Forty years ago this past September, in the waters of Rhode Island Sound just off the coastal city of Newport, a crew of Aussies shocked the sailing world. The 12 Metre Australia II defeated the American boat Liberty to win the 1983 America’s Cup and bring the New York Yacht Club’s 132-year defense of the Auld Mug to a conclusion. It’s safe to say the Cup, and my hometown of Newport, have never been the same.

I spent a lot of time on the sound that summer taking in the action, so when I signed up to volunteer on a marshal boat for the latest edition of the 12 Metre World Championship regatta in August, I found myself on the very same waters, which turned into a pretty nostalgic voyage down a nautical memory lane. But the graceful Twelve I couldn’t take my eyes off wasn’t the winner of the Modern Division, Challenge XII, or even the victor of the Traditional/Vintage Division, Columbia. Nope, I was more or less transfixed on the runner-up to Challenge XII, a striking-blue yacht called Freedom. Of all the entries in the 10-boat fleet, to me, Freedom was easily the most historic and memorable.

Three years before the Australians absconded with the Cup, in 1980, with the estimable Dennis Conner in command, Freedom won the contest in dominant fashion, and it seemed like the New York Yacht Club’s winning streak would go on forever. It was designed by the legendary naval architecture firm Sparkman & Stephens, which had drawn the lines of every Cup winner but one since 1936. Conner was back on the helm in the losing effort in ’83, but he would find redemption, winning the Cup back for the United States in Western Australia in 1987. But for S&S, Freedom marked the end of an illustrious era. The firm would never again create a Cup winner.

For the 12 Metre Worlds, ironically enough, the navigator aboard Freedom was a lanky old Aussie mate of mine called Grant Simmer, who’d served in the same capacity aboard Australia II for his country’s winning effort way back when. With the exception of the gray hair, he looked exactly the same.

This time, however, Simmer couldn’t work his magic. Unlike the America’s Cup, where boats compete in one-on-one match racing, the World Championship event is fleet racing, with everyone out on the track at the same time. It’s a different game. And Challenge XII had a ringer of its own: the president of North Sails, Ken Read, also a longtime America’s Cup veteran. As far as I was concerned, Freedom was easily the prettiest of all the Modern yachts. When push came to shove, though, it was no longer the fastest.

Today’s America’s Cup competition, conducted on closed-course race tracks in skittish foiling catamarans—about as far removed as possible from a stately 12 Metre racing in the open ocean—bears little resemblance to what the event looked like in the early 1980s. And Newport has undergone a radical makeover as well. The shipyards where the Cup boats used to reside between races have been replaced by condos and hotels, and the only real remaining trace of the America’s Cup is the boulevard of the same name. It’s a reminder that the only true constant in life is change.

But for a few afternoons last August, I could shut my eyes for a moment of reminiscence and open them up to see what I can only describe as a fleeting image of a bygone time. Freedom may be a footnote in the history of yacht racing, but the big, beautiful blue boat still looks powerful and fantastic all the same.

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They first saw her at a marina in Brisbane, Australia, and were thrilled when she turned out to be as pretty as she’d looked in the photos online. Her name had been Ulysses, because that’s what New Zealand billionaire Graeme Hart calls many of his boats. He had moved on to a new yacht, leaving the 100-foot 1976 Millkraft available for someone with a love of traditional vessels.

Charlotte Devereux turned out to be that person.

“He wasn’t the original owner. It was a custom build in Australia. I think he was the second or third owner, but he’d done quite a bit of work on her and spent a lot of money on her,” says Devereux, who, along with her life partner, bought the boat and renamed her Sea Breeze III. “We really discovered how beautiful she was with the beautiful features and mahogany finishing and 9-karat-gold sinks—there are all these details that were absolutely phenomenal.”

Devereux had run a 12-room boutique hotel in New Zealand, and her family had restored classic boats when she was growing up. Her partner is a former America’s Cup sailor who competed as a grinder during the races in Perth, Australia, in 1987. Together, they decided to refit Sea Breeze III into a “boutique-style” charter vessel in time for bookings at the America’s Cup in Auckland in March 2021.

As this issue of Yachting lands on newsstands, work is scheduled to be completed on the structural part of the refit, which includes adding a bulkhead, renovating the crew quarters, and raising the bridge deck to allow more headroom on the main deck below.

“By raising it, we gain more headroom,” Devereux says, “and it allowed for reinforcements, so we can take up to 99 guests out for a day charter at events like the America’s Cup, where you want a spectator platform.”

