Please select your home edition
Edition
Barton Marine 2019 728x90

Raising the Spar: New standards set in historic 37th America's Cup

by Kate Davison 1 Nov 2024 23:58 GMT 2 November 2024
Emirates Team New Zealand, celebrate winning the America's Cup - Louis Vuitton America's Cup, Race Day 6, Race 9. - October 2024 © Ricardo Pinto / America's Cup

On October 19th, 2024, Emirates Team New Zealand secured an historic victory in the America’s Cup match, defeating INEOS Britannia by 37 seconds in the final race, with a final scoreline of 7–2.

The Cup will be remembered for the Kiwis landmark third consecutive win – something no syndicate has achieved in the modern era.

There have been plenty of other history-making moments in Barcelona and plenty of reasons to look ahead with excitement.

INEOS Britannia became the first British team to race in the America's Cup Match in 60 years, and the first to score points in the Match in 90 years. Orient Express Racing Team brought a fresh challenge, and the incredibly high standard across the challenger fleet made for an enthralling Louis Vuitton Cup. During an epic Vuitton Cup final, as INEOS Britannia and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli pushed each other hard and exchanged wins tit-for-tat, INEOS Britannia eventually emerged victorious 7-4, setting a new America's Cup speed record in the process—the Challenger of Record clocking 55.6 knots!

The first ever Puig Women’s America’s Cup showcased some of the world’s top female sailors. Alongside the Youth America’s Cup and the J Class Regatta, Barcelona celebrated the sport’s past, present, and future.

As market leaders in high-performance composite rigs and rigging, Southern Spars and Future Fibres are proud to have been part of this iconic competition. Southern Spars supplied innovative rotating masts for three AC75s along with the entire AC40 fleet. Future Fibres provided the world’s most advanced standing rigging packages—with integrated fibre optic load monitoring—to every AC75, as well as equipping the AC40 fleet as one design suppliers.

In 1995, Southern Spars supplied its first America’s Cup mast to Team New Zealand’s Black Magic, which made history by winning the Auld Mug for New Zealand for the first time. Emirates Team New Zealand have cemented their names alongside the likes of Black Magic, not only by winning three Cups on the bounce, but also through their formative impact on the trajectory of the Cup as a whole.

The AC75 has been a technological game-changer, raising the bar in yacht design, while the AC40 has introduced an entirely new dimension. These innovations are influencing sailing across the board, even impacting superyachts and cruisers. Southern Spars continues to innovate side-by-side with the very teams that strive to win the Auld Mug. We very much look forward to the next Cup cycle, AC38, with excitement.

Related Articles

The link between two great Australian sports
A unique connection between brute strength and beauty James Joseph Giltinan was one of Australia's great entrepreneurs of the early 1900s, and the man most responsible for creating a unique link between one of the most confrontational football codes in the world and the beauty of sailing. Posted today at 6:24 am
Starcross YC's George Eaton Junior Shield
Awarded to the sailor who has shown the greatest achievements outside of the club Awarded to the sailor who has shown the greatest achievements outside of the club, the George Eaton Junior shield has this year been awarded to Amelie Ballantyne. Posted today at 6:08 am
International 14 Prince of Wales Cup Week Day 2
Another day, another taster for the big event Another day, another taster for the big event. The single race shootout starts tomorrow! Posted today at 1:15 am
TF35 Nyon Grand Prix Day 2
Sails of Change 10 makes it count in light air Despite spending most of the day on the water patiently waiting for wind, the Race Committee eventually managed to squeeze in a single race in the faintest 5-6 knot Séchard breeze, the only scoring opportunity on day two of the TF35 Nyon Grand Prix. Posted on 24 May
Jura Scottish Series day 2
Holding on to the perfect scoreline is proving elusive Among the 84 crews racing in ten different classes at Jura Scottish Series three teams count perfect scorelines so far. In the IRC Class 1 Brian Hall's J/109 Something Else has now accumulated five wins from six starts. Posted on 24 May
GBR Squad member Catrin Williams visits Starcross
Honoured guest launches RYA Pathway Club status Starcross Yacht Club was honoured to host Catrin Williams last Friday, who joined sailors on the water before giving an inspiring talk about her sailing journey. Posted on 24 May
Lightweight Wind Barrier
The Henri-Lloyd Breeze Jacket combines lightweight, waterproof performance with modern design The Henri-Lloyd Breeze Jacket combines lightweight, waterproof performance with modern design, making it the ideal choice for warm-weather sailing and everyday on-water activities. Posted on 24 May
New sporting goals & ambitions for Sails of Change
The positive family legacy continues With the TF35 season set to open this coming weekend with the Nyon Grand Prix, ambitions are high among the Sails of Change Team as the two crews led respectively by Yann Guichard and Duncan Späth seek to realise their respective targets. Posted on 24 May
Poole Week Revitalised For 2025
New race teams and new courses for the summer's big event How do you make a great sailing week even better, without losing the elements that have always made it a great sailing week? Posted on 24 May
GP14 Ulster Championship at East Antrim
An unexpected set of great conditions at Larne Lough Sunshine, high tide, beautiful breezes - not generally the GP14 Class's mental picture of Larne Lough, but that's how it was in the weekend 17/18 May for the GP14 Ulster Championships. Posted on 24 May