its exciting and innovative renewable energy project. High-performance solid wing sailing vessels cruise around the world’s trade winds, harvesting green energy from underwater turbines. (Sustainability award winner 2025).

The design and development of DRIFT’s first energy harvesting ship uses the latest Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) technology from Cape Horn Engineering to ensure the vessel extracts the maximum possible energy from the power of the wind. Using these highly accurate models, we can predict vessel performance and make informed design decisions to enable optimal clean energy.

The Wind Power Generation Ship Programme integrates rigid sail wings for wind propulsion with underwater turbines, mounted to the hull of a 60m catamaran to harvest power. The vessel will be routed with AI to stay in the best wind conditions and use the electricity it produces to run an onboard electrolyser that generates and stores green hydrogen at sea.

To date, we’ve run over 500 CFD simulations, starting with the ship’s hydrodynamics and analysing the bare hull across key operating conditions to assess hull resistance. We also assessed the underwater turbine cases to compare geometries and turbine characteristics. For the ship’s aerodynamics, we analysed and assessed two rig options, testing single and multi-wing configurations in various operating conditions and control angles.

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The Ultim Trimaran Sodebo 3, of Skipper Thomas Coville and his team, are setting a record pace on the Jules Verne Trophy world circuit.

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SailGP . . . The sailing event that keeps on giving. SailGP has rolled out a stellar set of performance numbers for the 2025 season

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Prospective US AC38 challenger Riptide Racing announces Pindar by Manuport Logistics partnership for 38th America’s Cup challenge.

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Jules Verne Trophy – Day 16 The crew of The Famous Project CIC on IDEC Sport is heading east, surfing waves of 3.5 meters

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When Alexia Barrier and seven female crew of The Famous Project CIC began their pursuit of the Jules Verne Trophy on November 29, they hoped to claim the prize for the fastest crewed, non-stop, unassisted circumnavigation of the globe. More so, they wanted to be the first all-woman team to do so.

The challenge is in choosing the right time to start. Weather forecasts tend to extend only to the equator, and if an effort is behind the record pace, they soon quit. It is race against the clock, and nobody sails around the world to not win. Or maybe they do.

The record was set in 2017 by Francis Joyon and his five crew members aboard the same legendary trimaran, the 103-foot IDEC SPORT: 40 days and 23 hours. The Famous Project CIC pace to the equator was about 1000 nm behind Joyon, and it was in the southern oceans where he really excelled.

Barrier’s team is now in the South Atlantic and approaching the eastern tip of Brazil, trailing Joyon’s pace by 1245 nm as of late on December 8. It now appears the goal is to set the first all-female reference time.

The crew:
Alexia Barrier (46) – France – Captain
Dee Caffari (53) – Great Britain – First Officer
Annemieke Bes (47) – Netherlands
Rebecca “Bex” Gmuer (25) – Switzerland/New Zealand
Deborah “Debs” Blair (23) – Great Britain
Molly LaPointe (30) – USA/ItalY – Boat Captain
Tamara “Xiquita” Echegoyen (41) – Spain
Stacey Jackson (42) – Australia

Team details – Updates – Tracker

The rules for the Jules Verne Trophy are simple – it is for the fastest time around the world by any type of yacht with no restrictions on the size of the crew, starting and finishing from the exact line between the Le Créac’h Lighthouse off the tip of Brittany and the Lizard Point in Cornwall. It was first won in 1993, with all nine winners as either catamarans or trimarans. The current challenge is to beat the record time of 40 days 23 hours 30 minutes and 30 seconds set in 2017 by Francis Joyon and crew on the 31.5m IDEC Sport.

Record Facts
• Start and finish: a line between Créac’h lighthouse (Isle of Ushant) and Lizard Point (England)
• Course: non-stop around-the-world tour racing without outside assistance via the three Capes (Good Hope, Leeuwin and Horn)
• Minimum distance: 21,600 nautical miles (40,000 kilometres)
• Ratification: World Sailing Speed Record Council, www.sailspeedrecords.com
• Time to beat: 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds
• Average speed: 21.96 knots
• Date of current record: January 2017
• Holder: IDEC SPORT, Francis Joyon and a 5-man crew

Split Time References – Full Crew:
Ushant-Equator: 4d 20h 07 ‘(Spindrift 2 in 2019)
Equator-Cape Aiguilles: 6d 08h 55 ‘(Banque Populaire V in 2012)
Cape Aiguilles-Cape Leeuwin: 4d 09h 32 ‘(IDEC Sport in 2017)
Cape Leuuwin-Cape Horn: 9d 08h 46 ‘(IDEC Sport in 2017)
Cape Horn-Equator: 7d 04h 27 ‘(Banque Populaire V in 2012)
Equator-Ushant: 5d 19h 21 ‘(IDEC Sport in 2017)

Here are the nine that have held the trophy:
2017 – Francis Joyon / IDEC SPORT (31.5m) – 40:23:30:30
2012 – Loïck Peyron / Banque Populaire V (40m) – 45:13:42:53
2010 – Franck Cammas / Groupama 3 (31.5m) – 48:07:44:52
2005 – Bruno Peyron / Orange II (36.8m) – 50:16:20:04
2004 – Olivier De Kersauson / Geronimo (33.8m) – 63:13:59:46
2002 – Bruno Peyron / Orange (32.8m) – 64:08:37:24
1997 – Olivier De Kersauson / Sport-Elec (27.3m) – 71:14:22:08
1994 – Peter Blake, Robin Knox-Johnston / Enza New Zealand (28m) – 74:22:17:22
1993 – Bruno Peyron / Commodore Explorer (28m) – 79:06:15:56

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