AC38 crew line-ups slowly coming into focus

Both Luna Rossa and GB1 are out training in Cagliari this week, their AC40s carving up the Bay of Angels as the countdown to the first preliminary regatta of the 38th America's Cup ticks under 70 days. 

Come May 21-24, a maximum of ten boats could be on the starting line – each of the five teams in the America's Cup Partnership entitled to field two AC40s, one crewed by their primary squad and another by a Youth & Women combination.

It promises to be a proper fleet-racing scrap. Emirates Team New Zealand, GB1, Luna Rossa, K-Challenge, Tudor Team Alinghi – all jostling on the same start line for the first time since Barcelona. And with Youth & Women crews hungry to take scalps off the senior teams, there's every chance we'll see some upsets.

As the recon programmes kick into gear, the crew lineups are starting to crystallise. Here’s what we know so far…

Dylan Fletcher was confirmed as helm back at the Naples event in January, alongside new CEO Ian Walker, the double Olympic silver medallist and Volvo Ocean Race winner. Hannah Mills looks very likely to take the female slot on the AC75 – the chemistry between her and Fletcher delivered GBR the SailGP Season 5 title, and they're sitting top of the Season 6 leaderboard after three events. Mills also continues to run the Athena Pathway programme, which is trialling young British talent in Cagliari as we speak.

Yesterday, Ben Cornish became the next confirmed sailor signing of the new campaign. It's his third America's Cup, having joined from the Finn class ahead of AC36 in the role of grinder, and he's known as a versatile trimmer and helmsman who stepped up to helm alongside Fletcher during two-boat AC40 testing last cycle. More crew announcements are expected soon.

UPDATE 13/3: GB1 have also confirmed Bleddyn Mon for a fourth consecutive campaign – the Welsh sailor-designer started as a grinder in Bermuda, evolved into primary mainsail trimmer by Auckland, and was trimmer and pilot throughout Barcelona. He brings a technical edge having studied aerospace engineering and interned with Red Bull Racing F1, and will focus on control systems, rig and sail design as the AC75 enters its third iteration.

The defenders unveiled their next-gen AC75 Taihoro '2.0' earlier this week. Strong weather delayed the first planned sail on Tuesday, but the team is hoping to get out on the Hauraki Gulf imminently.

Nathan Outteridge is confirmed as skipper, having co-helmed alongside Pete Burling in the last Cup. Iain 'Goobs' Jensen, Outteridge's 49er partner from their London 2012 gold and Rio 2016 silver campaigns, joined in January, bringing experience from British and Swedish Cup campaigns and the SailGP Season 5-winning British squad.

The fight for the co-helm seat is one to watch: Chris Draper, the first British helmsman to contest a Louis Vuitton Cup final (with Luna Rossa in 2013), joined ETNZ in May 2025; Seb Menzies, the 2019 Youth Worlds winner and reigning 49er European champion, is pushing hard with one eye on LA 2028.

Jo Aleh, the 49erFX Olympic gold and silver medallist, will become the first woman to sail an AC75 when Taihoro hits the water – and she's made clear her priority is with the big boat. The core of Blair Tuke, Andy Maloney and Sam Meech remains, but much of this squad is new – Josh Armit and Jake Pye among those being brought through. With Burling and Junior gone, the Kiwis are clearly investing in their next generation.

Peter Burling was spotted at the helm of Luna Rossa's AC40 in Cagliari this week, alongside Ruggero Tita, who helmed with Jimmy Spithill for the Italian challengers in Barcelona. It could be a preview of the primary pairing for Sardinia. Burling doesn’t just bring his sailing experience – he and fellow ETNZ departee Josh Junior, who joined in a coaching role, carry deep knowledge of the Kiwi systems that left Barcelona a step ahead of everyone.

In the second AC40, three-time Optimist world champion Marco Gradoni, who led the Luna Rossa Youth squad to victory in Barcelona, is partnering with Women's America's Cup winner Margherita Porro – a potent combination that could cause problems for the senior crews.

Gigi Ugolini, Vittorio Bissaro, Max Antoniazzi and Giovanni Santi have all been seen in recent Cagliari training sessions, suggesting the Italian squad is shaping up nicely ahead of the first racing in Sardinia.

The French team previously had only confirmed skipper Quentin Delapierre, but last week came big news: Diego Botín and Florian Trittel are joining the campaign. The Spanish pair are 2024 Olympic gold medallists in the 49er, SailGP Season 4 champions, 2025 49er world champions and 2024 World Sailors of the Year – now chasing the triple crown of Olympics, SailGP and America's Cup. Enzo Balanger, who skippered France's Youth America's Cup team in Barcelona, remains a strong candidate to feature on the AC75 alongside the new arrivals.

For the last cycle, K-Challenge – or Orient Express Racing Team as they were known then – inherited the ETNZ design package – the hardware that we know can win the Cup. Their weakness in Barcelona looked more like systems integration, not sailing; if they solve that piece, they could be competitive quickly. A full crew announcement is expected on Tuesday.

The Swiss are holding their cards close to the chest. 2014 Optimist world champ Nicolas Rolaz is the only confirmed sailor, having served as wing trimmer and flight controller in Barcelona.

Rumours swirl around Tom Slingsby signing on with the Swiss, having helmed for American Magic in the last Cup. Slingsby's arrival could bring Jason Waterhouse or Kyle Langford with him, while Phil Robertson and Dean Barker – both of whom trained on the Swiss AC75 at the end of last cycle – remain in the conversation.

Beyond the headline names, there's Swiss talent waiting in the wings. Last Cup co-helms Arnaud Psarofaghis and Maxime Bachelin are candidates to return, alongside trusted trimmer Bryan Mettraux. Nathalie Brugger looks the frontrunner for the female seat after leading the Women’s squad in Barcelona, with Maja Siegenthaler – fresh off a Fireball world title – World Match Racing Tour sailor Laurane Mettraux and Olympic ILCA campaigner Maud Jayet also possibilities.

All in all, Alinghi appear to be assembling their squad in their own time rather than chasing headlines. They'll field just one AC40 in Sardinia.

K-Challenge's full crew announcement drops on Tuesday. More GB1 signings are expected imminently. And once Taihoro 2.0 gets on the water in Auckland, we'll have our first real look at how these boats handle the transition to battery power and five-person crews. By the time the teams line up in Cagliari in May, we'll have a much clearer sense of who's ready to race – and who's still scrambling to catch up.