AC 2013 FAQ

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

Next Week. Newport!

Red Bull Youth America's Cup Gives You Wings!

They say that Red Bull "gives you wings". No one knows that more than Oracle Racing's Mark Turner, who for over an hour with the help of his crew, kept the new Red Bull Youth America's Cup AC 45 tethered (lassoed) and pointed into the wind by continually moving the catamaran around to adjust to the shifting breezes in San Francisco's Union Square. The long awaited and eagerly anticipated announcement of the plans of what would become a Youth America’s Cup came with the news that the energy drink company Red Bull would provide sponsorship of a two week championship regatta here on San Francisco Bay in August of 2013. Echoing an earlier event that day in Venice, Italy where the AC 45’s were sailing in an America’s Cup World Series (ACWS) regatta as the new generation “turbocharged” cats terrorized the Renaissance city’s ancient canals. In a simulcast video feed Oracle Racing Slipper Jimmy Spithill announced that; “this is one of the most exciting developments in the America’s Cup in a very long time!” “I am really excited about this pathway,” said Spithill, who at the extraordinary young age of 19 skippered an ACC boat Young Australia for an America’s Cup challenge for Syd Fischer in 2000. “The two are now bridged together (Red Bull and the Youth America’s Cup)” spoke Spithill. “Breaking into the America’s Cup is hard. I was fortunate to get a break which allowed me to get into the game and get noticed.” After his introductory experience in 2000 in Auckland, New Zealand Spithill went on to skipper One World in 2003, Luna Rossa in 2007 and then went on to re-invent himself in the world of high speed multi-hull racing to steer BMW Oracle’s radical winged sail trimaran to an America’s Cup victory in Valencia, Spain in February of 2010. The day’s event in Union Square was unique with an appearance of a six story fixed wing AC 45 in the middle of the city, on what was a very bright, breezy morning filled with sunshine! Turner and company had their hands full “tacking” the Red Bull Youth boat that was perched on its own skateboard with wheels as it “sailed” around its small perimeter of cobblestone in the courtyard. Emcee of this event was Tom Ehman, who is a spokesman for Oracle Racing and the Vice Commodore of the Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) the current home of the America’s Cup. Ehman started the proceedings by exclaiming that he “hoped that no-one here was skipping school today,” lamenting the fact that this “was an auspicious moment” in America’s Cup history. This will “bring all walks of life into sailing for yachting’s big enchilada!” The Red Bull Youth America’s Cup will take place next year over a two week span when hopefully up to 10 teams from around the world will train and compete for the championship. Red Bull has sponsored many high profile, youth charged adrenaline events like the X Games, Formula One and IndyCar racing, as well as providing sponsorship for Sweden’s Victory Challenge for the America’s Cup in 2007. With several college age sailors in attendance, as well as some children’s groups from a local school the focus and voice for the younger generations was laid upon Kite Board champion Johnny Heineken and 2012 Olympian Molly Vandemoer. “This is an amazing opportunity for young Bay Area sailors,” said Heineken. “Not only will there be a Team USA, but also a Team San Francisco Bay, I just wish I was a year younger!” The Red Bull Youth America’s Cup will allow one team per country, save San Francisco; subscribing to stricter nationality rules than the current America’s Cup and will be open to six crewmen per boat for ages 19 to 23. “I never thought I’d want to be 19 again, but this will inspire every young sailor,” said Vandemoer. “It’s just awesome that the Bay Area also will get a team. I help coach the sailing team at Stanford and I know they will all be excited for the opportunity.” On this day, America’s Cup royalty was represented with an appearance of the majestic Luck Jewitt of San Francisco. Mrs Jewitt, along with her late husband Fritz have supported many ‘Cup campaigns over the years and were instrumental in backing Dennis Conner in 1987 when he won back the Auld Mug from the Australians. She has worked very hard here in the yachting community to help raise the visibility, awareness and some of the funds necessary for a successful defense of the America’s Cup in San Francisco in 2013. The whole specter and grandeur of this event is made better by her efforts! With the original pronouncement in 2010 of a Youth America’s Cup and its emphasis towards bringing the America’s Cup to the Facebook /You Tube generation, anticipation has been building as to what type of format and structure this type of event would have. Oracle Racing CEO & legendary America’s Cup Skipper Russell Coutts has largely kept to his vision, after making the dramatic and radical transition to a multi-hulled formula for 161 year old event. Sailing for the America’s Cup is the longest continuous sporting event on the planet! This announcement also answers the question