On Tuesday, Team Emirates New Zealand announced . . . that they’ll be making an announcement soon regarding the protocol for the 36th America’s Cup. The Kiwis have hinted at what we might expect their wish list to look like.

" . . . Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa Challenge are pleased to announce that the protocol establishing the parameters for the 36th America’s Cup will be released in September," a press release on the Kiwis’ website said. Team New Zealand offered a "proposed" date of early 2021 for the next Match, which would be summer in the Southern Hemisphere.

"The Protocol will contain a ‘constructed in country’ requirement for competing yachts and a nationality requirement for competing crew members," the press release went on to say. No other details were offered, and the sailing world will be left in suspense for a few more weeks wondering exactly what type of boats will race for the Auld Mug the next time around.

As we suggested satirically last week — but seriously now — strong nationality rules could give the Kiwis an advantage for years to come. Or conversely, it could inspire a new generation of sailors from other countries to contest one of the world’s greatest sailing nations for supremacy.

But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. The Kiwis have only recently reclaimed the Cup, and some celebration is in order (not to mention our taking as much of a break as possible from reporting all things AC).

"It’s fantastic to be home, we’re just so proud of being New Zealanders," Grant Dalton was quoted as saying on the Emirates TNZ website on July 5. The next day, Team New Zealand marched through Auckland with the Cup, and celebrated as only the Kiwis can.

In our 40 years of going where the wind blows, one of our favorite courses has been where you’ve steered us. Since 1977, you’ve shared your photos and stories with our humble journalists and designers, and we’ve done our best to churn them out into this magazine we call Latitude 38.  

But times have changed, and everyone these days can be their own publisher. So in honor of our ‘Ruby Anniversary’ (which is apparently the stone of choice for the 40th), rather than post your pictures on the digital ether of Instagram and Facebook, why not share them with us? We’d like to open our megapixels to all of you on the water with your cameras, and publish your photos on ‘Lectronic, in the magazine and — for the very best shots — on our cover. That’s right, we are announcing an amateur Cover Photo Contest!  

Please send any submissions here (high resolution is required). And for a glimpse of past covers, click here. We can’t guarantee that we’ll publish your shots, but we’re always happy to see what people are up to on sailboats in the Bay and around the world.