MATTHEW SHEAHAN

WHAT WILL THE BOATS OF THE 38TH AMERICA'S CUP LOOK LIKE? THAT'S THE $20 MILLION QUESTION IF BRITAIN OR NEW ZEALAND DECIDE TO DEPART FROM THE AC75

Given that this was the second Cup cycle for the AC75 design rule it seemed fair to assume ahead of the event that the racing would be closer than last time, as teams’ designers focussed on a similar area of the rule. We saw this trend back in 1995 with the second generation of the IACC monohulls, in a class that ultimately saw 100 boats built over a 15-year period.

Since 2007 Cup design has been bouncing off the walls with giant cats, foiling cats, and wing-masted cats, before heading to foiling monohulls. Each iteration of the Cup has seen radically different designs leaving no opportunity for refinement. But now there’s been some stability in the rule, albeit just for two cycles, we are starting to see what the future could look like. While few people predicted the result of the Challengers series, as the Louis Vuitton Cup played out it became easier to know where to look for clues.