Cup Protocol Announced, Sort of

So it’s definitely monohulls, we think, but we’re pretty sure on that one. And they might be foiling monohulls, but that’s just a rumor. And there will definitely not be cyclers, unless there will be. And the Match will obviously be held in New Zealand, except if it’s not. Then it will be held in Italy.

Ah yes, the America’s Cup. One month of yacht racing, and four years of protocol negotiations accented with more rumors and conjecture than even the Hollywood gossip columns can muster.

For weeks now, we’ve been hearing vague details to a long-awaited question that some saw as a battle for the soul of sailing’s biggest show: Monohulls are making a comeback. 

Today, the New Zealand Herald is reporting that 75-ft monohulls will be used in the 36th Cup. Each team will be allowed to build two. There will be a 20% nationality rule, which translates to about three crew on a boat, according to the Herald (the rest of the crew will have just over a year to establish residency).

And that’s all we’re going to say for now, because we’ve been chasing our tail the last few weeks repeating cryptic details from various interviews. Radio New Zealand originally reported in mid-September that it would be foiling monohulls, something that hasn’t been denied outright, but hasn’t been confirmed by Emirates Team New Zealand CEO Grant Dalton, either. 

There were also emphatic headlines announcing that: Cyclors will be thing of the past for 2021 America’s Cup. "Directly asked if it was goodbye to the cyclors we saw in Bermuda this year, Dalton was short and to the point. ‘Grinders are coming back,’" Stuff.co.nz reported on September 19. 

But today’s Herald article said perfunctorily: "Cyclors not banned." (Yes, they spell ‘cyclers’ that way.)   

And we’re not even sure where the Cup will actually be held. "Isn’t it going to be in New Zealand?" you might rightfully ask, to which we can only shrug our shoulders. "Dalton said there is a deadline of August 30 next year to decide whether Auckland will be ready to host the event," the Herald reported. Dalton was quoted as saying, "The only reason we went to the America’s Cup was to bring it back here. This is where we want to hold it, but we’ve got nothing in place yet."

Dalton said if "for whatever reason" the Cup cannot be held in Auckland, it would be held in Italy instead, home of Challenger of Record Luna Rossa.

The challenger series, which has been known as the Louis Vuitton Cup since 1983, will be the Prada Cup for the next go around. "The Challenger of Record will organize the Prada Cup and the Defender will organize the America’s Cup Match while cooperating with regards to commercial issues such as sponsorship and broadcast rights for the 36th America’s Cup as a whole," Scuttlebutt reported yesterday.  

So for now, we’ll stop chasing our tail (or stop letting the tail wag us), let the dust settle and kick back while we watch some local Opti racing — as long as there’s no discussion about new protocols. With all things America’s Cup, we’re always curious: What do you think?