BUSY WEEK FOR THE AC75 TEAMS AROUND THE WORLD

The phrase ‘systems controls’ is much used in the America’s Cup and it’s where big gains are being found. Controlling the sail shapes and then pre-setting those shapes so they can be accurately reproduced across a wide variety of conditions is what all the teams are seeking at this stage of the campaign. Data is fed back in real-time both to shore teams with the designers and sailmakers in situ, whilst on the water the telemetry is being captured and crunched in the Chase Boats.

For ETNZ, the on-water Recon Team noted far more ability to control the middle of the mainsail than we’ve ever seen before and the team did long runs to start evaluating just how much speed they can develop across what ended up being an all-range conditions day. The team took time to launch their mainsail, perhaps indicating new tech inside the double-skin and some of their manoeuvres, particularly on exit, surprised the Recon Team for their lack of consistency – again indicating that the sailors were working on variables in trim. Foil development which is so often such a focus of AC75 tuning up, will come later in the programme, for now it’s all about the aero package.

A similar observation was made by the Recon Team in Cagliari observing Luna Rossa who noted new camber stripes towards the top of the mainsail and also noted: “As on previous days, the mainsail head leech tended to remain quite open, leaving a visible gap between the two skins on some modes.” Furthermore, when the boat came to a stop in the middle of the session, technicians jumped onboard to look at the first batten hardware as well as looking at the mainsail traveller which is hidden beneath the fairings and is where Peter Burling has been focussing a lot of attention in recent sessions. The team members obscured the recon view so it couldn’t be ascertained whether it was a hydraulic issue or something else.

La Roche-Posay Racing Team meanwhile were in full commissioning mode having been almost a month off the water in Lorient after their capsize and subsequent lithium battery flare-up that caused a fire and smoke to emit from the transom. On the dock, the technicians were particularly interested in the Cunningham systems which effectively de-power the sails as the boat goes faster and faster, as well as the traveller system which is where the most likely cause of the capsize a month ago lay.

Once up and running, the sailing team led by Quentin Delapierre and Diego Botin looked terrific and very comfortable through most manoeuvres and take-offs with a really stable flight in a straight line. La Roche-Posay Racing Team will amp up their training to catch-up on lost time in the coming days. 

Emirates Team New Zealand Recon Report – 5th August 2026

Key Points:

-                Wide range of wind speed
-                Difficulty with main hoist
-                J4 and J3 used.
-                Cold, dense breeze. 

A cold but beautiful sunshine day in Auckland as ETNZ rolled out of the shed at a slightly earlier than usual 0815 this morning. Splashing down at 0857 and off the dock at 1000. The standard crew of Outteridge, Maloney, Jensen and Aleh, but with Draper filling in on port helm for an absent Menzies.

It was a long 30km tow down to the far end of the paddock near Passage Rock. A strong 20knot southerly was quickly easing and by the time ETNZ hoisted their M2-0 and J4-2 the breeze was already a much calmer 12-16 knots. ETNZ came off the tow at 1042 but it wasn’t until 1118 before the main was fully hoisted as the main was stuck near the bottom and paused several times as it slowly made its way up.

A bit of time was spent between the sail skins and a man was sent up the mast to get the main fully hoisted. Finally at 1129 ETNZ were able to get underway and sail up onto the foil. Lifting onto the foil at 17 knots the acceleration of ETNZ from lift-off to their racing speed seemed much quicker than usual. They were very quickly up to max VMG, especially considering the lighter winds and smaller jib. They then quickly made their way back up to Eastern Beach where the breeze was stronger and more suitable conditions for the J4-2 they had hoisted. ETNZ then performed some speed runs, reaching across the wind at close to 50 knots boat speed, along with some short up and downs before ending their first session at 1212 in the shelter of Motuihe Island.

ETNZ then changed to their J3-3 and sailed up onto the foil in a much lighter, but puffy 8-10knots behind Motuihe Island, sailing downwind to the Noises. At 1252 they fell off the foils in a gybe, the breeze was a patchy 7-8knots and below the usual range of the J3, however the failed manoeuvre was still a small surprise as the boat had plenty of entry speed but on exit appeared to suddenly stall the flow over the sails, causing a pop off the foil.

