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Everything you need to know about the 37th America’s Cup

Follow the build-up to the 37th America’s Cup as the teams prepare to fight it out for the oldest sporting trophy in the world.

Which teams are in the 37th America’s Cup?

In 2021 four teams raced in fully foiling AC75 monohulls which were conceived specifically for the event by then Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand and Challenger of Record, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli.

These same four teams return for the 2024 America’s Cup and will be joined by two additional teams, bringing the total number of entries up to 6.

Emirates Team New Zealand – America’s Cup Defender

As the current holder of the America’s Cup, Emirates Team New Zealand will be racing again in the 37th America’s Cup. As the Defender, the Kiwis will be guaranteed a spot in the America’s Cup regatta itself.

Any other challengers will need to race each other in preliminary regattas for the right to be the single challenger in the America’s Cup regatta itself.

Emirates Team New Zealand represent the Royal Auckland Yacht Club in America’s Cup racing.

INEOS Britannia – America’s Cup Challenger of Record

The Challenger of Record is the name given to the first yacht club to challenge the holder of the America’s Cup once it has been won.

When Emirates Team New Zealand successfully completed their defence of the America’s Cup in 2021, the Royal Yacht Squadron immediately issued a challenge on behalf of Ben Ainslie’s INEOS Team UK (now called INEOS Britannia), so they are Challenger of Record for the 37th America’s Cup .

INEOS Britannia and Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team has strengthened an exhausting relationship, with the British challenger standing to benefit from the technical and engineering experience of the multiple World Champion F1 team.

Luna Rossa perform a tight leeward mark rounding

Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli

Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli has a very long America’s Cup history having first competed in 2000 and has taken part in every Cup since (with the exception of the unique 2010 Deed of Gift match).

For the 36th America’s Cup Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli were the challenger of record. They also won the challenger selection series so it was this Italian team who took on Emirates Team New Zealand for the America’s Cup itself.

The team will return for the 37th America’s Cup though this time they are not the official challenger of record.

American Magic

In 2021 the New York Yacht Clubs’ American Magic was also competing, though their event was ultimately ruined by a capsize in the early part of the regatta . They did get the boat rebuilt but it never got back up to speed and they made an early exit.

The 2021 campaign marked the return of the New York Yacht Club to the America’s Cup. The NYYC held the America’s Cup from its inception in 1851 right the way through to 1983, when they were defeated by the Royal Perth Yacht Club’s Australia II .

American Magic have confirmed their entry into the 37th America’s Cup and will, once again, be representing the New York Yacht Club.

Alinghi Red Bull Racing out training in their training AC75, purchased from Emirates Team New Zealand. Photo: Alinghi Red Bull Racing media

Alinghi Red Bull Racing

Another team making a return to the America’s Cup scene after a long break will be Ernesto Bertarelli’s Alinghi team. The Swiss team won the America’s Cup in 2003 and then completed a successful defence in 2007.

However, a serious falling out over the potential rules for the next America’s Cup saw Alinghi taken to court by Larry Ellison and his BMW Oracle team, the 2010 America’s Cup was held between Alinghi and BMW Oracle Racing in a Deed of Gift match that saw the teams fight it out in huge multihulls.

BMW Oracle won the contest and Alinghi stepped away from America’s Cup racing. Their return is a welcome one and their Cup history alongside their partnership with Red Bull Racing should see them a solid challenge from the off.

Orient Express Team France

The French entry to the 2024 America’s Cup was long rumoured but it was not until quite late in the day that they officially announced their intention to challenge.

It was in early 2023 that the official announcement came of a French AC entry, backed by Accor Group and its brands Orient Express and ALL-ACCOR Live Limitless.

As a fairly late challenge they will have a lot to do to be competitive.

What boats will be used in the 37th America’s Cup

The Protocol for the 37th America’s Cup has been released including the rules for the class of boat to be used in the next edition of the event. Once again the America’s Cup will be raced for in AC75s . These boats were first brought in ahead of the 36th America’s Cup so this will be their second outing.

The foiling monohulls will be slightly different, with rules being tweaked partly aimed at improving light wind performance and reducing crew numbers from 11 to 8.

Teams will only be allowed to build one AC75 and nationality rules are strict this time around requiring 100% of the race crew for each competitor to either be a passport holder of the country of the team’s yacht club or to have been physically present in that country for 18 months of the previous three years prior to 17th March 2021.

Emirates Team New Zealand saw success in 2017 in Bermuda with their Cyclors . These may well return for the 37th America’s Cup.

When it comes to the events, there will be up to three Preliminary Regattas, the first two raced in a new one-design class of AC40s , the last one at the Match venue in AC75s. The Challenger Selection Series and the America’s Cup Match will be held in 2024.

Barcelona, the venue for the 37th America’s Cup

Where will the 37th America’s Cup be held?

Barcelona, Spain was selected in 2022 as the venue for the 37th America’s Cup , marking the first time a New Zealand team has chosen to defend a Cup win overseas.

The home city of Emirates Team New Zealand and the venue for the 36th America’s Cup, Auckland, had an exclusive period in which to tender for the regatta immediately after the Kiwis’ successful defence in 2021, but the sums on offer were not enough, and Emirates Team New Zealand CEO Grant Dalton cast the net wider internationally after rejecting a NZ$99 million (£50 million) offer from the New Zealand government.

A number venues were mooted including: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Cork, Ireland; Malaga, Spain, but Barcelona eventually won out.

When will the 37th America’s Cup be raced?

The America’s Cup will be held in 2024 in Barcelona. Racing in the 37th America’s Cup Match itself, which is a best of 13 (first to seven) format will start on Saturday 12th October 2024 and could run all the way to the 27th October should all the races be needed to pick a winner.

The America’s Cup will be proceeded by the challenger selection series, which will see which of the five challenger gets the honour to race New Zealand for the Cup itself.

The stated aim was to hold the event in the September-October window, which will allow for the Olympic Games in Paris, France to conclude and also offers a decent range of weather with wind speeds usually around the 9-15 knot mark.

Match Racing

Though the America’s Cup was first raced for in 1851 ( and won by the schooner America from which the trophy gets its name), this race was between a fleet of boats. A challenge by the British in the 1870s was also conducted as a fleet race.

By the 1880s, following a protest from the British, the America’s Cup was decided in a head-to-head match race where two boats sail against each other.

Match racing is a particular skill and encourages aggressive manoeuvres using the rules to put your opponent at a disadvantage. This cut-and-thrust racing, where the only objective is to beat your opponent, has long been at the heart of America’s Cup racing and produces a thrilling spectacle.

You can catch all the latest America’s Cup news, analysis and videos right here on Yachtingworld.com

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Over the next several months, anyone looking out over the waters of Pensacola Bay may get a glimpse of the 75-foot sailboat Patriot flying over the water at speeds of more than 50 mph.

New York Yacht Club American Magic is back in Pensacola for another winter, and the team is looking to make Pensacola a permanent winter training location.

Terry Hutchinson, skipper and president of sailing operations for American Magic, told the News Journal that the team hopes to have a permanent brick-and-mortar facility at the Port of Pensacola in the coming years.

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"Our goal has to be when we get done with (the America's Cup) in 2024, we're coming back to the American Magic High-Performance Training Center or the American Magic America's Cup base here in Pensacola, Florida," Hutchinson said. "So, we have a place to return to, we have a place that we can go straight back into our training facility and pick up right where we left off, win, lose or draw."

The America's Cup is one of the most prestigious sailing race events in the world and features boats that are on the cutting edge of sailing technology.

The 37th America's Cup is set to take place in Barcelona, Spain, in 2024 between the defending team Emirates Team New Zealand, and four other teams: INEOS Britannia of the United Kingdom, Alinghi Red Bull Racing of Switzerland, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team of Italy and American Magic of the U.S.

American Magic expects to train in Pensacola up until next summer, when it will move its operations to Spain to prepare for the America's Cup there.

Hutchinson said the competition is best described to people who may not be familiar with sailing as Formula 1 racing on the water.

"One thing that's unique about the America's Cup is that the competition itself is incredibly difficult to win," Hutchinson said. "A lot of the rules are tilted in the favor of the defender because the defender gets to write the rules. And so, by that very nature, the competition is difficult, which makes it exciting and challenging."

The boats in the competition are closer to aircraft than traditional yachts.

The design of the boat, called the AC75, as in America's Cup 75-feet, is a foiling sailboat. The boats feature two large hydrofoils that swing down into the water and lift the hull of the boat out of the water, allowing the boat to "fly" above the water with the foils acting as underwater wings using the same physics that allow an airplane to fly.

The boats can move more than twice as fast as the wind it's using to sail. In the last America's Cup in 2021, the American Magic boat Patriot reached speeds of 60 mph in a 25 mph wind.

Winter training

The team selected Pensacola as a winter training base during the last America's Cup because the geography and wind conditions in Pensacola Bay made it "a perfect spot" to train, Hutchinson said.

"The sailing is really, really good, and then put on top of it, how welcoming everybody here has been to us," Hutchinson said. "It's a perfect spot for us to come and train and develop."

The city of Pensacola included the prospect of a potential American Magic training facility in its $53 million Triumph Gulf Coast application.

"The goal has to be that for (the 38th America's Cup) that we're building at our own facility here in Pensacola, and then we're manufacturing or finishing off our own sails here in Pensacola, and that the engineering and the design is being done by people here in Pensacola and the surrounding community," Hutchinson said.

Hutchinson said a major vision of the team's owners is to boost the marine industry in the United States in aspects of engineering, design and manufacturing while also driving interest in the sport of sailing.

Hutchinson said growing the sport will require driving interest at the youth level and training the next generation of Olympic sailors.

"The nice thing about Pensacola is that the No. 1 most critical part of it is already here, and that's the water and the venue," Hutchinson said.

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Hutchinson said getting youth interest in sailing is important to building the sport and noted the Pensacola Yacht Club offers good beginners sailing classes, but he hopes there will be more opportunities in the future.

"What needs to be developed is some level of community sailing and some level of community support that allows for an opportunity, not just for yacht club kids, but for all kids to come and participate and learn about the sport," Hutchinson said.

The team has about 96 members working in various fields, and many have come to live in Pensacola with their families. Hutchinson said with the families who now live here, about 300 people associated with the team call Pensacola home.

Hutchinson recently got his Florida driver's license in town, and the clerk asked him what he did for a living.

"I said, 'Well, you know, American Magic,' and I just started to say, 'We're Pensacola's professional sailing team for the America's Cup,'" Hutchinson said. "... We represent the New York Yacht Club. We represent the United States, but we also represent Pensacola."

Back on the water

The team is already back on the water in Pensacola Bay. Last week and over the weekend, the team conducted its first water trials since the Patriot was brought back from New Zealand. The team plans to be out on the water again on Wednesday.

Past America's Cup competitions also meant a cadre of spies from other teams in town scoping out the progress of the boat, but with the latest America's Cup rules, spying is now officially sponsored with an America's Cup recon team observing American Magic on behalf of all of the other teams. The recon team photographs every move the boat makes outside of its tent at the port. 

The recon team reported that the Patriot was out in Pensacola Bay on Sunday and sailed for the first time reaching speeds of 20 mph, an unimaginable speed for a traditional sailboat but an easy day on the water for American Magic.

Video taken by the recon team showed the Patriot hull lifted out of the water as the boat cruised in view of Community Maritime Park and Bruce Beach.

American Magic is committed to the 37th America's Cup in 2024 and the following 38th America's Cup, likely to be in 2027.

"We know that we're coming back to Pensacola, and it's becoming part of our DNA and part of our area to develop and train," Hutchinson said.

Jim Little can be reached at [email protected] and 850-208-9827.

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America's Cup: New York Yacht Club goes from 'Pause' to 'Play' in AC37

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Published on May 9th, 2021 | by Editor

New York Yacht Club submits path forward for America’s Cup

Published on May 9th, 2021 by Editor -->

The America’s Cup needs only two teams, and it is those teams that create the Protocol for the competition. But with the heightened requirement for commercial support, more teams are needed to increase interest. The New York Yacht Club wants to be one of those teams, having returned to the event in 2021 after a decade and a half away from sailing’s flagship competition.

The 36th edition did not end well for the US club, with their American Magic team exiting early following a horrific capsize. And now as they sit and wait for the New Zealand Defender and British Challenger of Record to sort out the details of the next event, New York Yacht Club has offered an outline of what they want.

Or rather, it is an outline of what the club has gathered though meetings with other parties interested in competing too.

Call it their ‘two cents’, and while the headline of the club’s statement reads, ‘New York Yacht Club Submits Challenge and Evolutionary Draft Protocol for 37th America’s Cup’, this is about seeking a chair at the table.

Until the Protocol is released, stating additional challengers can enter, the New York Yacht Club more accurately submitted an expression of interest along with terms they contend are good for the event… here it is:

On Thursday, May 6, the New York Yacht Club submitted to the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron in Auckland, New Zealand, a challenge for the 37th America’s Cup. The challenge was accompanied by a draft Protocol for the regatta, which would see the Cup Match take place in New Zealand during early 2024, utilizing the AC75 class. “The America’s Cup is at a pivotal point in its 170-year history,” says Christopher J. Culver, Commodore of the New York Yacht Club. “The competition for the 36th edition was thrilling, and Emirates Team New Zealand, representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, was a worthy winner. However, the New York Yacht Club, as the original trustee of the event and a participant in the most recent edition, has serious concerns about the future of this great competition.

“The cost of a competitive campaign, the lack of continuity in the class and the inability to plan beyond the current cycle have combined to create a prohibitive barrier to entry, which has manifested in the dwindling number of challengers and public interest. While we await further details on the location, timing and conditions for the 37th America’s Cup, we want to emphatically signal our enthusiasm for a multi-challenger event in 2024.

Christopher J. Culver

“Our proposed Protocol for the 37th America’s Cup is the product of months of work and countless conversations with America’s Cup stakeholders, including current and former challengers and defenders,” continues Culver.

“It includes the tools necessary to improve the long-term commercial viability and global reach of the competition, while remaining true to the Deed of Gift and to the spirit of one of international sport’s oldest competitions. Other established teams that have similar views on the future of the competition.”

The draft Protocol ( click here ) put forward by the New York Yacht Club features several key concepts:

1. A multi-event schedule—time and location—for the next four America’s Cup regattas, which will enable teams, corporate partners and media to plan in advance, think beyond single campaigns and maximize revenue opportunities 2. Enhanced and independent event management via the creation of an America’s Cup Board of Governors, which will provide continuity and impartial oversight 3. Consistency in design, starting with the confirmation of the AC75 as the class for the 37th America’s Cup 4. Stronger crew nationality rules to draw more interest and to promote friendly competition between foreign countries 5. Cost-control measures; a predictable, and shorter, three-year cycle; consistency in platform; an increase in one-design components; and a limit of one new boat per Cup cycle, all of which will make the America’s Cup more accessible and more sustainable

“By issuing this challenge, along with a Protocol, we are presenting a path forward for the event, one that will provide it with the tools to thrive in the modern international sports marketplace,” says Culver.

The New York Yacht Club won the America’s Cup in 1851, created the recurring event in 1870, and successfully defended the Cup 26 times. In 1983, the Cup was won by the Royal Perth Yacht Club. The New York Yacht Club remained active as a challenger in 1987, 2000, and 2003 before stepping away from the competition.

With the creation of the American Magic syndicate, the Club returned to the America’s Cup in 2021. The end result was not what the team or Club hoped for, but the inspired response of the membership to the campaign encouraged the Club’s flag officers to consider another challenge.

“Our challenge is inclusive,” says Culver. “I’ve have spoken with representatives of both the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and the Royal Yacht Squadron to assure them that New York Yacht Club is ready and willing to come to the table to help bridge gaps, foster a transparent discussion to adopt some or all of the key components of our draft Protocol and, ultimately, create the framework for a multi-challenger 37th America’s Cup and a sustainable future for the event.”

Following the NYYC statement came a response from the British on May 9, 2021:

As the Challenger of Record for the 37th America’s Cup, we are working collaboratively with the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and Team New Zealand to write the Protocol that will define the rules moving forward.

We are delighted to hear that the New York Yacht Club are interested in continuing participation in the America’s Cup and we will keep them informed as we move forward.

Tags: America's Cup , Christopher Culver , INEOS Britania , New York Yacht Club

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Newport-based American Magic to again represent New York Yacht Club at America's Cup

NEW YORK — Earlier this week, the trustees of the New York Yacht Club approved a challenge for the 37th edition of the America’s Cup, sailing’s most prestigious trophy.

“We are extremely excited to continue our quest to regain the America’s Cup with American Magic,” Paul M. Zabetakis, commodore of the New York Yacht Club, said in a prepared statement. “Upon receiving the Protocol for the 37th match, we were pleased to find that it contains elements advocated for by the club last spring.

"In addition, the executive committee recently received a new proposal from Doug DeVos and Hap Fauth, American Magic principals and Club members, that warranted reconsidering our earlier decision to pause our pursuit of AC37."

Previously: New York Yacht Club pulls out of 37th America's Cup

The New York Yacht Club created the America’s Cup and successfully defended it 25 times before losing the Cup to Australia II and the Royal Perth Yacht Club in Newport in 1983. In the years since, the New York Yacht Club has challenged for the trophy four times. The most recent challenge, represented by American Magic, ended prematurely when the team was knocked out of the Prada Cup Challenger Selection Series in Auckland in January of 2021.

Discussions regarding the club’s next challenge started shortly after Emirates Team New Zealand successfully defended the Cup last March. However, due to a lack of clarity regarding the rules, timing and venue for the next Match, the club decided in October to pause its America’s Cup efforts. 

36th Cup: Portsmouth-based American Magic eliminated from America's Cup competition

A renewed mutual desire to have American Magic sail on behalf of the club and commit to a campaign for at least two consecutive America’s Cup cycles prompted the club and team to join forces for the 37th America’s Cup.

“While the result in Auckland was not what we had hoped for, skipper Terry Hutchinson and the entire team were tremendous ambassadors for the Club and displayed exemplary sportsmanship throughout the campaign,” Zabetakis said. “The America’s Cup remains the highest peak in sailing and one of the most difficult challenges in the world of sport. The lessons learned during our previous campaign, combined with American Magic’s physical and intellectual assets and a commitment to multiple cycles, will ensure this challenge a strong chance to claim sailing’s ultimate prize.”

While winning remains the primary goal, it’s not the only focal point of the campaign.

“The club’s involvement in AC37 must advance our foundational initiatives, including the development of America’s youth sailing talent and a commitment to increasing diversity within our sport,” Zabetakis said. “We will also continue to push for changes to the structure of the competition that can make the event more accessible to challengers, fans and corporate partners.”

The team and the club eagerly await the announcement within the next few months of the venue and schedule for the 37th America’s Cup.

“We intend to compete in AC37 and are hungry and highly motivated to be the most innovative team on and off the water,” Fauth said in a prepared statement. “We are proud of how our team rebounded during AC36, but we have unfinished business and are committed to investing in technology, design, innovation, and talent so we are best positioned to bring the America’s Cup home!”

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Just under four months after announcing that they had jettisoned American Magic, their team from the 36th America’s Cup, New York Yacht Club has done the same with their replacement.

  Earlier today, it emerged that Stars+Stripes had also been given the push by the Club. No statements as to the reason have been made by the Club or team.

On July 24 July the New York Yacht Club announced that they had decided to have a relationship, with one of the late entries for the 2021 America’s Cup, Stars+Stripes, and for that team to be its representative for the next America’s Cup.

“To bring together the best American sailing talent, the Stars+Stripes team founded by members Mike Buckley and Taylor Canfield, the reigning Match Racing World Champions, will join the New York Yacht Club’s campaign for the 37th America’s Cup. The legacy of Stars+Stripes’ campaign for the 36th America’s Cup includes numerous key components and relationships that will contribute to a successful Cup campaign,” the Club said in a statement announcing the change-out.

Today’s move has come as a complete surprise to Stars+Stripes management, who were due to have meetings later this week with the club, covering sponsorship and finance progress.

Also out of the loop with today’s revelation, were their former team American Magic. We spoke off the record to both teams earlier today.

More curiously the Club, which held the trophy for 132 years, issued a Challenge and Protocol of its own in early May 2021. The Challenge as unexpected, and was made ahead of the entries opening for the 37th America’s Cup. The Challenge was not welcomed by defender, Emirates Team New Zealand, and was the move was later embroiled with some controversy after flawed moves were made to unseat the Royal Yacht Squadron Ltd as the first accepted challenger.

At that stage, May 2021, it was widely expected that NYYC would continue with American Magic, which despite their spectacular capsize on Day 3 of the Prada Cup had been performing well, and was the only Challenger team to defeat Cup defenders, Emirates Team New Zealand in December 2020’s America’s Cup World Series regatta.

The reasons for NYYC dumping one of the three “super teams” from the 36th America’s Cup were never revealed, and the decision to run with Stars+Stripes surprised many.

Led by Mike Buckley and Taylor Canfield, Stars+Stripes represented a fresh face in the America’s Cup, and may have been able to qualify for some exemptions, as an “emerging team” for the 37th America’s Cup. The team had also recently announced the signing of sponsor Ralph Lauren.

The New York Yacht Club has long hankered for the America’s Cup to return to more conventional monohulls, and was also believed to have reservations about the possibility of Saudi Arabia being the venue for the 37th America’s Cup. Emirates Team New Zealand were due to make an announcement on the preferred venue on September 17, but deferred on that date after the preferred option Cork, Ireland requested another six months to consider a feasibility study on the Cup hosting. Currently five venues are believed to be under consideration, being two in Spain, Ireland, Saudi Arabia, and with New Zealand as a remote possibility along with and undeclared venues. Over the last few weeks as the world emerges from COVID-19 lockdown measures there is a possibility that other options may emerge.

Further statements are expected from Stars+Stripes and the Club.

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There are more than 20 towns in America called Moscow. Why is that?

• By Alina Simone Jared Goyette

A railroad track in Moscow, Arkansas. 

Photo courtesy of Erjan Aisabay.

When Jack Spaulding was growing up in Moscow, Tennessee, he always wondered how the town, a small, rural community of about 80 residents, got its name. It didn’t seem to have any obvious connection with Russia, but could any of the local tales he’d heard actually be true?

“I would ask all the old folks here in town if anybody knew how the town got its name. Well, I got all these hokey answers like, ‘Well, it's because of the moss and... they used to send the cows down there to graze on the moss. Moss cow. And then after that Ma's cow — like, belonging to your mother's. ... Nobody really had any idea where the name came about,” Spaulding says.

A mailbox in Moscow, Kentucky. 

Photo courtesy of Erjan Aisabay. 

Spaulding eventually dug deeper, and his research turned up an unexpected finding: The area had been known as something like “Moscow” since before the town was founded in the early 1800s. That clue led him in a new direction.  

“I went through the dictionary looking for any type of word that would sound similar to Moscow or would be spoken by Europeans like 'Moscow' and I believe as I recall, the word closest to that was Mashetow," he says.

According to Spaulding, Mashetow was a Native American word meaning "to go" or "the place to where we're going."

"I think Moscow was the place to where the Native Americans would go for the watering ground. ... What is this place? Mashetow! This is the place we're going.”

Spaulding’s conclusion wasn’t definitive, but it was a worthy effort. He isn’t the only person to set out trying to figure out why a small town in the middle of America acquired the same name as the capital of Russia. There are more than 20 identically named cities scattered across the country. There’s a Moscow in Idaho near the border with Washington, another up north in Maine and one down south in Texas.

When Ren Vasilyev, now a professor of geography at the State University of New York Geneseo, was a graduate student, she decided to tackle the riddle of America’s many Moscows. It was 1986, the height of the Cold War battle with the Moscow-capitaled Soviet Union, and in those misty pre-Internet days, a project like this required a lot of analog legwork.

She poured through old county history books, and found that just as with Spaulding's hometown, most of the Moscows in America didn’t have anything to do with Russia or its capital.

One was the result of a misunderstanding: Moscow, Kansas. Town officials had tried to name their city after Luis de Moscoso, a Spanish conquistador, but they decided to shorten the name to M-O-S-C-O. When they submitted an application to create a post office, it came back with the extra letter.

“The guy in DC thought that these little silly people in Kansas didn't know what they were doing and had spelled the name wrong. So he had added that W on it,” Vasilyev says.

But, the most common reason people named their community Moscow, she learned, was more straightforward.

“Things like Spring Valley or Springfield or Blossom Hill, or you know, those kind of pretty generic names were already taken. And so people started using what were considered exotic names, hoping that no one had already used them,” she says.

The fire department in Moscow, Michigan. 

The mystery of the Moscows of America also intrigued Erjan Aisabay, who set out to visit all of them and write a book about his experience. Aisabay, who was born in Kazakhstan but attended college in the original Moscow, launched his project hoping that America’s shared love of Russia’s capital city might help bring the two countries together.

But as Aisabay drove from state to state, his dream of finding a Russian connection dwindled. And some of America’s Muscovites turned out to be less than supportive. Like in Moscow, Texas, where his attempt to strike up a conversation didn’t turn out as planned.

“I say, 'Hi my name is so and so, you know I'm writing a book about Moscows' and then you know she looks at me like completely mistrust and she's like 'You should leave.' ... And I saw something that looked like a gun. ... This was my last Moscow and I'm like, 'I don't want to die in my last Moscow!'”

A road sign in Moscow, Ohio in 1987. 

Photo courtsey of Ren Vasilyev.

00:30 What do Toad Suck, Eighty Four, Cut and Shoot, Glen Campbell and Cookietown have in common?

1:30 Introducing the Nametag series.  We are digging up the stories behind place names in a series we’re calling Nametag

3:00 Patrick’s obsession with Wasilla, Alaska

5:18 Reporter Alina Simone has always been curious about the origins of all the Moscows in the United States. There are 26 Moscows

6:39 Ren Vasilyev decided to tackle the riddle of America’s many Moscows as a graduate student in 1986

7:01 Most Moscows didn’t have much to do with Moscow. In fact, they weren’t even pronounced Moscow

7:31 Jack Spaulding of Moscow, Indiana has also always about the name

8:27 Drawing inspiration from fanciful sources like, Napoleon

9:05 Moscow, Kansas became Moscow by mistake

9:43 The biggest reason to name your community Moscow, everything else was taken

10:03 Only one, lonely Moscow — Moscow, Pennsylvania — was allegedly named by actual Russia people

10:46 Meet Erjan Aisabay.  He has visited all 26 Moscows

11:20 Not all American Muscovites were friendly. In fact some were downright hostile like one woman in Moscow, Texas

12:04 Erjan visited Moscow, PA to look for any evidence of the supposed Slavic connection

13:27 Professor Vasilyev’s research shows that only one Moscow, the town of Lester in New York, cast the name aside for political reasons

15:14 There are many more Russian names in the United States like Saint Petersburg, FL, Sebastopol, CA, Odessa, TX

15:49 The issue of place names was very sensitive in Russia especially under the Soviet Union

18:14 Nina subjects Patrick to “ Arab, Alabama ” an offensive song (and video) by the country comedy duo Pinkard and Bowden 

20:06  Submit YOUR Nametag story idea. Have you always had a question about a place name? Be it a street name or the name of a town or a mountain?  Let us know.  Email [email protected] or tweet at us @lingopod

20:45 Finally, finally the answer to the NEH accent quiz from last week

Literary Event held at St. Nicholas Patriarchal Cathedral

Mar 12, 2024

On March 10, 2024, at the end of the Sunday Divine Liturgy, a creative and fascinating literary event took place with the Russian poet and writer Nikolai Tyurin...

Representation of the World Russian People's Council to the United Nations

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In Barcelona with the New York Yacht Club's AC37 Challenger American Magic

This month, Shirley Robertson heads to Barcelona to interview some of the key personnel from American Magic, the New York Yacht Club's challenger to the 37th America's Cup.

This month, Shirley Robertson heads to Barcelona to interview some of the key personnel from American Magic, the New York Yacht Club's challenger to the 37th America's Cup.

Embarking on their second America's Cup challenge, American Magic are a team rich in sailing talent, with a roster boasting a mix of some of the most experienced campaigners and some of the sport's brightest rising stars.

Robertson starts the two part podcast with one of the sailing team's newest signings, co-helm Tom Slingsby. A previous winner of the Cup in 2013, Slingsby joins the team as co-helm with Paul Goodison, creating a mouth watering combination that sees two of Olympic Laser sailing's fiercest of rivals come together in the Cup's new "dual helm" configuration. As Slingsby admits, it's a setup the pair are still figuring out...

"Goody and I for sure, we have different ways of racing, I might be a bit more aggressive probably and a bit more into boat on boat sailing and Goody, his way is to go fast and make sure that we're sailing the boat at optimum, and we'll sail away from them that way. It's just going to be a blend...who knows how that's going to work, we're still working on it honestly!"

Robertson also talks to sailing super coach Tom Burnham, the man tasked with getting the most out of American Magic's talent pool, before spending time sailing the AC40 simulator with rising star Harry Melges.

Robertson then opens Part two of the podcast with Slingsby's co-helm, Paul Goodison. One time Olympic team mates, Goodison and Robertson reflect on the legacy of the team's AC36 campaign in Auckland, a challenge cruelly cut short by dramatic capsize, before discussing the intricacies of the twin helm setup, in a chat that reflects the rising confidence of the team.

"I think we've got a real chance. I think...there is a belief that we are good enough on our day to do this and to get over the final line and I think if we get a boat that we think we're going to receive... and we race to the level we know we're able to then I think on our day we're going to be right there."

Part two continues with a discussion on AC75 design, as Robertson talks to American Magic design team member David Oliver, before moving on to Riley Gibbs, another of the team's rising young stars. Robertson's final guest is the mastermind behind American Magic, Terry Hutchinson, himself embarking on his sixth America's Cup campaign. Robertson and Hutchinson discuss what kind of racing we're likely to see in next year's Cup, as well as the make up of the new look American Magic sailing team.

This edition of the podcast is in two parts and is available to listen to via the podcast page of Shirley’s own website - www.shirleyrobertson.com/podcast or via most popular podcast outlets, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcast and aCast. The podcast is produced and written by Tim Butt - for further enquires, please contact [email protected].

Photos courtesy of and © American Magic

NYYC American Magic celebrates the launch of its one-design AC40

On Tuesday afternoon, New York Yacht Club American Magic held a ceremony at its team base to reveal its new AC40, "America," the multi-use foiling monohull that all teams will use for testing and racing this summer in the initial preliminary regattas for the 37th America's Cup.

The team's first AC40 was christened by New York Yacht Club Rear Commodore Clare G. Harrington at the team's Pensacola base.

"AC40 America fulfills a brand new concept, that of providing a platform not only for the testing for our America's Cup campaign but also so younger sailors of both genders can develop their skills in these highly complex foiling machines. And so ensure the future of our sport way beyond the present America's Cup campaign cycle," said Commodore Harrington, addressing a crowd of team members, friends, and partners.

NYYC American Magic President of Sailing Operations/Skipper, Terry Hutchinson, said, "Today's a good day for New York Yacht Club American Magic; we christened our first AC40' America'. America is the yacht that started this entire adventure that we're on, and so it's exciting to name our first AC40 after the New York Yacht Club boat that captured and won the first America's Cup.

The new AC40 one-design yachts are foiling monohulls, 11.3 meters in length, and capable of reaching high speeds in the high 40-knot bracket. In addition, they are incredibly maneuverable and agile, making them ideal match-racing platforms.

"America" will be launched this week, and testing and development will begin in earnest. Later this summer in Barcelona, Spain, NYYC American Magic will begin two-boat testing with a second AC40.

"What we're going to see on the water is a boat that's a lot livelier and more fun for the sailors to sail. It will be exciting to watch the guys race two of these AC40s against each other," Hutchinson said. "What I look forward to with this boat is the racing side, the foil-development side, and then also looking at the simplicity of how the boats set up and seeing how well they can race it."

Discover more about AC40s here .