Mid January marks the first AC75 sailing days of the new America’s Cup cycle, with Recon returning to bring early training into public view.
America’s Cup closed out 2025 with anticipation building toward an intense start to the new year. That expectation sharpens on 16 January, the first day teams are permitted to sail their modified AC75s under the new Naples 2027 rule set. While racing remains some distance away, this moment marks a clear shift from design theory to on water reality, played out under the returning glare of the Joint Reconnaissance programme.
Until the AC75s are cleared to sail, teams have remained active in AC40s. Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa both carried out two boat training late last year, while Athena Racing continued its pathway focus, sailing with Youth and Women’s squads from Barcelona. That foundation work now gives way to the much larger challenge of integrating new systems, new crew formats, and heavily revised boats.
Five teams enter historic America’s Cup Alliance to supercharge future of sport’s oldest trophy
The first AC75 sailing days will be exploratory. Crews are adapting to a five sailor configuration, with cyclors gone and battery powered systems taking their place. Every function on board has changed, from sail handling to energy management, and early sessions will prioritise reliability, communication, and role clarity rather than outright pace.
What changes immediately is visibility. From the moment an AC75 leaves the dock, Recon comes online. Assigned two person Recon units will document activity on the water and around team bases, feeding a shared cloud system accessed by all competitors and selected media. For fans, Recon once again becomes the primary window into the Cup’s most secretive phase.
Recon will shape the narrative in January. Deck layouts, crew movement, and system choices will provide the first indicators of how teams are approaching the new cycle.
- The road to Naples is shortening
- Wrapping up 2025 with intense AC40 Match Racing and eyeing a return to the AC75 and preliminary regatta racing in 2026
- The Joint Reconnaissance Program is new for AC37 in Barcelona