The yacht’s exterior lines won’t change, she says, but after the structural part of the refit is complete, work on the interior will begin, probably in June. Devereux was still looking for the right interior designer this past spring, trying to find someone who shares her sensibilities about style.

“We don’t want the nautical look,” she says. “We want something that—for example, I had my boutique hotel, the Devereux Hotel, years ago, and it had all the rooms decorated. What caught everybody’s attention was that it wasn’t just a traditional hotel. On boats, you tend to still see the traditional or the very modern. We wanted to bring in something that’s not being done in the boating world, something out of an interior magazine like Elle or Vogue where you wouldn’t actually believe it’s a boat.”

In her mind’s eye, she sees an updated version of the Devereux Hotel for the yacht’s three guest staterooms and other living areas.

“Each room had a different country theme,” she says of her hotel. “There was a French room, an Egyptian room, the Tuscany room, the Antigua room—from the bedding to the decor, it was that theme with gorgeous antiques from around the world. We want to do that on the boat, to showcase beautiful artwork and antiques. It’s such a historic boat that it’s wonderful to bring that in—but with modern elements to give it a twist.”

The interior work is expected to take another few months, making Sea Breeze III available for charter toward the end of this year. Inquiries are already coming in for one-week bookings during that time period, Devereux says, as well as for longer-term charters at the America’s Cup—when the yacht will require a minimum booking of 30 days.

“That’s what most of the boats here are doing,” she says. “Some are talking about booking for 90 days. It’s crazy. There aren’t a huge amount of boats available, but one has booked for 40 days, another for 34, so people are needing to get in quickly because they are getting snapped up. People can bring guests on for the day and then stay for the night, then maybe they can cruise to the islands that we have within reach.”

During the America’s Cup, Sea Breeze III will be based at Auckland’s Viaduct, which is also where the Prada Race Village will be to support the Luna Rossa Challenge campaign.

“We’ll be somewhere in that small area, right in the small hub of it,” Devereux says. “I say to the teenage girls, ‘Well, this is going to be a bit of fun, having Prada right next door.’”

Devereux plans to be there herself, serving as hostess aboard Sea Breeze III just as she did for guests at the Devereux Hotel back in the day. Her plan is to coordinate whatever the guests want, be it a yoga instructor, disc jockey or trained bartender.

“We’re very much about creating a very special experience,” she says. “This isn’t about white-glove butler service. This is about a wonderful New Zealand experience.”

Take the next step: 37southyachtcharter.com

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KVH Industries has been named an official supplier of New York Yacht Club American Magic, a challenger for the 36th America’s Cup.

In an effort to create high-speed data transmissions that allow for a competitive edge, KVH installed satellite- and cellular-based communications equipment for the team’s chase boats. In addition, KVH is providing fiber-optic gyro-based sensors to aid in performance metrics for the team’s race boats.

“We are proud to support New York Yacht Club American Magic in its challenge for the America’s Cup,” Martin Kits van Heyningen, chief executive officer of KVH, stated in a press release. “There is special meaning for us since the America’s Cup is part of KVH’s history, with our very first product developed for a 12-meter yacht preparing for the 1980 America’s Cup.”

The connectivity equipment KVH installed includes the TracPhone LTE-1 and the satellite-based TracPhone V3-HTS. The two systems will be configured for least-cost routing, ensuring uninterrupted and cost-effective data delivery via automatic switching between LTE and satellite services.

Where will the technology be used? It’s expected to be part of the training in Newport, Rhode Island, and Pensacola, Florida, as well as in Italy.

Take the next step: click over to kvh.com

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Seventy-five-foot monohulls. That’s the word from Emirates Team New Zealand, defender of the 2021 America’s Cup, and Italy’s Luna Rossa, the challenger of record, about the type of boats that will race in the next edition of the greatest yachting show on Earth. Gone are the 50-foot foiling catamarans that Oracle Team USA’s owner, Larry Ellison, saw as the sport’s future, replaced by a return to tradition that the Kiwis think might attract a bevy of top-notch sailors, as they’re more comfortable with monohulls.

In fact, Oracle Team USA may not participate at all. As of this writing, the challenger from America is the New York Yacht Club, which held the Cup from 1851 until 1983. The NYYC is returning to the event, in partnership with Bella Mente Quantum Racing Association, for the first time since 2002-03.

None of this is to say we’ll see Cup crew racing classic 12 Meters or J-Class yachts around the buoys off the Auckland coast the way those boats used to ply the waters off Newport, Rhode Island. Some tantalizing hints are being dropped about the possibility of foiling monohulls, which are no stranger to the racing circuit.

