America’s Cup, the words you need to know not to make a bad impression

Now that Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team has reached the coveted America’s Cup and will challenge the New Zealanders starting on March 6, we hope that in the bars people will return to talking, as they did in 1992 with Il Moro di Venezia and in 2000 with the first Luna Rossa, about sailing and not just soccer. If you are a “layman” about America’s Cup, here are the key words to know so you don’t look like you don’t know anything about it!

THE MINI GLOSSARY OF THE 36TH AMERICA CUP

Protocol: is the document that governs the organization of a given edition of the America’s Cup, from which follows the tonnage regulations for the construction of the boats with which it will be contested.

Defender: winner of the last America’s Cup and holder of the trophy.

Prada Cup: is the trophy awarded to the winner of the Challenger Selection Series – Challenger selection races – who will challenge the Defender in the America’s Cup Final Match. To win the America’s Cup, first you have to win the Prada Cup. Luna Rossa, to date, has won the Prada Cup.

Deed of Gift: literally “deed of gift,” is the original rules of the America’s Cup filed by the New York Yacht Club with the New York Supreme Court (Cup participants must abide by them in the event that the Challenger of Record and the Defender cannot agree on rules to contest a particular edition of the Cup).

Challenger: the Yacht Club challenging the America’s Cup holding Yacht Club. He is represented by the team that holds the regattas. For this edition, it is Circolo della Vela Sicilia, the team is Luna Rossa.

ACWS – America’s Cup World Series: preliminary touring regattas in which both Challengers and the Defender participated.

Challenger of Record, or C.O.R.: is the first Yacht Club and its team to launch the challenge against the Defender, as well as the representative of all challengers, who determines together with the Defender how and when the next campaign will take place.

Match race: “1-on-1” racing in which only two boats compete; the start, is preceded by a phase in which boats try to gain the best position on the starting line. It differs from fleet races in which more than two boats compete.

AC75 Yacht Class: the class of boats with which the 36th America’s Cup will be contested. 75-foot monohulls equipped with bowsprit and side foils that allow the boats to “fly.”

Mechatronics: science that unites mechanics, hydraulics and electronics, which enables the management and development of the movements of on-board components.

Soft wing: non-rigid, airfoil mainsail formed by two parallel sails hoisting simultaneously on the D-section mast.

Box Rules: rules governing the design of the new AC75 class. Foil: appendages that allow hulls to rise above the surface of the water and reach very high speeds.

Jib: headsail that is hoisted on the forestay.

Code Zero: large furling headsail, rigged on the bowsprit, for use in light wind conditions.

One-design/monotype: standard elements that by regulation are the same for all participants, not modifiable, and on which research and development cannot therefore be done.

Foil arm: daggerboard at the end of which the foil wing is assembled: a component that allows the boat to rise and detach the hull from the water. As with aircraft wings, the trailing edges of foils are equipped with flaps, movable ends that can deflect aero/hydrodynamic flows.

Bowsprit: bow extension to carry beyond the length of the hull the attachment point (tack point) of the Code Zero.

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