They were then briefly towed by Chase 1 to the other side of the noises where a much steadier and stronger breeze awaited. The session ended at 1307 on the northern side of Rakino Island. A quick VIP swap before ETNZ sailed back onto the foils in a sheltered 8-10knots, they then proceeded to head over to Whangaparoa where the breeze was once again much stronger. The session consisted of much longer runs up and down before ending at 13:58 up by Rangitoto Island. During these longer runs there appeared to a much more rapid and greater adjustments of the depth of mainsail than previously, with the platform itself remain relatively stable throughout. Previous sessions had seen a lot of movement in the very top of the main, but this was the most and quickest movement in the middle segment of the main we’ve seen yet suggesting a lot of work over the recent break to develop these controls and the coordination of the trimming systems. Manoeuvres overall today were minimal suggesting a focus instead on straight line speed development in the punchy, cool southerly.

ETNZ then swapped back to their J4-2 and sailed onto the foils in a nice 14-18 knot SW. Some short runs up and down closer to Takapuna Beach before running through several pre-starts, slowly working their way back up the harbour.

After multiple short runs around the inner harbour off of Mission Bay, ETNZ ended their day at 1515 in the shelter of Mechanics Bay, arriving back at the dock at 1545.

Overall, a great winter’s day sailing for ETNZ. A lot of sailing miles around the gulf in search of stronger winds to test in a higher range than usual in a cold, dense breeze. ETNZ showed quick acceleration along with increased speed and depth in mainsail trim.

La Roche-Posay Racing Team - 4th August 2026

La Roche-Posay Racing Team returned B1 to the water at Lorient for its first sailing day since the D7 incident on 7 July, after what appeared to be an extended repair and rebuild period of close to a month. The mast rolled out around 09:55 and the boat came out of the shed at 10:07.

Two small white sensors appeared to have been added at the masthead, along with a masthead windex and anemometer unit. The foils, extension fences, wings, flaps and rudder shaft all appeared consistent with the configurations used on previous sailing days; the port wing tip carried a slightly shinier silver area, with nothing else obviously changed. On the aft face of the mast tube the two upper openings appeared to have been covered over, possibly with a film. Work appeared to be continuing on the spare mast outside the shed, with a good deal of sanding work observed.

The morning ran to a westerly breeze of around 10 kt on the pontoon, with the mast raised late for stepping to keep it out of the wind. The boat was lifted around 11:15 and then held for a long first commissioning wait hanging just above the water, with the foils lowered and raised for testing.

Most of the attention through this phase appeared to centre on the port central pod, with sustained discussion and work there, and a shorter moment on the Cunningham system. A brief rain squall passed around midday. The boat was put in the water around 12:10 for a second wait, during which the control-system routine checks were run, with repeated control-system noises, traveller and sheeting-angle movements and mast rotation to both sides, the remaining concern again appearing to come from the port central pod. The dock exit was held well past its expected time, with a delay announced to the harbour on the radio, before the boat docked out at 13:46.

Sailing took place through the afternoon in a shifting WSW breeze, read at around 250 to 260 deg at Feu de Kerroch, with a distinctly lighter patch in the lee of Groix. On arrival in the sailing area the breeze was still fairly firm and shifty, over a notably choppy, almost swelly sea.

Once towed out, the mainsail and a jib (appearing to be J3-2) were hoisted, and after a further wait the boat got sailing, making a first brief self-start onto the foils at 15:07 on a starboard reach. Foiling continued from around 15:14, with a mix of bow-tow assisted starts and, later in the day, self-starts without a tow. The breeze went light around these early runs, which appeared characterised by short legs, frequent touchdowns and unstable ride height and direction in the light, choppy conditions.

A jib change, appearing to be to J2-1, was made around 15:48. Through the rest of the afternoon the breeze became more constant and the sea flattened, and the boat looked genuinely more stable in this later part. The boat appeared to accelerate quickly when bearing up. On one gybe exit, the boat heeled significantly, resulting in a heavy touchdown (10:16–10:45 in the video highlights). On one or two occasions, the boat also appeared slow to rebuild speed following a gybe. A battery change was carried out around 17:07 before the final run. Estimated angles from the RIB track put upwind around 40 to 50 deg and downwind around 140 to 155 deg.

