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Nathan Outteridge returns to Naples, where the defence of the America’s Cup begins

Emirates Team New Zealand prepares at Nisida for the Naples Preliminary Regatta as Nathan Outteridge discusses teamwork, rivals and his connection with the city

Nathan Outteridge returns to Naples fourteen years after the 2012 World Series, now as skipper of Emirates Team New Zealand on the road to the 2027 America’s Cup

For Nathan Outteridge, Naples is not entirely new territory. His first encounter with the America’s Cup here dates back to 2012, when the World Series brought a very different generation of boats, teams and sailors to the Bay.

Fourteen years later, the Australian is back on the same waters in a very different role: he is skipper of Emirates Team New Zealand, the Defender that will attempt to retain the America’s Cup in 2027.

And this time Naples is not simply another stop on the circuit. It is where the next America’s Cup will be decided.

Naples, fourteen years later

Outteridge remembers that first experience with the city well. It was 2012 and Naples was hosting the America’s Cup World Series. Today he returns to a racecourse he describes enthusiastically, partly because of something that is impossible to separate from racing here: from the water, the city remains constantly in view.

The relationship between Naples and the Cup enters a new phase from 24 to 27 September 2026, when the Bay hosts the second Preliminary Regatta of the 38th America’s Cup cycle. It will also be the first official racing on the waters that will stage the Louis Vuitton Cup and America’s Cup Match in 2027.

For the teams, this is therefore more than a preliminary event. Every day can provide an opportunity to understand the wind, waves, racecourse geometry and characteristics of the venue where, only months later, the trophy itself will be decided.

From helmsman to skipper of the Defender

A six-time world champion and Olympic gold medallist at London 2012, Outteridge approaches this cycle with particular responsibility.

He was one of Emirates Team New Zealand’s helmsmen in the previous America’s Cup. He now takes the role of skipper of the senior team and, for the Naples Preliminary Regatta, will share helming duties with Seb Menzies, alongside trimmers Andy Maloney and Iain Jensen.

For Outteridge, leading the team also means becoming even more deeply involved in a culture he values for its dedication and the way every detail is approached.

Defending the America’s Cup brings a particular challenge: being the reference everyone wants to beat while knowing that success in the previous edition guarantees nothing in the next.

More time in meetings than on the water

The image of the modern America’s Cup is inevitably associated with AC75s flying on their foils, extraordinary speeds and manoeuvres performed at the limit. Outteridge describes a rather different daily reality.

A significant part of the work takes place away from the water. Meetings, analysis, data review and discussions about possible improvements can, according to the skipper, occupy even more time than sailing itself.

It is a useful reminder of how much the modern Cup has become a collective exercise in which performance depends on the integration of sailors, designers, engineers and analysts.

Emirates Team New Zealand already knows the Bay. Following the first Preliminary Regatta in Cagliari in May, the team completed an intensive training block in Naples during July, building hours on the future America’s Cup racecourse and collecting local performance data.

The AC40s put everyone on equal machinery

Naples will not yet feature the decisive AC75 racing. The Preliminary Regatta is sailed in identical AC40 foiling yachts, placing greater emphasis on crew work, manoeuvre execution and race strategy.

The format combines fleet racing with a final match race between the leading two crews. For Emirates Team New Zealand, it is another opportunity to refine its onboard combinations ahead of the 2027 campaign.

Six teams and nine AC40s are expected on the Bay. Emirates Team New Zealand, GB1 and Luna Rossa will also field second Women & Youth crews, alongside Tudor Team Alinghi, La Roche-Posay Racing Team and American Racing Challenger Team USA.

No rival can be overlooked

Outteridge is inevitably aware of the significance of the rivalry with Luna Rossa. The previous America’s Cup again concluded with the New Zealand Defender facing the Italian team, while the first Preliminary Regatta of this new cycle in Cagliari saw Luna Rossa defeat Emirates Team New Zealand in the match race final.

Yet the New Zealand skipper is careful not to reduce the coming competition to a predetermined duel.

The work completed by all the teams over recent months, combined with racing in identical AC40s, makes Naples an important test in which every crew can reveal something about its level of preparation.

The America’s Cup itself still lies ahead, and that is precisely why no one can assume that the competitive order has already been established.

Nisida, between preparation and life in Naples

Teams taking part in the Preliminary Regatta are being hosted at the Italian Navy’s Logistics Command at Nisida, while redevelopment work continues in Bagnoli ahead of the main event in 2027.

This is where Emirates Team New Zealand is preparing for the regatta, moving between technical work, training and meetings.

Yet even within the highly methodical America’s Cup routine, there is room for something unmistakably Neapolitan.

Outteridge says his wife and children have joined him during his time in the city and that pizza quickly became an almost nightly request. It is a small detail, but one that reveals another side of the teams’ relationship with their host city.

First the Preliminary Regatta, then 2027

For Naples, the days from 24 to 27 September will be much more than a preview.

For the first time, teams from the current cycle will race on the course intended for the 2027 America’s Cup, gaining real data from conditions they may encounter again when the stakes are considerably higher.

For Outteridge, the journey has an additional personal significance.

Naples was where he first encountered the America’s Cup world in 2012. In 2026, he returns as skipper of the Defender.

Fourteen years have passed, the boats have changed dramatically and the Cup has entered the foiling era. Yet on the same Bay, in front of the city, some of the world’s best sailors are preparing to compete once again.

This time, Naples is not simply another stop along the way.

It is the destination.

22 September 2026
© MED Yachting Editorial Team
Nathan Outteridge returns to Naples, where the defence of the America’s Cup begins
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