Riptide Racing bows out of AC38 with eyes on the next cycle

The same day the America's Cup Partnership confirmed that additional late entries had been received ahead of the 31 March deadline, one American hopeful has announced it won't be among them.

Riptide Racing, the syndicate led by top match racer Chris Poole and aligned with New York's Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club, announced on Tuesday that its bid for the 38th America's Cup is over. Riptide threw its hat in the ring in December, hoping to carry the American flag after American Magic's departure, and was granted a two-month extension in January to continue sponsor talks. It wasn't enough.

"Although we achieved significant commitments from financial backers and partners, we ran out of time to line everything up for the 38th America's Cup," Poole said in a statement. "The task we had set before ourselves when we announced this challenge four months ago was ambitious, to say the least. But it has been an incredibly rewarding effort to try and accomplish in this short timeline what normally takes years."

The team isn't disappearing, though. "With just over a year until the 39th America's Cup cycle begins, our focus is now on carrying the momentum we've established forward into the next edition," Poole added. The 39th Cup is scheduled for 2029.

The withdrawal leaves the 38th America's Cup without a confirmed American entry, a notable absence given the USA held the trophy for 132 consecutive years before Australia II's breakthrough in 1983. American Magic competed in Auckland and Barcelona but opted out last October. If no US challenger emerges, Naples will be the first America's Cup in its 175-year history without an American team on the startline.

Other late challengers are understood to include a second Italian team and an Australian bid, with a Czech/USA group reportedly in talks over American Magic's AC75 from the previous Cup. The ACP says the acceptance process is underway and will confirm entries "in due course."

For now, five teams are locked in: defenders Emirates Team New Zealand, Luna Rossa, GB1, Alinghi, and rebranded French syndicate La Roche-Posay. The first racing of the cycle begins next month in Cagliari.

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