Team New Zealand announced a "very different America's Cup from the one developed by Russell Coutts" with Team USA, according to the NEW ZEALAND HERALD. Team NZ Manager Grant Dalton on Friday confirmed the '21 defense "will return to 75-foot monohulls and the races will last around 40 minutes." He announced a "more tightly regulated competition with nationality and residential rules for crews and the lamination of hulls." At least three of the crew, or 20% if that is higher, must be citizens of the competing yacht club's country. The rest of the crew must be residents of that country, defined as being "physically present in the country for 380 days during the two years" from Sept. '18 to Aug. '20. The challenger series is due to start in Jan. '21, and the defense will be in March. At least one America's Cup veteran, Chris Dickson, believes this format will "encourage more entries than there were at Bermuda this year or San Francisco four years ago." That suggests the boats will be "cheaper to build than the high-tech catamarans Coutts conceived." Auckland, Dalton warned, is "not yet the certain host city." Within a year, he "needs commitments on the location of syndicate bases and other infrastructure." If nothing is resolved by next September, the event will go to Italy, home of Team NZ's challenger of record, Luna Rossa (NZ HERALD, 9/30). In N.Y., Christopher Clarey reported Team NZ and Luna Rossa have "long been chummy." But Dalton "prefers the old defender-challenger divide." So does Prada Group CEO Patrizio Bertelli. Land Rover BAR Team Principal Ben Ainslie said, "It's almost a duopoly really, isn't it, with Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa?" The new rules "even authorize two-boat programs again." Monohulls, which are "typically slower and considerably more water bound, will be viewed in many quarters as retrograde." But Bertelli likes the "tactics and grandeur of monohulls," and sailing conditions in the Hauraki Gulf off Auckland, "the likely site for this Cup, were considered less than ideal for foiling catamarans" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/29). STUFF's Duncan Johnstone reported the monohulls will have the "wow factor" of the catamarans that "drew in new fans" in San Francisco and Bermuda. Dalton said, "We have been the primary driver of foiling in multihulls. We are looking to bring that same level to the monohulls." Team NZ Technical Dir Dan Bernasconi said that his team had been working on foiling and non-foiling options "and we will present the fastest boat at the end of November" when the actual design class is confirmed. He added, "I can't give too much away but I'm just really excited about it. It's going to be a really cool boat, really fun to sail and it will be really good match racing and pretty maneuverable" (STUFF, 9/29).
