America's Cup: sailing instructions posted for the Preliminary Regatta

The Italian Challenger will also race twice on the opening day on the 22nd August, racing against the French Orient Express Racing in the final flight. Also of note will be a thrilling line-up on the first day of racing between the Challenger of Record, INEOS Britannia, and the hard-driving NYYC American Magic whilst the Swiss, Alinghi Red Bull Racing, will open the racing with a first flight against Orient Express Racing Team.

Depending on the conditions, the opening day of racing in the Preliminary Regatta may well offer some significant clues as to form and a first sight of the racing techniques and playbooks that each team have been honing over the last three years of preparation.

Four days of non-stop racing with four flights per day will ensue and the one-race final will be contested between the top two ranked teams, with the top team getting the, arguably favoured, port tack entry on the start line. The winner of the final Preliminary Regatta will have endured some of the toughest racing anywhere on the planet with none of the teams wanting a poor performance and all of them eager to test out their race preparation ahead of the Louis Vuitton Cup that starts on the 29th August.

As we get into the Louis Vuitton Cup, everything gets deadly serious with the points counting and no team able to relax. The intention will be for races in the Double Round Robin to be approximately 23 minutes long with time limits of 12 minutes for the first leg and 45 minutes for the entire race applying. The opening day of the Louis Vuitton Cup will start with a thrilling match-up between Orient Express Racing and Alinghi Red Bull Racing whilst the Preliminary Regatta format will be mirrored with Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli taking on Emirates Team New Zealand.

Remember the Kiwis, as Defenders of the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup, are automatically through to the Match in October where they will meet the winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup and their participation will cease after the conclusion of the Double Round Robin format. The Louis Vuitton Cup Double Round Robin series is scheduled to run through to a conclusion on the 8th September with three reserve days pencilled in if required through to the 11th September and with one team eliminated, the top four Challengers will go through to the semi-final knock-out stage.

One interesting rule of note in the Preliminary Regatta Race instructions is that of Rule 7.1 where: “A boat has one delay card in the Final Preliminary Regatta that it may be used to delay the starting time of that boat’s next scheduled start by 5 minutes, except a boat may not use their card for a race that has already been delayed under this SI 7.1. A boat wishing to use their card shall inform the Regatta Director prior to the Warning signal. The Regatta Director will then delay the start time of that race by at least 5minutes.”

In the Louis Vuitton Cup and the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup, this rule is amended with added time delay to read: “A boat has one delay card in each stage of the Louis Vuitton Cup Challenger Selection Series that it may be used to delay the starting time of that boat’s next scheduled start by 15 minutes. A boat wishing to use their delay card shall inform the Regatta Director prior to the Warning signal. The Regatta Director will then delay the start time of that race by at least 15 minutes.”

With little room for error, all the teams competing in the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup know that we are now at the business end of both the regatta and their campaigns. Thousands of hours have been spent in the pursuit of victory and although the Preliminary Regatta does not count towards ranking or points into the Louis Vuitton Cup, every team will be bringing their all to the regatta. When the Louis Vuitton Cup starts, there is simply no room for error but many commentators and sailors themselves are predicting one of the tightest battles ever in the 173 year history of the competition.