on what will happen to the AC 45 Class after next May’s final ACWS race in Naples, Italy. With AC 72’s scheduled for launch next month, and once racing for the Louis Vuitton Cup commenced in July of 2013 the AC45 figured to go the way of the Dodo. Currently the AC45’s provide an opportunity to train AC crews in the art of fixed wing catamaran sailing and also foster images towards a buildup of excitement for the 34th America’s Cup which will use the much larger and more powerful AC72 platforms to compete for the most prestigious trophy in sports! All of which brings us back to the working class heroics of New Zealander Mark Turner and his crew. Turner, brings a lot of experience to the task after being charged with a similar responsibility in Valencia, Spain in 2010 of making sure that BMW Oracle's giant tri-maran with its jumbo jet sized 235 ft. wing sail didn't fly away in the middle of the night when it wasn't racing. Babysitting that monstrosity was a 24/7 job that lasted for more than an entire month once the behemoth multihull’s wing sail was in place, assembled and geared to go. Similar responsibilities will be tasked next summer when the AC72's will be in San Francisco for the 34th America's Cup. Oracle will utilize its Pier 80 base of operations for its AC 72 which is scheduled to be launched next month in San Francisco. Training days are severely limited by the protocol arrangement and the new mega-cat will probably only be testing the waters of San Francisco Bay for a few short weeks before be shipped down to its winter base of operations in New Zealand. Where it will shadow train against Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa. In a move that would that means a lot to all of us who remember Tom Blackaller, Team Artemis has recently leased facilities in an old hangar at the Alameda Naval Air Station. Alameda was Tom’s old stomping grounds and home base to his North Sails loft. Artemis CEO is Paul Cayard, Tom’s co-skipper of the Bay Area’s Golden Gate Challenge in 1987. Other teams are scouting locations in the Bay Area as we speak. Oracle Racing has established a winter (NZ summer) training facility at Marsden Point in Northport, Whangarei. It is a deep water harbor that served as the home of Chris Dickson's 1995 America’s Cup Team “Tag Heuer”. The ACC yacht was a bit radical for its day and later was re-christened “The Spirit of Rhode Island” for the New York Yacht Club’s Young America Challenge in 2000. Dickson challenged out of the Tutukaka South Pacific Yacht Club. Turner was the builder of Tag Heuer in 1995 and the watch company is one of Oracle Racing’s associate sponsors. The Bruce Farr designed ACC boat harkened back a bit to the days of the original Intrepid US 22 by keeping much of the boat’s crew underneath the wind line and below deck. The ultra-thin (for its day) yacht was a harbinger of what was to come. PACT 2000 eventually sold the boat to Dawn Riley’s America True and by 2007 it ended up in German hands as a training boat for United Internet Team Germany. Oracle Racing is currently building the components for its massive wing-sail at Core Builders Composites in nearby Warkworth. Under the liberal terms for the “constructed in country” clause for the 34th Protocol only the hulls for the most part are regulated to the home country as most the critical parts of the new generation AC 72’s are allowed to be built elsewhere. Hulls for the AC 72’s will probably become as interchangeable as tires on an IndyCar next year as accidents and “pitch poling” are bound to be frequent occurrences on volital San Francisco Bay where winds routinely reach into the 30’s and the infamous ebb-tides can bring a submarining hull to a screeching halt. Under terms of the Protocol AC 72 boats must be able to be disassembled within a 24 hour period, though during the racing season the wings are likely to be attached 24/7 leading back to the expertise of men like Turner and their crews who will be charged with keeping the “bulls” in the corral when not on the water. This allows Oracle Racing specifically to maintain its massive multihull advantage going into the 34th America’s Cup. Original terms were signed (away) with the Club Nautico di Roma as COR in 2010. The Vincenzo Onorato Mascalzone Latino’s paper (pauper) challenge has long ago gone the way of the Dodo giving way to Paul Cayard’s Kungliga Svenska Segelsällskapet Yacht Club in Sweden. America’s Cup teams are only allowed 30 days of sailing with their first generation AC 72’s prior to January 31, 2013. They are allowed an additional 45 days with the launch of a second boat up until April 31. All teams are expected to be training full time on San Francisco Bay by May of 2013. The Louis Vuitton Challenger Series begins on July 1st and the America’s Cup finals begin on September 7, 2013. An informal regatta is in the planning stages between the 3 teams. A toothless Challenger of Record (COR) Artemis Racing finds itself powerless to prevent this valuable training opportunity unless it takes on the added expense to ship its new catamaran downunder to New Zealand this winter as well. Regardless, we are all in for incredible cat show next year!

