The Louis Vuitton 38th America's Cup is beginning to take shape, with venues, dates and a confirmed racing format now locked in. The clearest early indication of how this Cup cycle will unfold, both on and off the water, will come from the first Preliminary Regatta, scheduled for Cagliari, Sardinia, from 21 to 24 May 2026.
For those who follow the Cup closely, the decision to build this regatta around AC40 fleet racing rather than the full-size AC75s reflects something meaningful about the direction teams are heading. The smaller boats have become essential tools, used for training, systems development and crew building, and the Cagliari event puts them firmly at the centre of competition.
The AC40 has earned a central role in the modern America's Cup programme. While the AC75 ultimately decides who lifts the trophy, the AC40 is where squads test ideas, sharpen crew skills and develop the next generation of talent. It has also been the primary platform for both Youth and Women's America's Cup racing.
In Cagliari, those roles converge. Each team will be permitted to enter two AC40s. One will carry the core Cup crew; the other will be sailed by a combination of Youth and Women sailors drawn from the wider squad. All boats will race under full one-design specification, removing any development advantage and placing the emphasis squarely on crew execution, tactical sharpness and consistency across a series.
That format also introduces a genuine competitive edge. Fleet racing is an environment where an emerging sailor or a well-drilled younger crew can take points, or even races, from more experienced teams. In a boat as responsive as the AC40, the margins between clean execution and a costly error are narrow, and those margins show up quickly on the scoreboard.
Cagliari is familiar territory for the America's Cup world. It serves as the home base of Italian challenger Luna Rossa, and the bay has seen extensive training campaigns over multiple Cup cycles. Reliable breeze, open water and the ability to position courses close to shore make it a practical and attractive venue for this kind of racing.
The Preliminary Regatta will use two alternative course areas, each approximately two kilometres in radius, set near the coastline. AC40 fleet racing is quick, compact and easy to follow from land. Organisers will build on that by establishing a Race Village and a waterfront viewing promenade extending toward Lazaretto di Cagliari, giving the public genuine access to the action.
Where the Cagliari event becomes particularly interesting is how it sits within a much busier foiling calendar. Teams are scheduled to begin arriving from 5 May, setting up bases at the Military Port. Unofficial practice is expected to run from 16 to 20 May, before an opening press conference and an official practice day on Thursday 21 May.
That arrival window, however, runs directly into SailGP Bermuda, which takes place on 10 and 11 May.
For teams with significant SailGP commitments, including New Zealand, the overlap creates real logistical pressure. The New Zealand contingent includes Peter Burling, who is going to Italy AC38, Blair Tuke of Emirates Team NZ, and Artemis helmsman Nathan Outteridge, who comes to Emirates Team NZ as our driver. All three remain central to SailGP operations, which means arrival in Cagliari from the initial 5 May window is unlikely. A more realistic scenario has them reaching Sardinia shortly after Bermuda wraps up, compressing preparation time ahead of official practice and the start of competition.
The schedule does not ease once racing gets underway. Fleet racing in Cagliari runs from Friday 22 through Sunday 24 May, across all three days, with a one-off final between the top two teams to close out the event. Then, almost immediately, attention shifts to SailGP New York, with practice beginning around 30 May and racing following on 31 May and 1 June. The turnaround between two high-intensity foiling campaigns is tight, demanding careful planning from every team involved.
From a sporting standpoint, the Preliminary Regatta format is one of the more encouraging features of the early Cup calendar. Teams will contest 11 fleet races over the three days, with the leading two advancing to a winner-takes-all match race final. Fleet racing has reliably generated some of the most compelling moments of recent Cup cycles in the AC40, with multiple position changes, aggressive start-line battles and sustained tactical pressure throughout. It rewards programmes that perform consistently across an entire series rather than those that peak in isolated moments.
Cagliari will not settle the America's Cup. What it will do is establish early reference points about which teams are organised, which sailors are ready, and how well programmes can manage the competing demands of America's Cup preparation alongside the growing weight of SailGP commitments. The road to Naples has started, and for the first time it is possible to see how it is going to be sailed.