“We do know that cycle grinders, which powered the Kiwis’ catamaran at the most recent America’s Cup, will be allowed. And the monohulls will have more crew: 10 to 12.”

For now, it’s anyone’s guess at how the next America’s Cup yachts will look. Class concepts for the 75-footers were scheduled to be released November 30, with the class rule set to be published on March 31.

We do know that cycle grinders, which powered the Kiwis’ catamaran at the most recent America’s Cup, will be allowed. And the monohulls will have more crew: 10 to 12, compared with the half-dozen the cats required.

Also new will be Italian fashion house Prada replacing Louis Vuitton as sponsor of the Challenger Selection Series. Prada is a backer of the Luna Rossa team, and interestingly, ­America’s Cup organizers are saying the 2021 event is “intended to be” held in New Zealand, with Italy as a backup venue.

As ­always with the America’s Cup, intrigue is the only certainty.

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Nathan Outteridge, Artemis Racing skipper, discusses foiling technology in this Surface to Air preview. Courtesy Altair

America’s Cup foiling-catamaran technology is as intriguing as racing those vessels is exhilarating. That’s why Altair, an engineering and design firm working with Sweden’s AC35 Team Artemis Racing, offers a behind-the-scenes look at that technology with Surface to Air, a 12-minute film that explores the design process behind foiling catamarans.

“I saw the America’s Cup as high-profile race competition, but it is much more than that. It is a design competition pushing the limits of physics and engineering.”

David Durocher, Altair Engineering Manager

Altair is specifically focused on simulation technology that increases design efficiency, which can be very helpful when minute differences in design can significantly alter performance, such as for an America’s Cup foiling catamaran. The company partnered with Artemis Racing to assist in designing and developing its daggerboard, the part of the catamaran that propels it into the air. The film promises to dive “into what’s required to build the fastest sail boats to ever exist,” says Altair.

Surface to Air is available on Altair’s website, as well as on Apple iTunes, Amazon and Google Play.

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After winning the final match of the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Challenger Playoffs, Emirates Team New Zealand is back for a grudge match against Oracle Team USA.

Since the Kiwis’ dramatic 2013 loss in San Francisco against the come-from-behind American team, New Zealand has been determined to win.

Four years ago, Oracle Team USA skipper Jimmy Spithill turned a 1-8 deficit against Emirates Team New Zealand into 9-8 victory for the Americans, snatching the overall America’s Cup victory and leaving Team New Zealand stunned. The Kiwis have fought hard this year to try for a different outcome, this time with Peter Burling as helmsman.

“There’s an ‘X’ factor with Peter Burling,” John Bertrand, the winning America’s Cup skipper for Australia in 1983, told The New York Times. “What he has achieved in the Olympics and the Cup, he’s a phenomenon. It’s a rare, instinctive, natural talent.”

Oracle Team USA

Returning this year from the 2013’s Emirates Team New Zealand crew is skipper Glenn Ashby—who knows the world of sailing is ready to see how the grudge match plays out.

“If I had a dollar for every time it’s been talked about,” Ashby said at a press conference, “I probably wouldn’t be having to sit here to earn a crust.”

Emirates Team New Zealand’s technical adviser, Max Sirena, told the New York Times that for most of the crew, the 2017 America’s Cup is their first. They want to win for Kiwi national pride as much as to make up for what happened in 2013.

Oracle Team USA, meanwhile, has been watching and studying the challenger throughout the qualifying rounds. As crewmember Joey Newton put it, “We’re not giving this up without a fight.”

The first match of the finals is scheduled for Saturday.

Find all of Yachting‘s coverage of the 35th America’s Cup here!

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Emirates Team New Zealand defeated Land Rover BAR in the Challenger semi-final 5-2, an impressive recovery after a terrifying capsize. The team then went on to finish the finals with another 5-2 win over the Swedes.

New Zealand’s skipper Glenn Ashby believes this year’s team is a very strong competitor for the U.S. team. He states the passion for innovative design is what helps team New Zealand stay ahead of the pack in the Challengers races.

“Having not done a lot of racing against any other AC50s, um, you know, the battle that we had going against Artemis over the last few days has certainly been a very, very valuable experience for us,” Ashby said during a post-race press conference. “We’ve been very aggressive from day one… with our design… obviously, you know, the cycling side of things, you know, is just one part of the whole program.”

“We didn’t need much on our side last time to be successful, and I think we’re in that same position now where we don’t need a lot to go our way to definitely be on the hunt.”

Glenn Ashby

The first AC35 finals’ race between Emirates Team New Zealand and Oracle Team USA is on June 17.

Find all of Yachting‘s coverage of the 35th America’s Cup here!

