Southern Spars: Tech meets Talent in the AC40s for the Youth and Womens America's Cups

Luna Rossa sailing their AC40 against their LEQ12 test boat in Sardinia © Ivo Rovira / America's Cup

As we approach the start of the UniCredit Youth America’s Cup on 17th September, and the Puig Women’s America’s Cup on 5th October, excitement is building around the AC40s and their crews.

The AC40 is a fully one design yacht from bow to stern, eliminating the technical recon that surrounds the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup, bringing the focus sharply onto the teams and their personnel.

Proven Sailors, New Challenges

Don’t be misled by the name, the Youth America’s Cup crews are far from inexperienced. They include Olympians and world champions across various classes. The Puig Women’s America’s Cup showcases some of the most prolific names in world sailing, including the likes of Hannah Mills—one of the most successful female Olympians of all time.

Foiling to the Future

The AC40 has captured the imagination, representing the next stage in the exciting evolution of foiling innovation. Fans had a preview of what to expect from the most exciting new foiling class during the first two America’s Cup preliminary regattas in Jeddah and Barcelona—and it did not disappoint.

Many of the sailors preparing to compete have experience in exciting foiling classes like Moth, Wazp, 69F and in the F50s of SailGP—giving us the exciting prospect of a diverse range of foiling practitioners competing at the highest level.

Foiling yachts are evolving in all directions and Southern Spars is proud to be playing its part—even bringing lessons from America’s Cup innovation to landmark maxi & superyacht projects in recent years, such as Mills 60 ‘Flying Nikka’ and Baltic 111 ‘Raven’.

Jo Aleh - New Zealand Women's America's Cup team - photo © Emirates Team NZ

The Ultimate Engine Above Deck

The smaller sibling of the AC75, each AC40 is fitted with 3Di sails from North Sails, a high-performance carbon rig from Southern Spars, and Future Fibres multistrand composite rigging. Leading edge technologies from across our group of companies combine to form the world’s most decorated engine above deck, optimised to work together and push the boundaries of sailing performance.

AC75 vs AC40

The AC40 has plenty in common with its larger counterpart. With respect to its rig package, the AC40 also features a D-shaped Southern Spars mast, which rotates up to 45° to harness the performance power of its twin skin North Sails mainsail. Both feature T-shaped foils that lift the yacht out of the water, reducing drag and enabling higher speeds. Both feature advanced control systems. There are some key differences, however. The most obvious of these is that the AC40 is scaled down, with a 12m hull and 18m mast. Reduced size and displacement make the AC40 lighter and more responsive, making it well-adapted for fleet racing, which forms the bulk of both the Youth and Women’s America’s Cups.

Onboard an AC40 there is a crew of just 4 – comprised of two helms and two sail trimmers – rather than the 11 crew members on an AC75. With the absence of cyclors, human power is replaced by battery power for running the hydraulics, which play a key role in operating the foils, sails and other systems.

Future Fibres is the one design rigging supplier for both the AC75 and the AC40. Each AC40 is equipped with ECthree—the premier rigging product for yachts in the 30 to 65-foot range.

Luna Rossa sailing their AC40 against their LEQ12 test boat in Sardinia - photo © Ivo Rovira / America's Cup

New Pathways

It will be no surprise if crew members in the Youth America’s Cup go onto compete for the Auld Mug in coming years, following in the footsteps of stand-out talents like Neil Hunter and Josh Armit, who both competed in the last Youth America’s Cup in Bermuda before joining INEOS Britannia and Emirates Team New Zealand’s senior teams respectively.

There is, however, no precedent for the Women’s Puig America’s Cup. The America's Cup has always been a gender-neutral event where teams are not restricted by gender in terms of crew composition. Historically, however, the competition has been dominated by male sailors, with women having participated only occasionally. 2024 marks the first stand-alone women’s event in the 173-year history of the America’s Cup, and Southern Spars is extremely proud to contribute to such a significant milestone.