AC38 Preliminary Regatta 2 (AC40s)

The America’s Cup fleet races on its 2027 battleground for the first time late September.

The second Preliminary Regatta of the AC38 cycle runs from 24–27 September on the Bay of Naples, with the course set just off the Lungomare, between Castel dell’Ovo and Posillipo.

It’s sailed in AC40s, the one-design foilers, not the AC75s that will contest the Cup itself, with four sailors per boat: two helms and two trimmers. Nothing here counts towards 2027. What teams get is racing under pressure and data from the waters where the Louis Vuitton Cup and the Match will be decided.

Six of the seven teams are in, with nine boats between them. Emirates Team New Zealand, GB1 and Luna Rossa each field a second AC40 for their women’s and youth sailors. Tudor Team Alinghi, La Roche-Posay Racing Team and ARC Team USA bring one apiece. For the Americans, who weren’t required to race in Cagliari, it’s a first outing of the cycle. Team Australia isn’t racing.

Thursday is official practice. Friday and Saturday have up to three fleet races each and Sunday two more, before the top two meet in a winner-takes-all match race.

Luna Rossa won the first regatta in Cagliari in May, beating the Kiwis in the final. Peter Burling and Ruggero Tita are again named as helms, joined in the senior squad by Marco Gradoni, who steered the youth boat in Sardinia. Nathan Outteridge and Seb Menzies share the helm for the Defender, with Andy Maloney and Iain Jensen trimming.