Emirates Team New Zealand claim ‘First-Mover Advantage’ with the rollout their America’s Cup AC75 ‘Taihoro’ at their Wynyard Quarter base in Auckland.
As expected ETNZ are first to rollout their America’s Cup AC75 after months behind closed doors at the team’s bespoke North Shore boat build facility for a major Refit/Rebuild.
‘Taihoro’ was returned to its Wynyard Quarter base, after a stealthy midnight run across the Harbour Bridge arriving at 4am.
Boat Captain Spencer Loxton and the dedicated Shore Crew were there to welcome the AC75 safely into the cradle where she will be fitted out with the complex internal hydraulic and electronic systems that run the boat.
The rebuilt AC75 was described by the ETNZ press release as: leaner, sharper, and looking just like new.
This ‘refit’ wasn’t just a maintenance check, the 37th America’s Cup winning Taihoro has been stripped and reconfigured to conform to the Class Rule and Technical Regulations of the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup.
Loxon described the roll-out . . . “It’s a pretty important milestone in the campaign because today really reiterates how this America’s Cup is coming around a whole lot quicker this time without having to build a new boat.”
“Now we move into a solid period of fit out and shed commissioning for Taihoro and then she’ll be back out on the water here on our home waters in Auckland for general sailing commissioning and testing the upgrades.”
“The upgrades have not just been a fresh coat of paint. The engineering team has been busy trimming the fat and reconfiguring the layout to meet the latest class evolution.”
“Before we know it, we’re going to be sailing Taihoro in Auckland again, then into the Preliminary Regatta starting in Sardinia in May 2026 [IN AC40s], and then, we’re not actually far away from the actual America’s Cup in Naples in 2027.”
“So, it’s all getting very real, very quickly,” said Loxton lowering the shed doors to house Taihoro before the boat emerges for her first [test] sail of the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup.
As Loxton has indicated, time is of the essence, and it seems that the Kiwis have a useful advantage . . . despite the much vaunted leveling of the traditional America’s Cup defender advantage.
Under the AC38 Protocol the next America’s Cup teams will reuse their existing AC75 hulls and rigs.
The AC75 changes required are not minimal tweaks. The new changes require rebuilding the deck and hull structure to remove the Cyclor fittings and incorporate battery packs, changes to control systems, hydraulics and electronics.
Old masts must be used, and a mix of old and new sails. Similarly with the foils and flaps, a mix of old and new allowed. The period for testing all this is restricted to a maximum of 45 days between 15 Jan 2026 and 14 Jan 2027, and then for a further 45 days in 2027 up to the first Preliminary Cup Regatta.
The ‘Road to Naples 2027’ begins in Cagliari this May with the opening Prelim Regatta of the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup.
That first event will be a long-weekend of AC40 fleet racing over the 21 – 24 May 2026, culminating in a winner-takes-all, one-off, match-race.