Sailing finished at 17:30, the jib and then the mainsail were dropped, and the boat took a tow back to the marina, docking in at 18:12 to visibly happy faces aboard. In an interview at the dock, Antoine Rucard attributed the layoff to the D7 incident, which he related to water ingress that led to a battery fire, and said the systems had been stripped out of the boat for the repairs, with the boat still in a commissioning phase. The boat was back in the shed at 19:56.

Luna Rossa - 4th August 2026

For their 14th sailing day, the team rolled out their boat at 10:00 with refined bow paint job and with the longer legacy rudder R06 mounted, perhaps indicating that modifications are being carried out on the newer R05. The GoPros were removed from the starboard wing, leaving only the usual slim camera housings on both wings. The mast was quickly stepped and the boat splashed. Dock-out was scheduled for 11:30. Under a cloudy sky, the sea breeze had already filled in by then. Just outside the harbour, however, conditions were rather light, with 6–8 knots from 140° and a short 0.4 m chop.

The starting crew consisted of Marco Gradoni (helm), Umberto Molineris (trim), and Maria Giubilei (5th) on port, and Peter Burling (helm), Vittorio Bissaro (trim), and Francisco Avezedo (engineer/6th) on starboard. Later in the day, Ruggero Tita replaced Marco Gradoni, Ugolini replaced Bissaro, Pietro De Luca (engineer) replaced Francisco Avezedo, and engineer Pietro De Luca  also rotated into Maria Giubilei's position. By 12:00, J2-9 was hoisted and paired with mainsail M2-1, on which additional red stripes were noted on both skins near the head. To be confirmed whether a reinforcement has been added on top two main battens skin portion.

The first session began with a tow-to-fly by the chase boat. The yacht started sailing on starboard tack, successfully completing first tacks in patchy and light conditions. At 12:12, the boat splashed hull-borne following a mistake while exiting the first gybe. Further offshore, the sea breeze had eased even further to approximately 5 knots, prompting the team to attempt a self take-off, successfully executed. Foil-borne again by 12:15, the boat quickly bore away to resume downwind sailing. Several upwind and downwind legs were completed during the first session, with a higher number of touch-and-goes and touchdown manoeuvres observed. As on previous days, the mainsail head leech tended to remain quite open, leaving a visible gap between the two skins on some modes.

For the second session, the breeze had increased slightly by 12:55 to 6–8 knots from 135°. Foil-borne once again, the team practised several tacks followed by a tack-bear-away sequence. The chase boat then stopped, and an extended period of freestyle sailing with what appeared to be pre-start manoeuvring routines was observed until approximately 13:20. At this point, the first of two battery swaps was carried out, together with the first crew rotation. Throughout the day, the team appeared to focus considerably more on pre-start routines and manoeuvring than on straight-line sailing. Tight and complex manoeuvres such as double tacks, double gybes, full circles, and JKs were practised intensively. Although a few mistakes were observed, the overall level of consistency remained good.

By 13:30, the sea breeze had built to 9–11 knots from 135°. J2-9 was lowered and the team took a relatively long floating break. During this period, technicians were observed working on the first batten hardware as well as the mainsail track beneath the fairing panels. RU visibility was obstructed by the crew and the chase boat, making it unclear whether the team was addressing a real hydraulic issue or simply conducting a longer routine inspection.

Sailing resumed approximately one hour later. J3-1 was hoisted at 14:25 in 11–13 knots. Once foil-borne, the yacht completed several tacks before touching down and decelerating during a bear-away, possibly due to excessive rudder pull-down combined with wave impact. After two upwind and downwind legs, the team returned to intensive pre-start manoeuvring. A total of five pre-starts were sailed, alternating between port and starboard entries. Occasional but minor rudder stalls and ventilation events were observed during the sharper turns. Batteries were swapped again and crew rotated in positions 5 & 6.

Following a short debrief between the sailors and coaches, the fourth session commenced, with the yacht foil-borne again by 15:10. The breeze had eased slightly to 10–12 knots under the persistent cloud cover, and the team went directly into three additional pre-start practice runs near Sella del Diavolo. The boat then decelerated just in front of the LR base inside the harbour, the sails were lowered, and the team docked in after approximately 118 minutes of total foiling time.