Emirates Team New Zealand has wrapped up another AC75 testing block on the Hauraki Gulf, putting Taihoro through her paces in conditions ranging from a gentle 6 knots to a stiff 22.
The winter session gave the team a proper spread to work with. Boat speeds topped 50 knots at times, and sailing crew combinations were rotated through different roles across the wind range.
Taihoro has now been on the water for more than five months. The team is working through the maximum 45 days of testing permitted with the AC75, and this latest Auckland block adds to hundreds of design iterations already logged, along with hardware, software and control system refinements.
Every day out generates millions of data points. They flow back to the design office and boat shed, feeding into performance gains still to come.
Andy Maloney said the session was important for checking that recent changes had landed properly. "It's awesome to be back out on Taihoro... perfect conditions really to just check in on all the changes that have been made to the boat over the previous break and the time it's been in the shed during our last block in Naples in July, and to see all the progression is really cool."
He also spoke about why every outing matters at this stage of the campaign. "Every day we are out on Taihoro is vital, and we learn so much. This really is a critical time of a campaign. To be sailing and gaining as much data as possible to allow the guys in the design room to crunch the numbers that will go into the next iteration of equipment development for once we start racing in May next year."
When stronger breeze arrived over the outer gulf, the team seized the chance to test Taihoro right at the top of her wind range. Out on the water, the shift was obvious, whitecaps building where earlier there had been barely a ripple.
"It's been a while since we've been out in some good breeze, and to be ripping around doing well over 50 knots in the back paddock was a really cool day. We are not sure if we will see the top-end conditions in Naples, but we need to be prepared for everything come race time, so it is all important to be optimised in whatever the conditions are."
Skipper Nathan Outteridge said the small gains from each round of upgrades are adding up. "Every time the AC75 goes in the shed and gets some upgrades, it comes out as an improved boat, which is fantastic to see. We always thought there was going to be just small gains here and there, but the team's been doing a fantastic job to find some real meters on the table. The boat is going faster and it's getting easier for us to sail."
Taihoro is back in the shed now for another round of upgrades.
Attention shifts north, to Italy and the AC40s, as the team gears up for the second America's Cup Preliminary Regatta in Naples, running from 24 to 27 September 2026. Emirates Team New Zealand will again race a two-boat line-up, with the same crew configurations that contested the opening Preliminary Regatta in Cagliari in May 2026 stepping aboard the equalised, one-design AC40s.
The Louis Vuitton 38th America's Cup runs in Naples from May to July 2027, with the Louis Vuitton Cup and the America's Cup Match getting underway from 22 May.
