American Magic is an American

yacht racing Yacht racing is a Sailing (sport), sailing sport involving sailing yachts and larger sailboats, as distinguished from dinghy racing, which involves open boats. It is composed of multiple yachts, in direct competition, racing around a course mark ...

team formed to compete for the 36th America's Cup. They represent the

New York Yacht Club The New York Yacht Club (NYYC) is a private social club and yacht club based in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of yachting and yacht design. ...

and were formed in 2018 by principals Hap Fauth, Roger Penske, and Doug DeVos. American Magic was eliminated from the Prada Cup semi-finals by Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli on Saturday 30 January 2021, after 4 consecutive defeats. In August 2021 the Team signaled their intent to race in the 37th America's Cup competition.

History

The team was established in October 2017 with the intention to return to

America's Cup The America's Cup is a sailing competition and the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one from the yacht club that currently holds the trophy (known ...

to the United States and the NYYC. Management consists of John J. "Hap" Fauth's Bella Mente Racing, Doug DeVos's Quantum Racing, and

Roger Penske Roger Searle Penske (born February 20, 1937), also known as "the Captain", is an American auto racing team owner, businessman, and former professional driver. Penske is the owner of Team Penske, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IndyCar, and ...

under the NYYC burgee. The Team name, "American Magic" refers to the first Cup winner, the yacht ''America'' of

1851 Events January–March * January 11 – Hong Xiuquan officially begins the Taiping Rebellion in China, one of the bloodiest revolts that would lead to 20 million deaths. * January 15 – Christian Female College, modern-d ...

, and the first defender, the yacht ''Magic'', who won in

1870 Events January * January 1 ** The first edition of ''The Northern Echo'' newspaper is published in Priestgate, Darlington, England. ** Plans for the Brooklyn Bridge are completed. * January 3 – Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge be ...

. The America's Cup trophy was held by the NYYC for 132 years until

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

. The NYYC's reign was the longest winning streak as measured by years in the history of all sports. Dean Barker was the helmsman, with Terry Hutchinson as skipper. As of 2022 their home port is

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

36th America's Cup

The Team first entered international competition on 15 January 2021 in the 2021 Prada Cup. On 17 January during the round-robin stage ''Patriot'' capsized while rounding Gate 5 when a gust of wind caught the sails causing the leeward running back stay to not release and preventing the mainsail from being eased. No crew was reported injured, but the incident caused a large hole in the hull and for a time it was at significant risk of sinking. Hutchinson and Barker were on board. Per race rules, Luna Rossa Challenge was awarded the victory. The team returned to racing for the Prada Cup Semi-Final, but American Magic was eliminated from the competition by Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli on Saturday 30 January 2021, after 4 consecutive defeats.

37th America's Cup

On 16 August 2021, Hap Fauth announced the Team's intention to enter the 37th America's Cup. Further that the Team named Scott Ferguson as lead Design Coordinator, previously with Luna Rossa (Rig Design Manager 2000–2007), Oracle Team USA (Wing / Rig Design Manager 2007–2013, Design Coordinator / Senior Designer 2014–2017). On 18 February 2022, American Magic announced their leadership team for the 37th America's Cup, with two notable changes, the addition of Mike Cazer as CEO and Tyson Lamond as COO. In May 2022, AM announced that Australian

Tom Slingsby Tom Slingsby (born 5 September 1984) is an Australian competitive sailor. Slingsby's first successes came sailing Laser dinghy, Laser dinghies, where he won three consecutive world championships and the 2012 Olympic gold medal. Slingsby was t ...

had joined the team. Slingsby won Gold in the 2012 London Olympics in Men's Laser class and was on the

2013 America's Cup The 34th America's Cup was a regatta, series of yacht races held in San Francisco Bay in September 2013. The series was contested between the defender Oracle Team USA team representing the Golden Gate Yacht Club, and the challenger Emirates Team ...

-winning Oracle Team USA. A likely competitor for the 37th America's Cup, Team INEOS Britannia skipper Sir

Ben Ainslie Sir Charles Benedict Ainslie (born 5 February 1977) is a British sailing (sport), competitive sailor. Ainslie is the most successful sailor in Olympic history. He won medals at five consecutive Olympics from 1996 onwards, including gold at four ...

also won a gold medal in the 2012 Olympics in the Finn class.

Fleet

The team has two America's Cup 75 class ( AC75) boats. The AC75 is a 75FT

sailing hydrofoil A sailing hydrofoil, hydrofoil sailboat, or hydrosail is a sailboat with wing-like hydrofoil, foils mounted under the hull (watercraft), hull. As the craft increases its speed the hydrofoils Lift (force), lift the hull up and out of the water, gr ...

Mono hull class specifically designed for the 36th America's Cup. The team also built an 'American Magic 38' (AM38) foiling Mono hull using a modified McConaughey 38 Mono hull, known as ''The Mule''. In May 2024 Clare Harrington, Vice Commodore of the New York Yacht Club, had the honor of christening the team’s AC75 “Patriot.” Sharing the same name as her predecessor, the team’s third AC75 grabs the baton from the previous boat that nearly sank in the 2021 America’s Cup, in hopes of completing what that campaign was not able to finish.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official
website
Official
YouTube Page American Magic