Anticipation and intensity is building in Cagliari as hotels and restaurants are buzzing with America’s Cup teams and spectators, all the while the AC40s are hitting the water in preparation for the first America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta.
For Emirates Team New Zealand, the past week has been defined by an intense operational push, with the shore crew and wider team working through the complex task of establishing the Cagliari base, assembling both AC40s, and preparing the programme for on-water operations.
The first three days of sailing for both Emirates Team New Zealand boats on the Gulf of Angels have provided an immediate test of adaptability, serving up an interesting mix of conditions; from flat water and a light breeze, to thunderstorms and rolling swells, wind shut-downs, a fierce 30 knot Mistral and a perfect 15 knot sea breeze. The race window for the weekend of action is currently forecast to be an ideal 10-15 knots from the southwest.
Fresh off his 49er World Championship victory, Seb Menzies has rejoined the team, with a pat on the back before jumping straight into the hot seat, his first sail back on the AC40 with an attempt at the first day of practice racing with all eight boats futile in a fickle breeze too light for any meaningful match-ups.
“I was at the 49er Worlds in France competing there a couple of days ago and then today just rejoined the team. So, it is really awesome transitioning between two such different things,” said Seb, who is sharing helm duties with skipper Nathan Outteridge, as well as Andy Maloney and Iain Jensen in the trimming positions.
“We went out for the first day today and had all the boats out there attempting some practice racing, but it was super light and caught between two breezes. We got a lot out of it and a lot of light wind training so it was not bad.”
Erica Dawson, helm on the second Women’s and Youth AC40, was excited by the prospect of the racing starting this Friday, 22 May 2026, and loving racing the AC40 again for the first time since the Women’s America’s Cup in Barcelona in 2024, albeit with a new crew around her consisting of Jake Pye on the other helm, and Serena Woodall and Josh Armit trimming.
“We have an awesome crew on our boat and our learning curve is so steep,” explained Dawson. “We are figuring things out together, and when I say together, it is with the entire Emirates Team New Zealand team we have up here. We have an incredible shore crew, support crew and engineers that all play a big part in the overall performance. But for us sailors, we are really looking forward to getting into the fleet and excited to mix it up during practice racing initially and then into the main event from Friday.”
The teams will have two more days of training ahead, with Thursday being the Official Practice Race Day, followed by the start of the regatta on Friday. All racing will be broadcast live and available as replays. To find out how to watch and get all the information visit our webpage here.
