Taihoro

Taihoro is an AC75 foiling monohull racing yacht that successfully defended the America’s Cup for the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron (RNZYS) from 12-19 October 2024 in the 37th America’s Cup match in Barcelona, Spain.

It defeated Britannia III representing the UK’s Royal Yacht Squadron 7-2.

Taihoro is a verb in te reo Maori meaning “to move swiftly as the sea between both sky and earth” in English.

[3] This was the first time a defender yacht was allowed to participate in part of an America’s Cup challenger series, although points from the races involving the defender were not counted in terms of which four challengers would progress to the semifinals of the Louis Vuitton Cup.

After the first day’s racing in the Louis Vuitton Cup in August 2024, in which Taihoro beat Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, the crane lifting it out of the water malfunctioned, dropping it approximately 7m, damaging its hull.