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While America’s Cup teams including Groupama Team France and Land Rover BAR built their boats from scratch, SoftBank Team Japan not only bought its designs from Oracle Team USA, but also partnered with the same engineering company: Airbus.

No rules were broken, but some have questioned the engineering partnership. America’s Cup protocol allows for the purchase of basic catamaran design packages, but the similar tech-intel ties to Airbus were debatable. Dean Barker of SoftBank Team Japan justified the use of Airbus by saying the two teams operate separately on key areas of designing and configuring their catamarans, Reuters reported.

Airbus has knowledge in aerodynamics, composites, structures, hydraulics, data analysis and more — all of it used in the AC35 catamaran design process.

“The technology they bring to the table is obviously undisputable,” Barker stated in an Airbus press release. “They have a huge amount of experience in the aeronautical industry, and I think as the technology advances with America’s Cup sailing, you are relying on other industries to help us to develop at the highest possible level.”

As the first Japanese challenger in 20 years, SoftBank Team Japan was hoping the design and tech buy-in would get them up to speed, and fast. They survived to the semi-finals, with two make-or-break matches today against Artemis Racing.

Find all of Yachting‘s coverage of the 35th America’s Cup here!

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The venue could not have been better as tropical breezes and clear-blue water kept everyone relaxed and happy as they watched the all-carbon, space-age racing sailboats of the America’s Cup whiz around the course at speeds approaching 50 knots. The Moorings cat itself is a highly useable platform for such an occasion as the boat’s large, wide decks let everyone have enough space to really spread out as they take in the races.

The boat’s two crew were incredibly diligent, getting us in the right spot to catch all the action while also keeping the passengers refreshed with good food and cold drinks. It was quite the event, and one made all the more special by our time aboard.

Find all of Yachting‘s coverage of the 35th America’s Cup here!

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Here’s a look at three tech advances that still have all the teams learning on the course as well as in the sheds after each day’s racing is done.

Wingsails

Wingsails share more similarities with aircraft wings than conventional soft wings, and at speeds approaching 50 knots on the water, they’re under serious pressure to perform.

When Land Rover BAR suffered damage to its wingsail, Sir Ben Ainslie told ABC News that it was a “technical bit of kit, so I can’t talk too much about exactly what did break, but it has something to do with the wing-control system, and a breakdown there that was pretty catastrophic.”

Paul Campbell-James, the wing trimmer, told the Financial Times that “the wing just went ‘pop'” and shifted from its usual setting to being at maximum camber and power, leaving the America’s Cup sailors helpless. “In three years of sailing we have maybe had one wing breakage,” he said. “And here we are in the first race of the semi-final and it goes pop.”

When it comes to getting the wingsail system under control, Land Rover BAR’s chances at this point lie as much in its technical team as in its sailing skills.

Hydrofoils

Hydrofoils are mounted underneath the catamaran’s hull and lift it out of the water, increasing its speed. The AC35 teams are still seeing just how far they can push the hydrofoil technology; Emirates Team New Zealand, prior to its capsize yesterday, was looking impressive in this area, having completed the whole course once on hydrofoils without the hull touching the water.

“The systems required to control the foils are a new area for Cup teams,” said Land Rover BAR’s Chief Technology Officer Andy Claughton. “To do this the crew has to manually pump the hydraulic fluid back and forth to effect the controls.”

Perhaps it was inevitable that Emirates Team New Zealand would become both the first to foil the whole course and the first to push hard enough to capsize. Back in April, Skipper Glenn Ashby told Stuff, “Every day you have a few of those moments where you think, ‘oooh we got away with that one.’ … You are pushing to find where the edge of those limits are.”

Bicycle-Style Grinders

After preparing the technology for around three years, Emirates Team New Zealand introduced bicycle-style grinders at the beginning of this year. On the hull, four bikes power the hydraulic system, which raises and lowers the foils and pulls in the wingsail.

Other teams rejected the technology. According to Cup Experience, they did not feel the effort was worth it since it would decrease crew mobility, with traditional grinders able to run back and forth between hulls.

So far, the technology itself seems to be holding up, with no major problems reported.

In fact, the only major issue surrounding grinders so far has involved the traditional ones and sailing technique, when Land Rover BAR’s catamaran came down upon Softbank Team Japan in a crash—and one of the latter’s grinder pedestal handles tore a hole clear through the Land Rover BAR boat hull. The damage was so extensive that it required nearly 20 feet of the carbon-fiber casing and aluminum honeycomb filling to need cutting away and repair.

Find all of Yachting‘s coverage of the 35th America’s Cup here!

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