Here are some basic facts about the next America’s Cup. Coverage will be on NBC and NBC Sports. Dates and times are still being considered. You can watch all race highlights on You Tube, which is a sponsor.
Oracle will be launching their new AC 72 sometime in August and will train periodically until probably mid-October when they will be shipping the boat to New Zealand to train in the winter down there. They may or may not send the second boat down there as well. Their construction facility is at Pier 80. Beginning next spring here we will definitely start seeing all the teams on SF Bay with their boats. Only Oracle (Pier 80) and Sweden (Alameda) have sites here so far, announcements to follow. The centers of activity will be at Pier’s 27-29 and south of the Bay Bridge Piers 30-32.
OFFICIAL WEBSITES
www.americascup.com
DATES
The America’s Cup World Series will be here in San Francisco Aug 21-26 and October 2-7. The racing for the Louis Vuitton Cup (Challenger Selection Series) will be July 4-September 1, 2013, and the America’s Cup will be September 7-22, 2013.
For the most part the racing will extend from Pier 29 to Crissy Field, the Golden Gate Bridge and between the City Front (Marina Green) and Alcatraz Island. Viewing areas will extend all the way from Pier 29, Pier 39, Fisherman’s Wharf, Maritime Park, Fort Mason, Marina Green, Alcatraz, Marina, Crissy Field, Fort Baker, Headlands etc.
THE BOATS
The boats for the ACWS and training are AC 45 catamarans. The wing sail is approx 75ft. high. The boats for the America’s Cup AC 72’s can be sailed for just 30 days between July 1, 2012 and February 1, 2013. After that teams can launch a second boat with a new set of training days and rules. The AC 72 catamarans (2 –hulls) will have fixed wing sails that will be 135ft. high. The boats will be incredibly powerful and could reach speeds of 40 knots. They will have crews of 11. The hulls must be built in the country of the team competing. Other part can be manufactured elsewhere.
TEAMS
Right now, officially there are 5 teams. Oracle representing the Golden Gate Yacht Club and USA is the defender. So far Artemis Racing (Sweden), Luna Rossa (Italy), Emirates Team New Zealand (NZ) and South Korea have paid their deposit (due August 1st) to enter. Energy Team (France) has yet to announce, but they are likely to participate. So realistically there will be a total of 6 teams, which isn’t as many as recent years, but not too bad considering the radical change in format and the world economy.
STRUCTURE
The America’s Cup is a charitable trust in the State of New York. It is governed by the NY Court System. Terms can be negotiated by the winning yacht club (defender) and a challenging yacht club through mutual consent. Right now the Cup is held by the Golden Gate Yacht Club in San Francisco and it has chosen Oracle as its racing team. In years past there have been trials to determine a defender, but obviously it is tough to compete against Larry Ellison’s pocketbook!
The GGYC has established two authorities to manage the 2013 America’s Cup.
1]
The America’s Cup Event Authority (ACEA) which is charge of most aspects off the race course such as raising money, sponsorship, property rights etc. The current CEO is Stephen Barkley.
2]
The America’s Cup Race Management (ACRM) is in charge of all aspects on the race course. Rules, teams, judges, race course, etc. The CEO is Ian Murray and COO is Andy Hindley. Tom Ehman is the Vice-Commodore of the GGYC and has been involved with the America’s Cup for the most part since 1980 in one capacity or another. Tom is usually emceeing public events and has been relied upon as a Cup expert during the litigation in 1988 and 2007.
All Images:©2010 America's Cup Event Authority
