ARC Team USA adds Annie Haeger and Ben Rosenberg to AC75 squad

ARC Team USA has added two more names to its AC75 sailing squad, bringing in Olympian Annie Haeger and Newport local Ben Rosenberg as the American challenger builds towards the 38th America’s Cup in Naples next summer.

The pair join the all-American six announced in August: Lucas Calabrese, Riley Gibbs, Hans Henken, Harry Melges IV, Michael Menninger and Louisa Nordstrom. They bring quite different things to the party – one a seasoned Olympic and SailGP campaigner, the other a foiling sailor with a serious head for data.

A six-time national champion and US Sailing’s Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year in 2015, Haeger won the Rio Olympic Test Event that same year in the women’s 470 with Briana Provancha. At the Games proper, the pair went into the medal race in third and led at the first windward mark, before a tough second beat and a penalty turn ended their podium hopes. They finished seventh.

She has since moved into professional foiling as strategist for Canada’s SailGP team. Now she becomes the second woman in ARC’s AC75 squad, alongside Nordstrom. Haeger is conscious the appointment carries weight beyond her own campaign, hoping that “seeing more women competing at this level inspires the next generation to aim just as high.”

Rosenberg’s is a more local story. He grew up sailing in Newport and raced for years under the Sail Newport banner – the club now behind the challenge. A mechanical engineering graduate of the University of Rhode Island, he won the US Youth Championship in the Nacra 15 and raced for American Magic at the Youth America’s Cup in Barcelona. He also finished eighth at last year’s Moth Worlds on Lake Garda, winning a race along the way. His Moth was entered as ‘Rosenberg Analytics’, which tells you something about where his head is at.

Hence the dual role of AC75 sailor and Coaching Support Analyst. “After spending so many years representing Sail Newport, joining an America’s Cup team flying the same burgee is pretty special,” says Rosenberg. “The opportunity to combine sailing with performance analysis at this level is exactly what I’ve always wanted to do.”

CEO Ken Read sees the two signings as complementary. “Annie’s experience, competitive instincts and proven ability to perform at the highest level will be a tremendous asset,” he says, “while Ben combines real talent on the water with the analytical skills that are so important to a modern America’s Cup campaign.”

Read was just as keen to talk about the bigger picture. “It’s also hugely important that young sailors, particularly young women, can see people like Annie competing at the very top of our sport. If we’re serious about growing sailing in America, role models matter.”

ARC has come a long way in a short time. The team is backed by Czech billionaire Karel Komárek and British entrepreneur Chris Welch. It was only confirmed as an official challenger in April, and double Olympic champion Giles Scott was installed as sailing director soon after.

Its competitive debut at last month’s Preliminary Regatta in Naples began with a win in the opening fleet race. That was impressive, given Melges almost missed the event after breaking his foot stepping into a RIB in training. The Americans finished fourth, one of four teams tied on points, in a regatta dominated by Luna Rossa’s senior squad.

Next comes the unveiling of the team’s AC75, followed by its Youth and Women’s squads. New senior coach Anderson Reggio is overseeing the winter programme, and the Americans have a few months to turn early promise into something more substantial before the Louis Vuitton Cup gets under way next spring.