AC75 fleet racing to kick off 38th America’s Cup

The schedule has been revealed for the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup in Naples next year – with fleet racing for the AC75s featuring in what promises to be a stunning season opener next May.

As revealed by regatta director Iain Murray on Monday, the Louis Vuitton Cup Challenger Selection Series will begin with an opening schedule of six fleet races for the seven AC75s on the entry, in what the America’s Cup claim will be “the ultimate showcase of high-performance sailing on the Bay of Naples and promises to be a spectacle unrivalled in sailing”.

Three fleet races will kick off the opening Group Stage 1 on Saturday May 22, with three more following on Sunday May 23. It will mark the first time that AC75 yachts have raced together on the same race course in a fleet race format.

The process of selecting a Challenger that will face the Defender Emirates Team New Zealand in the Match then moves on to one-on-one match races in pairs from Wednesday May 26. A total of 21 races in this ‘round robin’ format will be held from the Wednesday to Friday May 28.

ETNZ will play a part in both the fleet and match races, but their results won’t be counted in the final Challenger standings.

The pace of racing promises to be relentless. The second batch of 21 ‘round robin’ races follows immediately, on Saturday May 29, Sunday May 30 and Monday May 31.

What will be a much-needed ‘week off’ (as the American’s Cup puts it) follows – although not for teams and sailors who also compete in SailGP. The New York SailGP takes place on June 5/6…

Then the third and final series of ‘round robin’ races runs from Wednesday June 9 to Friday June 11. Those 21 match races will decide who goes forward to the Louis Vuitton Cup semi-finals, with the top three Challengers progressing automatically.

The remaining three will compete in the ‘Repêchage’ where the final coveted place in the semi-finals will be fought for over a series of match races. This takes place on the weekend of June 12-13.

Now the semi-finalist line-up is decided, racing continues on June 16-20 (with a reserve day on June 21) to decide which teams will contest the Louis Vuitton Cup Final.

The format for the Final is simple: 13 races, with the first to claim seven wins winning the right to challenge for the America’s Cup. These take place on the weekend of June 26-27, and if it goes the full distance could finish the following weekend of July 3-4.

The winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup then proceeds to face ETNZ. The Match will begin on the weekend of July 10-11, with the simple aim of becoming the first to win seven races.

A minimum span of five days has been planned for. Should the Match prove as competitive as fans will hope and it goes the distance, the final day of racing is scheduled for July 19 – although the race director reserves the right to extend in the face of poor weather.

Then for whoever wins the 38th America’s Cup, the celebrations will begin – but perhaps they won’t get too carried away. The next SailGP round, in Portsmouth, is scheduled for July 24-25…

It’s going to be a breathless summer in 2027.