America's Cup Recon: France takes on an Atlantic seaway - July 2
by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World NZ 3 Jul 15:24 BST
Sailing Day 2 - La Roche-Posay Racing Team (FRA) - July 2, 2026 - Lorient. France © Pierre Bouras / America's Cup
France and Italy both sailed in the backend of the week, and for the French their final session of the week.
The French sailed again out of Lorient, their second day of sailing in the 38th America's Cup cycle.
It must have gone well - from the recon images, there appeared to be plenty of smiling faces. The team got through plenty of tacks and gybes - with a few touch and goes - which is to be expected.
It was a big day for trimmer Leigh McMillan, who had his first day sailing since having major shoulder surgery following the high-speed collision at SailGP Auckland, back in mid-February. The incident put three crew members into hospital. McMillan has sailed in three America's Cups for the British team. He was the most experienced Cup sailor aboard and should help settle the crew.
At the other end of the scale, 2024 Olympic Gold Medalist, Diego Botin, admitted he was just coming to grips with the AC75 - in just his second day of sailing in the America's Cup class.
The French had a long five-hour day on the water, which is as much as the other two, much more experienced teams have done this cycle. Additionally, they were sailing in the Atlantic Ocean, in winds gusting to 18kts, with a difficult seaway for the first half of the session and a wind-against-tide situation.
So the grins after the session were probably more of a relief at having got through what could have been quite a difficult day, and one in which plenty of the team got into trouble at this stage of the Cup cycle in Barcelona.
Recon Report – July 2, 2026
La Roche-Posay Racing Team - Sailing Day 2, July 2, 2026 - Lorient, France
Crew List:
- Starboard Helm: Quentin Delapierre (FRA)
- Port Helm: Diego Botin (ESP)
- Trimmer: Jason Saunders (NZL)
- Trimmer: Leigh McMillan (GBR) & Timothé Lapauw (FRA)
- Position 5: Timothé Lapauw (FRA)
Wind & Sea Conditions:
Summary: Sunny day with sea breeze building during the day
AM Wind: 290°: 11-14kts
PM Wind: 270°: 13-18kts
Sea State: Choppy seas, rougher at times when the wind came against the tide - reduced in the afternoon
Dock Out: 1100hrs
Dock In: 1550hrs
Time sailed: 90 minutes
Recon Report – Sailing Day 2 – July 2, 2026
La Roche-Posay Racing Team (LRPRT) rolled their 2024 AC75 Boat 1 (B1) out for what appeared to be its first full sailing day of the campaign, after the curtailed Sailing Day 1 run. The mast was rolled out first, at 08:20hrs, and B1 came out of the shed at 08:45hrs.
Mast-stepping on the forecourt looked more practised than on earlier days, with the forestay tensioned in what appeared to be only two hydraulic pump cycles, suggesting the routine is becoming quicker. In parallel, a group of around four gathered in discussion at the aft face of the spare mast, examining the mainsail track and top openings; work followed, with sanding and what appeared to be composite work carried out by a varying number of people through the day and still ongoing at hull-out, though its purpose could not be determined from the dock.
On the appendages, the third anti-ventilation fence from the top on the inboard side of the lower foil arm fairing, port and starboard, now appears orange where it was previously black. No change to foil geometry or the rudder was apparent. Two matching poles carrying an instrument head were fitted to the deck, port and starboard, ahead of launch; their symmetric mounting and appearance would be consistent with LiDAR poles of the type documented on other AC75 programmes.
B1 was launched at 09:55hrs, followed by an extended period of dockside systems testing with the hydraulics audibly active, including mast rotation, mainsheet and traveller movement, foil cant on both sides, and what appeared to be jib cunningham checks. Dock-out was at 11:00hrs under bow tow, released at 11:17 after a short glide head-to-wind. The mainsail (MN2-1) was hoisted, followed by the jib (J3-2). Both main and jib again appeared to carry the luff-area reinforcement noted on D4. A slight angle in the forestay at the jib head level was visible under both jibs, more pronounced under J4-2 than J3-2, consistent with the jib head terminating on the forestay below the masthead. The sailing crew seen aboard included Delapierre and Botín on the helms, starboard and port respectively, with McMillan on starboard trim, Saunders on port trim, and Lapauw in the back-port position.
The first foiling session ran from 12:14hrs, foiling within roughly fifteen seconds of tow release, to 12:25, with four tacks and a bear-away, ride height appearing fairly stable and no touchdowns noted. A short second session, from 12:44hrs to 12:50hrs, ran on port: a brief upwind followed by a downwind on which the boat became very unstable, with pronounced ride height, pitch and roll movement and several touchdowns in what appeared to be building chop and swell; it then appeared to set up for a gybe but broke it off, heading up into the wind and coming to a stop.
In the post-sailing interview, Botín, new to the AC75, said he was still getting used to the sail and foil control systems and how they work together, and attributed the early difficulty to swell and a current against the wind. The main session ran from 12:55hrs to 13:41hrs, mixing upwind and downwind work on both boards. Port downwind appeared notably less stable than starboard early on, with more roll and pitch, though it appeared to improve later; the starboard-to-port gybe looked difficult to complete cleanly, with slow windward foil-raise.
After a change from J3-2 to J4-2, a final session ran from 14:18hrs to 14:45hrs, with port downwind appearing much improved and only small residual pitch and roll. Sails were dropped after the final session and B1 was towed home from ~15:10hrs, docking at ~15:50hrs. The mast was unstepped and B1 was back in the shed at 17:09hrs. Paint chip / flaked paint was noted on the foil arm stocks, on the white paint just above the white-to-black delimitation: outboard on starboard, and inboard on both port and starboard. Nothing else observed would obviously suggest a technical problem, and the session appeared to run broadly as planned. Total foiling time was ~1h30hrs across four sessions.
Following the session, the Recon Unit was advised of a change of plan: LRPRT had indicated an intention to sail on Friday, 3 July, but subsequently notified they would not sail, giving Monday as the next sailing day.
Additional Images:
Luna Rossa - Sailing Day 7, June 30, 2026 - Cagliari, Sardinia
Interview and Highlights: Day 7 - July 1, 2026:
Luna Rossa sailed for the seventh day on July 1, from Cagliari. Conditions looked to be ideal for the AC75 - 15kts and a flat seastate. No report is available – but there are some interesting images, and sailing video along with a good interview with Luna Rossa Design Co-ordinator Horacio Carabelli
Additional Images: