With the 36th America's Cup fast approaching, teams involved in the 2021 event are keeping a close eye on the calendar as the latest deadlines becoming the most pressing concern.
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The newer teams must find the time to build their design and develop their sailing programs from scratch.
The three last-minute entries, Malta Altus Challenge, DutchSail and Stars Stripes Team USA, were determined valid by the America's Cup Arbitration Panel.
Following the arbitration, the protocol around late entry fees has been updated and changes can be made by the Challenger of Record and defender Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ).
"This means that payment of entry fees is a condition to teams being able to race in the America's Cup, rather than a condition of being an accepted Challenger.
So, each late entry fee would only need to be paid by the team before the first race of the competition.
"The path is therefore now clear for the late entries to continue building their respective campaigns to try to participate and the Defender and Challenger of Record will give whatever support they can" Emirates Team New Zealand CEO Grant Dalton said after the arbitration decision.
While the arbitration process has come as relief for some, it has already delayed progress in the middle of an already compressed time.
In light of these difficulties, it was reported that Malta Altus Challenge may be forced to withdraw from the competition due to time constraints.
Another two challengers have also been suggested as potential withdrawals.
In a swift response to the reports, Emirates Team New Zealand issued a statement on April 2.
"Due to today's speculation, The Defender Emirates Team New Zealand can confirm no Challenger has withdrawn from the 36th America's Cup," they posted on the Emirates Team New Zealand website.
"The payment dates for entry fees are not time critical.
"The arbitration panel ruled that they are ineligible to race if entry fees remain unpaid, but their validity as a challenger in the meantime is not affected.
"The teams just need to be up to date by the time of the first race of the America's Cup World Series in 2020.
"Emirates Team New Zealand has been, and remains fully supportive of encouraging the new teams into the 36th America's Cup joining the already very well established and strong group of existing Challengers."
While the March 31 embargo preventing teams from launching their first iteration of the AC36 has passed, most teams aren't expected to have their boats finished until mid 2019.
DutchSail and Stars Stripes Team USA will find it difficult to build their AC36 in time.
DutchSail has advised that their timeline for a boat launch is March 2020, and announced a crowdfunding campaign to supplement other fundraising and sponsorship for their first America's Cup Challenge.
At this point, the first AC World Series in Cagliari, originally slated for October 2019, seems to have been postponed to April 2020.
American Magic is the only team that has built the next best thing to the actual race boat, the AC75.
The team has been gaining valuable experience aboard the 38-foot test boat, dubbed The Mule, sailing on the waters off Pensacola in Florida.
The New York Yacht Club's crew, with Kiwi veteran Dean Barker on the helm, have become increasingly comfortable with the boat and are doing dry laps with foiling tacks and gybes, confirming they had been on their foils for as long as 26 kilometres.
Skipper Terry Hutchinson said testing wasn't all smooth sailing, with the boat tending to nose-dive in certain situations.
ETNZ and Luna Rossa have been using simulators as they build their test boats.
Early analysis suggests that the AC75 will sail between 25 to 28 knots upwind and 32 to 50 knots downwind depending on wind conditions.
Jack O'Rourke is a contributor to Ocean Media
KEY MILESTONE
Australian motoryacht manufacturer Maritimo has entered the production phase of the highly anticipated X50 sport yacht at its new state of the art Gold Coast based manufacturing facility.
Construction of the first hulls has commenced ahead of the world premiere of the X50 at Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show in May which will be followed by exhibitions throughout Australia, New Zealand and North America in the remainder of 2019.
The latest addition to the revolutionary X-Series line will look to add to what has been one of the most successful product launches in Maritimo's history, following the astounding international response to the release of the X60 at Sanctuary Cove last May.
ENGINE RELIEF
Older-style two-stroke outboard engines will legally remain on sale after the deadline to phase them out was extended for another 12 months. The legislation was meant to come into effect from July 1 this year. However, the Department of Environment and Energy announced it would give importers another year to clear excess stock.
The Department confirmed extended the deadline following a number of concerns raised from retailers and boat dealers who have seen a decrease in sales as a consequence of the severe weather conditions and drought.
Engine importers have not been allowed to bring non-compliant outboard engines into Australia since July last year.