B&G and the Americas Cup

The 170-year story of the Americas Cup is one of intrigue and innovation. It's regarded as the pinnacle of sailing, and the 36th Cup, the buildup to which starts in Auckland at the end of 2020, is no different. A new generation of radical 75-foot foiling monohulls has hit the water, but no-one knows what to expect until the starting gun fires.

With speeds of up to 50kts expected and boats flying around the race course, margins for error are non-existent. That's why teams including INEOS Team UK and Emirates Team New Zealand have chosen B&G technology to keep them up to speed on the real-time conditions on board.

B&G has been involved in Americas Cup campaigns for decades, helping the sailors, designers and shore teams to monitor and analyse performance, with one goal in mind: winning the oldest trophy in sport.

B&G and the Americas Cup

We've been an integral part of successful Cup campaigns for decades. Mark Chisnell takes up the story with a short history of sailing electronics
and how they have helped sailors in their quest for greater accuracy and performance...

In the beginning...

We take a look back to the start of the instrument revolution

The search for accuracy gets serious

Mark Chisnell's short history of marine electronics continues

Faster and Faster

How instruments have taken center stage in top flight racing

America's Cup teams aren't short of cash - so you know that the kit they choose is the best available. We spent 500 hours in the wind tunnel and 200,000 hours on the water to make our new generation wind sensors up to 10x more accurate than other wind sensors - and the results speak for themselves. Emirates Team New Zealand and INEOS Team UK have two at the masthead and one on the end of the bowsprit, and they are at the heart of maximising the performance and safety of these powerful boats, delivering crucial wind data to the sailors on board and the analysts ashore.

“We are delighted to partner with B&G to deliver and develop marine electronics for our America’s Cup campaign,” said Sir Ben Ainslie, Skipper and Team Principal INEOS TEAM UK. “On the water we need the best equipment to allow us to perform at the optimum level, knowing that we have the support and products of a British brand with a heritage of delivering award winning and cutting-edge sailing innovation is a big performance enhancer for the campaign.”

The team use B&G radars, instruments, VHFs and chartplotters on their chase boats to support the race team, as well as our wind instruments on the AC75.

Latest Videos

Lucky enough to be watching the AC action on the water in the Hauraki Gulf? You can download the course areas and display them on your B&G chartplotter to make sure you are free to enjoy the racing without being chased away by the marshals!

Newstalk ZB's D'Arcy Waldegrave talks to some of the movers and shakers from the sailing world to find out just what makes them tick; who their heroes are and what makes them keep coming back for more.

On the first episode, he interviews Chris Dickson. Chris is one of New Zealand's most decorated sailors - Olympian, World Champion, Round the World competitor and America's Cup skipper and team owner. Chris Dickson has done it all.

New episodes will be released every week. Listen to the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcast or the iHeartRadio website.