Rhode Island challenger ensures US will have a boat at next year's America's Cup

NAPLES, Italy (AP) — There will be an American boat at next year’s America’s Cup after all.

American Racing Challenger Team USA representing Sail Newport in Rhode Island was announced as an official challenger Wednesday for the 2027 regatta scheduled off Naples.

The new team said it acquired key sailing assets from American Magic, including the AC75 yacht Patriot and the team’s two AC40 platforms, after the squad representing the New York Yacht Club announced in October that it would not enter its boat — which raised the possibility of having no U.S. entry for the first time.

American boats have won the America’s Cup a record 25 times and held it from its first race in 1851 all the way through 1983, when an Australian syndicate won it.

The new team said it was “the vision of entrepreneurs Karel Komárek and Chris Welch.” It will be led by American yachtsman Ken Read.

Read, who is from Massachusetts, has helmed three America’s Cup campaigns and has also been a prominent TV commentator for several America’s Cups. He was inducted into the Sailing Hall of Fame last year.

“Having the opportunity to represent the United States once again in the America’s Cup is a tremendous honor,” Read said. “We’re under no illusion about the challenges ahead and we’re fully focused on building a team that can win the Cup. We are looking forward to building a program that American sailors can be proud of and establishing a legacy that endures well into the future.”

America’s Cup Partnership CEO Marzio Perrelli, whose appointment was announced on Tuesday, welcomed the move.

“Having a strong representative team from the USA is something that we welcome, and in American Racing Challenger Team USA they have an impressive management team that have already acquired the assets of American Magic," Perrelli said. "This makes Sail Newport’s challenge a real contender and we look forward to working with the team going forward.”

Led by defender Emirates Team New Zealand, there are now six boats entered for the America’s Cup.

The other boats are from Britain (GB1, the challenger of record), Italy (Luna Rossa), Switzerland (Tudor Team Alinghi) and France (La Roche-Posay Racing Team).

A preliminary regatta will be held in Cagliari, Sardinia, next month.