Cats in the Dogpatch

It is with much disappointment and dismay that we seem to be looking at a series of unfortunate events surrounding the 2013 America’s Cup, as it descends into a downward spiral towards the abyss which ultimately could lead the prestigious event bolting to greener pastures (shores) in 2016.
For San Francisco, who in the words of our former esteemed mayor, Diane Feinstein; is “the city that knows how” now moves towards a city that will be left with a majority of its waterfront decaying and decrepit for yet another generation.
Larry Ellison has given San Francisco a golden opportunity to host the “Super Bowl” of sailing and other events like it for many years to come. While he has been saddled with dysfunction in his own house, with an inept America’s Cup Event Authority (ACEA) that has struggled to raise the profile, organization and funds necessary to host the event here; it is important to rebuild our waterfront.
We need more than just giving it a sprucing up for 2013. The City of San Francisco needs to move forward with its original vision (for the most part, minus the tweaks’) in order to create a waterfront that will pay dividends for future generations that will create real jobs, revenue and public interest with an opportunity to host other prestigious events from around the world like the Volvo Around the World Race and the Olympics.
After committing to fix up Pier’s 31&32 in exchange for development rights both the ACEA and the City have backed off from their original agreement for a compromise plan that barely covers the cost to repave the parking lot, let alone allow the challengers to use the facilities for the AC 72 catamarans.
Given the massive size of the hulls and wing sails for each competitor there is hardly enough room on the piers for 1 or 2 teams, with just one boat, let alone the Kiwi’s or the Italians which will have two each for sure.
The Challenger Village has for the time being been relocated down at Pier 80. As a reclamation project the Dogpatch neighborhood is doing well, but it is not set up for international spectators to visit for the America's Cup.
Most of the danger for the crews and teams will be when they get out of their cars at work, rather than the inherent risks they will face out on the water when they are ripping it out on SF Bay at 35 knots in their fragile AC 72 Cats!
The downsizing and dumbing down of the America’s Cup event here, in comparison to recent cities that have hosted the event in Auckland, New Zealand, Fremantle, Western Australia and Valencia, Spain is an embarrassment.
The ACEA has done itself in with confusion over securing dates in our area for an America’s Cup World Series (ACWS) event. Is there a date in August? Is it going to be in New York City? October? When? How can San Francisco host an event in just a few months when the dates are so fluid?
The America’s Cup Race Management (ACRM) is in excellent shape under the strong leadership of Ian Murray, but it’s time for the ACEA to bring in an outside company with big time global marketing experience who can properly run the and organize event activities.
Naples and Venice, Italy, Newport, RI; have had secured places on the calendar for almost a year and for corporate sponsors, restaurants, hotels, airlines and for anyone else associated in tourism here in San Francisco how can anyone realistically be ready?
It seems the only city capable, with the facilities and showing the desire to host the America’s Cup in California is San Diego. Aside from the ACWS event which was held there last fall, which was disappointing more because of a poor planning of activities than a lack of action on the racecourse.
San Diego seems to be better positioned to host the event in the future, unless ACEA and the elected officials who represent San Francisco can put the majority of the people’s interest in place here first or next fall’s elections won’t just be a referendum on Ross Mirkarimi, but a chance for SF to vote for a future we showcase around the world!

A Lament for 2013

The "Sneaky Frenchman". Photo Mark Wharton Reid, from a "privileged" pier somewhere in San Diego.


