America's Cup: Emirates Team NZ reveal the shape of Naples campaign

Emirates Team New Zealand - AC75 - March 9, 2026 - Auckland © Richard Gladwell - Sail-World.com/nz

Emirates Team New Zealand has revealed how they see the 38th America's Cup shaping up at a media session ahead of the launch of their repurposed AC75, in which they expect to defend the America's Cup in Naples in July 2027.

The team disclosed that they expect to be sailing tomorrow, Tuesday, out of Auckland.

The repurposed AC75 will initially sail in the same configuration as in Barcelona, in their successful defence. With all teams restricted to just 45 sailing days until mid-January 2027, the comment was that every day would count and that they would be long days.

Design team boss Dan Bernasconi disclosed that early sailing in the AC75 will use the same wing foils as in the last Cup, and that the most obvious changes would be in the deck area, which was not revealed, and the move to push-button adjustments for all control systems.

The immediate problem for the team will be that only three of the sailing squad had previously sailed an AC75 - a big change from previous cycles - and a lot of the initial sailing days will be tied up with crew familiarisation and system checks.

"There are quite a few goals for our sailing coming up," skipper Nathan Outteridge told Sail-World. "We obviously have a bunch of new sailors who we want to get up to speed on how to sail the boat.

"The boat's changed quite a bit on the inside in terms of its control system, so there'll be a lot of testing and all that.

"And as always, there's just the general commissioning."

"I think once we get those days under our belt, it's about understanding the performance of the boat.

"It's a lot lighter, and it's all about trying to answer the questions that the designers have on how we can make a faster boat for the future."

Three-time America's Cup winner, Andy Maloney, is impressed with the way the new sailing squad members have come up to speed.

"They soak things up quickly. They're all extremely talented individual sailors. And they're as motivated as you can ever be to join a team like this, and to get the opportunity to learn and soak up all that knowledge from the experience within the team."

"It's really cool to see the confidence that they have as well, " he added. "They're not afraid to send it. They are used to the speeds they achieve in Moths these days, and other classes. It's become quite normalised to them to sail at the speeds, and then they go onto an AC 40, and they will be stepping on to the AC75 this week."

Design team chief Dan Bernasconi says there are significant differences between the 2024 AC75 and the 2027 model, even though they are the same hull shape and use legacy masts from the 2024 America's Cup.

"The main difference performance-wise will be earlier takeoff," he claims. "We've lost a good chunk of weight out of the boat, which will help in those light wind, marginal foiling conditions. That's where we'll see a jump in performance."

"At the other end of the scale, at the top end of the breeze, with the boat, getting lighter, you actually have less righting moment."

"So on paper, the boats will be slower, but at the same time, you'll make up for that with improved foils, improved sails and control systems."

"Overall, I think the top end will likely stay the same, or get a little bit faster, and then the bottom end, there will be a bigger difference."

Ostensibly, as a means of putting a cap on campaign costs, as well as sailing the same hull they sailed in 2024 (or one to a design from that era), the teams are required to use/reuse a lot of legacy gear, including spars, some sails and wingfoils,

Bernasconi says there are few advantages to building new masts, as they are almost a one-design anyway. He sees the big gains coming from "the foil wings, the way we control the foils, the sails and the way we control the sails."

"That's all completely open and all available for us to iterate on this campaign. So I don't think that legacy gear use has been a handicap to performance development this time."

This week, 49erFX Olympic Gold and Silver Medalist, Jo Aleh, will have her first sail on an AC75 - something she will have in common with most of the Emirates Team NZ sailing squad.

"It's been a real jump in the deep end, which is always not always fun - but it's really different to any other sailing you ever do. “

“This week, when we actually get on the boat for the first time, it's going to be another pretty steep learning curve - like how you put the sails up, and even just how you get off the dock."

"The AC75 is a big boat. There's a lot of load. I think that for the next few weeks, we'll take it pretty easy and just sort of build up into it slowly, and just get through the basics."

With fresh winds forecast until next week, the sailing squad may be in for a baptism by fire. However, they have been sailing AC40s either just a single boat or a pair, since October. However, those have been packed away and are on their way to Europe, while the AC75 induction gets underway.

"I think the really cool part about it is that we don't have that many people who have sailed the AC75."

"Last time, because the sailing team was quite small, there were no real reserves."

"This time, we've got the chance to have a much deeper squad, which I think is a lot safer overall, and a really cool learning environment, because we're all there for the same reason, and we've got a pretty incredible bunch of people to do it together."

With the sailing crew increased from four to five, sorting out who does what will be one of the tasks for the coming weeks.

"I think there'll be a bit of people moving around," Aleh explains. "Obviously, some of the roles are pretty set from last time, which is good."

"And for the rest, it's a good opportunity for everyone to learn and develop. We're still, I guess, trying to figure out how to sail the boat best with five, since there is a new opportunity compared to last time.

"We want to try to do better than anyone else."

"The question is, how do we use five people to sail the boat better than four did last time?"

Although she was a co-helm on New Zealand Womens America's Cup team in 2024, Aleh won't be sailing with the Womens team in 2027.

"My priority is 100% with the big boat," she explains. "Obviously, I'm pretty involved with helping the women get into the AC40 and getting up to speed quickly, which is what we've been doing the last few weeks. So that's been really cool," she adds.

While today, Monday, would have been an ideal day for shakedown sailing, the forecast for the rest of the week is for much fresher breezes, and an early morning start is likely.

Emirates Team New Zealand will not sail the AC75 in Europe during the European summer; instead, they will use their AC40 program to learn the nuances of the Naples venue.

Late entries for the 38th America's Cup close at the end of this month. At least one new team is expected.