The protocol presented by Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa on 29 September answered some questions and opened several new ones. As expected, racing will be in monohulls – the new AC75 class. ETNZ has promised a detailed description of the boat at the end of November, and the class rule by the end of March 2018. In the press conference, Grant Dalton promised a “spectacular and fast boat” with a crew of 10 to 12. ETNZ design head Dan Bernasconi has said they are looking at a range of options from a “fairly conventional but high performance monohull” to a semi-foiling monohull. He mused about a fully foiling big yacht, but noted that on a Moth the sailor’s body weight is the ballast and that is difficult to scale up. We’ll have to wait until 30 November to see what the AC75 looks like.

ETNZ has declared their desire to hold the Challenger Selection Series and the Match in New Zealand, but they’ve reserved the option to move things to Italy if facilities in Auckland can’t be ready in time. ETNZ says having an alternate venue is prudent, so that challengers will know the backup plan. This alternate venue option should also provide motivation to the authorities in Auckland to provide the needed space and infrastructure for team bases. The final word on the venue will come out by the end of August 2018. The challenging period for additional entries ends two months earlier. Teams and potential sponsors will be facing uncertainty until the venue is confirmed.

Preliminary regattas with all competitors, including the defender, will be organized by the Challenger of Record. One or two America’s Cup World Series regattas will be held in the second half of 2019 and three ACWS regattas in 2020. A Christmas Regatta will be held in Auckland in December 2020. These preliminary regattas will establish the seeding for the Challenger Selection Series, but no bonus points will carry forward. The format for the preliminary regattas – fleet racing, match racing or both – has not been announced. Depending on the number of challengers, the top challenger in the preliminary regattas may get a bye into the second round of the CSS. The CSS will run during January and February. ETNZ will not race in the CSS.

Each team may build two boats. Hulls must be constructed in the country of the club. The first hull may be launched on 31 March 2019 and the second eleven months later, on 15 February 2020. During 2020, teams are likely to have one boat in transit to the preliminary regattas and one at their base, for test and development. They are only allowed to sail one boat at a time, although once the CSS begins and the defender is not racing, the defender may sail both boats together. Only one of the two hulls may be modified, although unintentional damage may be repaired.

Crew nationality rules are in place and are the most restrictive in the history of the America’s Cup – 100% of the crew must “have the nationality” of the club they represent. A minimum of three crew must be citizens of the country. Non-citizens must provide evidence that they have their “principal place of residence” in the country on a “lasting rather than temporary basis” and they must be physically in the country for 380 days in the two year period from September 2018 to August 2020. These nationality rules apply only during the CSS and the Match. They apply to racing crew only, not to designers or other team members.

The Challenger of Record has broad powers and responsibilities. During AC35, Luna Rossa gave up the CoR veto to a challenger commission and was then out voted on dropping the AC62 in favor of the AC50. They have not made that mistake again. There is no challenger commission. Luna Rossa remains the CoR even if they are eliminated in the CSS and another team becomes the Challenger in the Match. Changes to the protocol require CoR approval. If Luna Rossa withdraws as CoR, ETNZ will appoint a new CoR or will allow the remaining challengers to elect a CoR subject to ETNZ veto. The CoR will organize the preliminary regattas and the CSS. PRADA will be the title sponsor for all racing including the Match. The CoR has until the end of March 2019 to announce the venue(s) for the 2019 ACWS and until end of November 2019 to announce the 2020 venues. The AC75 Class Rule cannot be replaced once it is published, but the CoR and the Defender, acting together, can modify it for any reason during the first three months after publication. After that, class rule modifications require unanimous agreement of all competitors.

ETNZ met their goal of publishing the protocol by the end of September. The defender does not race in the CSS. A strict crew nationality rule is in place. As always, there are a lot of details in the protocol, and possibly a devil or two.