AUCKLAND — Emirates Team New Zealand had an uncomfortable moment on the Hauraki Gulf last week when the defender’s AC75 suddenly dropped off its foils and heeled hard, looking briefly on the edge of a capsize, as the Kiwis continue light-air training for the 38th America’s Cup in Naples.
A wobble in the light
The incident happened on Friday, October 9, the team’s 24th sailing day of the 2026 programme. According to Sail-World’s America’s Cup Recon report, the breeze had faded from 7-9 knots in the morning to as little as 2.5 knots around midday, well below the roughly 7.5 knots an AC75 needs to foil comfortably.
At about 12:50, the boat came off its foils during port-to-starboard tacks in 2.5-4 knots, and did so again on a later tack. Then, at 13:15, shortly after bearing away onto a downwind leg on port, the AC75 fell off the foils without warning and heeled sharply. Recon observers compared it with the French team’s prolonged capsize on July 7.
Unlike a dinghy, an AC75 that heels this far offers its crew little control over what happens next. This time the boat came back upright. The team stopped at 13:25, dealt with the problem, and was sailing again by 13:33.
Backup helmsman Chris Draper played it down, calling it “a little minor issue with the boat” and saying the shore team had the crew “back up and running in no time whatsoever.”
On board were helmsmen Nathan Outteridge and Seb Menzies, trimmers Iain Jensen and Andy Maloney, and Jo Aleh and Josh Armit.
Staying up in “Miserable Monday” conditions
The Kiwis were back on the water on Monday, October 12, under heavy cloud with an offshore breeze of mostly 4.5-7.5 knots, conditions Sail-World noted were borderline for racing. This time the boat stayed foiling for most of a 4.5-hour session, coming off only once during a tack at around 4.5 knots, and restarting quickly whenever it dipped low.
The crew changed from the J2 jib to the smaller J3 at about 6.5 knots without losing flight, and ran pre-start drills, 360-degree turns, gybes and boat-on-boat work against a chase boat. Observers also noted a lot of mast rake. Sail-World’s Richard Gladwell suggested that the lighter AC75 and the team’s test programme may be helping its light-air foiling, though he cautioned that the real picture will only emerge on the race course.
New mainsail, and a veteran’s view
By Wednesday, October 14, the 26th day on the water for the team’s AC75 Taihoro, the breeze had returned: 6-8 knots from the northeast in the morning, building to 8-14 knots in the afternoon. The team used the session to commission a new mainsail, which looked under-powered early on but came into its own as the wind built.
Tony Rae, who has been part of New Zealand’s America’s Cup efforts since 1987 and has never sailed for another team, now runs on-water operations from the chase boat and also serves as the team’s on-water medic. Asked about the new sail, he said the job is to load it up and check its size and batten tensions, adding: “So far, so good.” He described the team’s speed runs as mostly calibration work.
Meanwhile in Sardinia
Challenger Luna Rossa had a quieter session off Cagliari on the same day as the Kiwi wobble, logging about 125 minutes of foiling, 43 tacks and 37 gybes in 7-13 knots, with Peter Burling on the starboard helm. Luna Rossa won the final of Preliminary Regatta 2 in Naples earlier this season. Each team works within a sailing-day quota: the Kiwis were on day 24 of 45 on October 9, and Luna Rossa on day 21 of 49.
The road to Naples
Emirates Team New Zealand will defend the Cup in the Bay of Naples against six challengers: Great Britain’s GB1 (Challenger of Record), Luna Rossa, Tudor Team Alinghi, France’s La Roche-Posay Racing Team, Team Australia Challenge and American Racing Challenger Team USA.
- May 22–23, 2027: Louis Vuitton Cup fleet racing
- May 26 – June 11: Triple round robin
- June 12–13: Repêchage
- June 16 – July 4: Semi-finals and final
- From July 10: America’s Cup Match, first to seven wins
With racing in Naples now about seven months away, every day on the water counts, and how the AC75s handle the Bay of Naples’ often light breezes could prove decisive.
Sources: Sail-World: AC Recon Oct 9, Sail-World: AC Recon Oct 12, Sail-World: AC Recon Oct 14, America’s Cup: 2027 schedule.