While we all watched from an adjacent pier to the majestic aircraft carrier the US Midway with much anticipation, waiting the action to begin in this new era of the “stadium sailing” America’s Cup; swiping stories; it became apparent from the start (starts) that the game has changed. Not just with a reaching first leg, or two hulls rather than one but, with a great many things.
We understand the urgency that the America’s Cup Event Authority (ACEA) now feels when they think they have to resurrect a dinosaur. It has been tough to recapture the energy and excitement of the “greatest spectacle in (yacht) racing.”
There was nothing like the euphoria that was felt when Alinghi inched over the finish line in Race 7 against Emirates New Zealand by 1 second off Valencia in one of the greatest races in the history of the event; sans 1983 when Australia 2 captured the ‘Cup.
The emotion of the moment was overwhelming and poof!! It evaporated in a nano- second when the Swiss snubbed the Kiwis in victory lane and shortly thereafter announced that the Club Nautico Español de Vela (CNEV) would be the Challenger of Record (COR) and ever since then the makers have been trying to market whatever magic was in that bottle at the time. PS: The genie is long gone!
As for the racing. There was some good stuff. The fog comes courtesy of San Francisco. Terry Hutchinson and Artimus Racing captured the day with some tricky maneuvers, though not quite as slick as the French who nipped Oracle 5 to make the final.
Holding a 10-second lead early in the race, ORACLE Racing Coutts misjudged the optimum course to the leeward gate. Skipper Darren Bundock and crew were forced to perform an extra maneuver which allowed Aleph to gain the lead and extend to an unassailable advantage.
“We’re a little disappointed with that race,” said Bundock, skippering his first ACWS event. “We got off the start line well and were going well but got stuck at the bottom mark. We didn’t quite lay it properly and Aleph had the inside and we had to jibe away.”
Leaving the American Team to lament on the way to the locker room when asked; "what did they learn today?" That they got beat by the "sneaky French."
There was an aire of familiarity to the whole scene; a steady onslaught of light shifty breezes, false starts, protests, course corrections; many of the names on the backs of the padded out dumpling-like warriors were the same. Though a note to the ACEA; change the protective gear.
Sometimes it makes many of the crew look like little kids who stuffed their tight long underwear, with pillows to battle each other with their cardboard swords in makeshift forts in the family room.
You’d think with the European “fashionistas” like Louis Vuitton, Puma and Prada would dress up the crews to look like the Volvo or Vendee Globe teams. Those crews have a look of space age coolness to them that only Jules Verne could have envisioned, not these jock strap uniforms that look like grand-dad in diapers.
In fact it isn’t every day when an America’s Cup Village is swarming with Boise State fans’ from Idaho. That was surreal in itself. Not to mention the replica of the America drifting around the space age AC 45’s like the ship was lost in a time warp. Oh yeah, we’re next to the Midway, not the Nimitz! This isn’t the “Final Countdown” after all.
But, just as they have assimilated into the BSC mainstream like they have always belonged, so have they here; the Bronco Nation were quite interested, quite articulate and they loved the AC 45 interactive experience ride, must have been the “bucking” action on the trampoline netting!
Speaking of Europe, the organizers need to remember that we are not in Valencia, Spain anymore! The 2013 America’s Cup is going to be held here, in America, not in the crumbling Eurozone. Be it San Francisco (hopefully), which is about as European of an American cities go.
But, alas all is not the same in San Diego. “The world has changed,” indeed as Sir Russell Coutts lamented last year, “this is not you father’s America’s Cup” it is certainly reminiscent of the “facebook” generation, who ironically are fleeing the fading fad in droves as the corporate world erect, enact higher & higher levels and walls of security.
As we traded barbs on that pier, like we were sitting back on the sprawling lawns of Castle Hill in Newport, RI trading words of “cupspeak” someone astutely pointed out “why are they racing in these boats?” There are no points involved. “It’s practice man, we’re talking about practice!” Thank you, Alan Iverson. The AC 45’s aren’t even the boats they will be competing for the ‘Cup in.
In fact training on an AC 45 is like “practicing” for the Indy 500 in stock cars. The point being, this is really AC 34 101. Its back to school for an entire generation of America’s Cup monohull rock stars who need to learn how to race catamarans. Don’t get me wrong, these guys are good. What Jimmy Spithill did and learned on BMW Oracle’s tri-maran in two short years was brilliant!
As far as the AC 45’s go, they do look pretty cool. There is a technical level of sophistication to them. They do take off in a puff like birds on flights of fancy, but they need to be put out to pasture; soon, and given to the kids for the AC Youth World Series.
Why wait to launch the AC 72’s? Money? Cost savings?
No, its called competition. The America’s Cup has never been about a level playing field. Its about an inherent advantage by the home team. Right now, Oracle has a corner on the market in large monohull wing technology and multiple AC 45’s! The shorter the time span for training and development, the bigger the advantage for the defenders.
Even with Emirates Team New Zealand and Italy’s Luna Rosa pooling design resources, it may not be enough to climb the mountain, this time. For the most part all the teams are spending their millions for next time.
What is lacking is star power and soap opera drama. Not Bill Walton, no offense, but Kim Kardeshian!.
To get this America’s Cup off the ground and into the mainstream, we need for Larry Ellison, when he’s kicking back on their 450 ft yacht; the Rising Sun, with his friend David Geffen to have the media mogul exert his vast influence to draw in some Hollywood wives into AC 34.
Even with the new AC 45’s there is a feeling of; “been there, done that.” As with the press debacle, the event is caught up in a web of its own making that was spun generations ago; of sophisticated snobbery.
The America’s Cup is the majestic sport of kings. Of the Gods! After all, Artimus, daughter of Zeus is being invoked into the imagery here. What is missing is drama. There is no Dennis Conner plotting to reclaim the ‘Cup from the Australians who stole it in a “Dutch” boat or the “evil” Michael Fay sneaking in a Deed of Gift challenge to the San Diego Yacht Club while the “bickering Bickerson’s” were trying to figure out if the races were going to be in San Diego or Hawaii.
Even the corporations are missing. I guess its tough to rub elbows with someone, who has put the fear into his corporate competitors of getting rubbed out! The styrofoam “safer barriers” with the names of a few corporate providers, being dragged around and on the race course, just doesn’t cut it’
This is a great event, in spite of itself. They are trying to do good things. Put the pretense behind, open the doors of your world to everyone and relish in the possibilities of 2013 in San Francisco.
In conclusion; an observation, there are good things going on. This has a chance to be more than a one-time affair. The prospect of AC 72’s thrashing and crashing it out on San Francisco Bay as they rip around Alcatraz Island will be like a mind blowing thrill ride for all in attendance. And its free!
Though a note to the challengers; yacht designers are doing great things with monohulls these days, they are not just “lead bottomed money gobblers”.

