Auckland’s Winter Burn: Emirates Team New Zealand Ends 2025 in AC40 Fire, Eyes Big-Boat Return in 2026

Here’s the scene: the sun hangs low over the Hauraki Gulf, but the New Zealand foiling engine is still revved, still pressing, still hungry.

As 2025 winds down, Emirates Team New Zealand isn’t cooling off — they’re heating up. The Defender has closed the year with high-intensity AC40 match racing, sharpening instincts and reactions before shifting focus back to AC75 sailing and preliminary regatta racing in 2026.

Official Emirates Team New Zealand update

This isn’t downtime. It’s pressure training.

Quick Hull Check

• ETNZ wrapped up 2025 with intense two-boat AC40 match racing.
• The focus is on starts, close-quarters tactics, and foil control.
• AC75 Taihoro is set to return to the water in 2026.
• New AC75 rules reduce crew size from eight to five.

The Setup

December sailing in Auckland became a controlled battlefield. Two AC40s. Identical platforms. No excuses.

The goal was simple: recreate America’s Cup pressure without waiting for the big boat. Tight starts. Crossings at speed. Real match-race consequences.

Foil 101: A hydrofoil is an underwater wing that lifts the hull out of the water, slashing drag and unlocking extreme speed. But when two boats fight for the same lane, control matters more than raw pace.

The Moment

The key takeaway from late-2025 wasn’t speed — it was repetition.

Day after day, ETNZ stacked two-boat sessions to build instinctive responses. When to push. When to protect ride height. When to avoid the touchdown that flips a race.

In foiling, a touchdown isn’t just slow. It’s a momentum killer.

Foil Nerd Corner

AC40 match racing works because it compresses the learning curve.

• Shorter reaction windows.
• Higher closing speeds.
• Greater risk of ventilation — when air reaches the foil and steals lift.

Foil 101: Ventilation is like a race car hitting ice. Grip disappears instantly.

These sessions also feed directly into the AC75 reset. With only five sailors onboard under the new rule set, decision-making must be faster and cleaner than ever.

How We Got Here

After defending the America’s Cup in Barcelona, Emirates Team New Zealand transitioned from peak competition into rebuild mode.

The AC40s became the bridge — keeping racing sharp while the AC75 platform evolves behind closed doors.

This is how defenders stay sharp without burning out their flagship weapon.

Dock Talk: The Debate

Does AC40 racing really translate to AC75 dominance?

Some say only big-boat hours matter. ETNZ disagrees.

Starts are starts. Pressure is pressure. And mistakes at 25 knots hurt just as much as mistakes at 40.

What Happens Next

January restarts the engine.

2026 will bring mixed-fleet AC40 regattas, a return to AC75 sailing, and the long ramp toward the America’s Cup in Naples.

This is where training becomes intent.

The Last Wake

Wrapping up 2025 didn’t look like an ending. It looked like sharpening.

Two boats. Tight racing. Hard decisions.

Emirates Team New Zealand isn’t waiting for the next Cup cycle to begin.

They’re already racing it.