Pensacola Welcomes New York Yacht Club Challenger American Magic Back for the 36th America’s Cup By Julie B. Connerley
T
he City of Pensacola and its maritime community were delighted to welcome back, for winter training, New York Yacht Club American Magic, Challenger for the 36th America's Cup. We reported on their first visit in the May 2019 issue of SOUTHWINDS. At that time they brought their 38-ft half scale prototype nicknamed The Mule, to test the innovative design and performance of the full-scale AC75 foiling monohull then being built. They have executed dozens of test runs on The Mule since its launch in 2019. Two years and 76,000 combined man-hours later, a 150person team comprised of design, fabrication, shore and sailing teams produced the first America's Cup AC75 Challenger boat of its type to both sail and foil. Built in a dedicated facility in Rhode Island, it has been over 16 years since an America's Cup team has represented New York Yacht Club. The team christened the AC75 Defiant, on September 14, 2019 in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Their decision to return to Pensacola for winter training in 2020 was “Easy for us because of the fantastic bay, our familiarity with the area and the hospitality of the commu-
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nity here,” said Terry Hutchison, Skipper and Executive Director of American Magic. The Mule and American Magic team members returned to Pensacola in November 2019. Defiant arrived on December 3rd and was photographed by local sailing enthusiasts during her first sail on December 16th. The Port of Pensacola, Defiant's temporary home, enjoys a diverse mix of tenants including international companies such as CEMEX and local aquaculture breeding operations, Pensacola Bay Oysters. Historically the port handled import/export of bulk materials including paper, lumber and fertilizer. “More recently the port has seen an extensive increase in the handling of wind energy generation components,” said M. Clark Merritt, Jr., Deputy Port Director. “The Port of Pensacola is ideally suited for the type of temporary compound the American Magic Team has set up,” continued Merritt. “Different this year than last was construction of a much larger hangar for the boats and operating spaces for the Team all housed in containers and double stacked on almost the same footprint they used in 2019.’
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