Inside The American Magic Sailboat Racing Team’s Valiant America’s Cup Run
The New York Yacht Club squad battled the world’s best racers at the 37th America’s Cup in Barcelona.
During the 2021 America’s Cup regatta, the Auckland waters were unkind to American Magic’s AC75 Patriot. During a semifinal race, the team had overtaken Italy’s Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli and was leading by a significant margin when the wind speed jumped during a risky maneuver, causing the vessel to capsize.
“The moment is still surreal,” Skipper Terry Hutchinson told BOAT International at the time. “I can still see the water bubbling around me as I struggle to get out of my harness. One tether is keeping me pinned under the surface, and with every attempt to get air, all I’m getting is water. The main sail is on top of me, as well as my teammates Cooper Dressler, Cicho Cicchetti and Tim Hornsby. What seems like an eternity ends up passing in seconds as Cooper and Cicho cut me out and I’m able to get that first big gasp of air.”
This year, the New York Yacht Club (NYYC) team American Magic sought redemption at the 37th America’s Cup, presented by Louis Vuitton, in Barcelona from August through October. Since its inception in 1851, NYYC held the America’s Cup for 132 years before losing it in 1983 to “Australia II” and the Royal Perth Yacht Club. Since then, it’s been touch and go for the United States, intermittently giving up the trophy to Switzerland and New Zealand, but mostly New Zealand.
“Usually the boat that’s most extreme wins—or loses—by a lot”
“They’re a well-polished outfit,” Skipper Hutchinson, one of the world’s most esteemed sailors, tells Maxim. New Zealand has the most successful team in the modern era, having won the America’s Cup four times (1995, 2000, 2017 and 2021). “We saw that last time how advanced their boat was in front of everybody else. But this time around it’s a different story. All the boats are much more similar. We’re probably a little bit more the outlier than some of the others—the hull shape and the form. And usually the boat that’s most extreme wins—or loses—by a lot.”
Six teams competed in Barcelona, including INEOS Britannia (United Kingdom), Alinghi Red Bull Racing (Switzerland), Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (Italy), Orient Express Racing Team (France), Emirates New Zealand and American Magic (United States).
“Last time around we had more of a Y-shaped foil,” says Paul Goodison of the bespoke design characterizing the team’s new iteration of Patriot. A seasoned helmsman, Goodison clinched an Olympic Gold Medal in Beijing 2008. “This time around we’ve gone much more toward the T. So the foil basically interacts when it comes out of the water at a different angle. The bend properties are different to what they were before, and also the leading edge of the foil. We’re trying sharp leading edges to dissipate some of the drag we’re having. So there’s a whole heap of innovation going on.”
Working with simulators, the design team, led by Scott Ferguson, had to anticipate race conditions nearly two years in advance. American Magic’s team of 30 designers, CFD analysts, engineers, naval architects, AI resources and boatbuilders put in more than 108,000 design hours and 65,000 construction hours in refining every aspect of the new boat.
Introduced in 2013, innovations include foils on which the boat sails above the water and minimizing the space between the hull and the ocean’s surface. But with warmer temperatures, the teams are expecting chop, presumably necessitating a rise of about two feet.
“That’s bigger than usual,” Goodison notes. “The boat will always be fastest when it’s lying close to the water because it creates a surface effect and that helps performance. So when you design the boat, you take all that into consideration. Here in Barcelona, because we’re up against a beach and a break wall for the port, you get feedback of waves off that.”
The design team also had to anticipate wind and wave conditions. “You have to kind of pick what you’re aiming for,” Hutchinson observes. “And if the weather is in that condition, it should be fast. And if it’s out of that condition, it’s how you get the most out of it when it’s suboptimal.”
The race schedule began from August 22–25 with finals taking place October 12–21. (Unfortunately, American Magic’s run ended on September 26 in a semifinals loss to Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli.) The best viewing points are on the beach between Port Vell and Port Olímpic in Barcelona. The Fanzone Plaça del Mar will feature the competition on a giant screen with catering and bar options. Farther north, the Fanzone Bogatell will offer a unique beachfront perspective just a few hundred meters from the action. Situated along the Moll de la Fusta, the official Race Village will include big screens, restaurants and bars.
For a close-up look, charter a yacht from the Edmiston fleet, which includes the 212-foot Resilience. Accommodating 12 guests in seven staterooms, it features a main-deck master with foldout terraces. The 119-foot Preference 19 sleeps 10 guests in five staterooms and includes a basketball hoop and golf mat. The 108-foot The Mac One also accommodates 10 guests in five staterooms.
“In some ways the regatta’s already been decided as the boats have all been designed. Now we put it in the sailors’ hands”
Landlubbers are advised to take a room at Barcelona’s best hotel, El Palace, formerly the Ritz. Its neoclassical opulence is captured in the stately marble-columned entryway and vast main hall. Stay in the first floor Dalí suite, where the famed surrealist artist lived for a time in the 1970s. The Art Deco El Palace Suite was designed by Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, and there’s another named for Josephine Baker, the 1920s rage of Paris. Sadly, elegance ain’t cheap; expect to pay more than $4,000 per night for a standard room during high season.
Dine in chef Rafa Zafra’s 2-Michelin-starred Amar Restaurant, where the accent is on Mediterranean and traditional Catalan cuisine, including seafood from Costa Brava, meat from the Pyrenees and local produce, with a substantial section of the menu devoted to caviar. If ambiance is a priority, eat at the rooftop garden surrounded by a stunning 360-degree view of the city.
More reasonably priced alternatives include The One, located just steps from Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí’s landmark apartment house, La Pedrera-Casa Milà. Starting at around $375 in low season, its tasteful contemporary design affords intimate though spacious accommodations. Starting from $1,600, the Terrace Suite Sagrada Família includes a private terrace with a hot tub and outdoor showers, plus spectacular views of its namesake, Gaudí’s unfinished cathedral, the Sagrada Família.
El Palace sits on the edge of the Gothic Quarter, adjacent to the city’s harbor, while The One is a short walk away. Both are just a brief cab ride from the racing action.
“Ultimately we have to beat the defender,” Goodison said of Emirates New Zealand in early May as the new boat was christened. “In some ways the regatta’s already been decided as the boats have all been designed. Now we put it in the sailors’ hands and see where we can get to.”
