The legendary New York Yacht Club (NYYC) team, which held the America's Cup for 132 years, is already training in Barcelona. On Thursday, after the official christening of the Magic – the eighth AC40 in the fleet – the sailors took to the water. It is the second of the six teams, after the Swiss Alinghi Red Bull Racing, to move to the city. The rest will do so during the month of July. The arrival of the participants marks the first major turning point in the preparation for the Copa del América. Efforts are now focused on holding the first preliminary regatta in Vilanova i la Geltrú, which will take place in less than three months, from September 14 to 17.
“In Vilanova we will be able to see all the teams competing for the first time; this first preliminary is helping us at all levels to make decisions for next year in Barcelona”, maintains the Irish Leslie Ryan, organizational director of the 37th America's Cup (AC37). Beyond the sporting aspect, the four days of regatta in Vilanova are considered a decisive test at an operational level. The objectives, on different scales, are the same: to turn the maritime competition into a great event on dry land. Attracting the public on the beaches of Vilanova, turning the Village into a space where many things happen, selecting suppliers, serving journalists from all over the world... "What happens in Vilanova will help us decide many things in Barcelona", insists the director.
The engine of the America's Cup is located in the offices of the World Trade Center (WTC) in Barcelona, with privileged views of the city and practically the bases of all the participating teams. In permanent contact with the New Zealand offices, from here all the fringes are dealt with and the structure is woven for an event whose origins date back to 1851.
After the designation of Barcelona as the venue for the America's Cup, in a first phase of the organization, the location and construction of the bases to house the boats and technical equipment of the six teams was the priority. In this section, the collaboration and work side by side with the port of Barcelona was decisive. Now the six bases are practically finished. First challenge passed.
"The team has worked very hard over the past few months to get everything ready and start directing from our base, which will be our home for the next 16 months," said NYYC American Magic coach Tom Burnham in the first statement released. from Barcelona. The base is located in the MB92 shipyard, a short distance from the Barceloneta beach, near the Hotel W and in front of the WTC, where they have built two large hangars to house the ships and all the technical deployment.
The team, of around a hundred people – which may be more or less depending on the preparation, training and event calendar – has been settling in Barcelona for a few days, as the Swiss did months ago. Alinghi Red Bull Racing was the first team to arrive in Barcelona. During the month of May alone, the Swiss trained 17 days at sea, testing boats and crews.
The Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli is scheduled to arrive next week, and America's Cup hosts and defending champions Emirates Team New Zealand, led by AC37 CEO Grant Dalton, will arrive around July 15. Your main vessel is already on its way to Barcelona. The Ineos Britannia is scheduled to arrive at the end of July and the last to arrive in the city, in August, will be the French Orient Express Racing Team, the last to confirm their participation in the challenge.
Thus, from now on and throughout the summer, the people of Barcelona will be able to see from the beach how these spectacular AC40 and AC75 boats navigate a few meters from the coast, through what will be the future regatta course. In this way, the teams test new technologies and new foils (hydrofoils) that provide these boats with incredible speeds above the water, in excess of fifty knots.
The possibility of seeing the boats live from the beach and the seafront of the city is one of the aspects that make the Barcelona edition unique and it is a feature that was also valued when looking for a location to hold the first preliminary regatta. In Vilanova i la Geltrú, as in Barcelona, the regattas can be seen from the seafront and will also be broadcast live and open in the same location and all over the world.
The teams will leave their bases and summer training in Barcelona to travel to Vilanova i La Geltrú at the beginning of September, days before the regattas, and provisional bases will be erected to house the cranes and house their AC40 sailboats. These boats are the ones that will be used for the Puig Woman's American Cup and the Youth American Cup, which are being held for the first time in Barcelona and which will allow the best sailors in the world to be seen in action and the youth team of future champions. Twelve teams will participate in each category and, in this case, the epicenter of the event will be located in the renovated Port Olímpic.
"In Vilanova we are now working on the bases so that all the equipment can be installed," insists Ryan. The operational focus is now focused on that scenario. The preliminary regatta is considered the great general rehearsal at all levels. There it is planned to locate at least three points with giant screens to follow the competition. In Barcelona, the Moll de la Fusta will be the key location for the public. There will be installed at least three more points with screens so that the public can follow all the details of the regattas.
In parallel to the bulk of the operation, a few days ago the volunteer program also started. The process to select 2,300 people has already begun and over the next few days the first confirmed ones who will participate first in the Vilanova i la Geltrú preliminary regatta will be announced.