Day One

Day One of the inaugural America’s Cup World Series (ACWS) in San Diego, CA began with a flutter (light to little wind), and ended with a flurry (not snow, but a lot of rain) with Sweden’s Artemis Racing capturing the first race and Team China winning the second in very inclement weather.
A handful of hardy spectators braved the elements to catch a glimpse of the first America’s Cup action to be had in Southern California since the Kiwi’s lifted the “Auld Mug” in 1995 and brought the regatta down to Auckland, New Zealand.
Even with the rain, the overall mood couldn’t be brighter, there is plenty of racing left and the rains should be moving out to sea today for the advent of the second day of racing. Race 3 was called off, when heavy rains materialized (it is November in California, you know).
It was certainly Team China’s best day out on the water since 2007 when the first Chinese America’s Cup team beat BMW Oracle in the 3rd round of the elimination trials off Valencia, Spain, which sent the American team down a path of destruction that it never fully recovered from.
“That’s our first win,” confirmed China Team skipper Charlie Ogletree. “It’s a great feeling. We’ve been working hard and I think the whole team deserves it, from shore team to management, to everyone. It’s huge. Everyone has been doing double duty, working really hard, so it’s a very positive thing for us.”
South Korea and Oracle 4 jumped the gun in Race 2 as rains swept across the shortened course and Ogletree called the right shots to stay in front of the fleet in the deteriorating conditions.
Race 1 was rather uneventful with the light and shifty winds, with Artimus coming up from the back of the pack with Emirates Team New Zealand nipping at their heels all the way to finish second.
Artemis represents the Challenger of Record (COR) the Royal Swedish Yacht Club (Kungliga Svenska Segel Sällskapet) for the 34th America’s Cup. The team is led by Skipper Terry Hutchinson, who was the tactician for the Kiwi’s in 2007.
“It was about being in the right place at the right time today,” said Hutchinson. “It was a bit cold and wet. They say it is never like this here so it is good to get this out of the way this weekend!”
The Swedish yacht club is one of the oldest and most prestigious in the world. It was formed in 1830 and hosts for its annual regatta the Gotland Runt in the northern archipelago off the Baltic Sea. Despite the country’s propensity for cold weather, most of it lies south of the Artic Circle.
Artemis, for those in the know, is the twin sister of Apollo and the daughter of Zeus in Greek mythology. She is renowned for being the Goddess of the wild kingdom, depicted quite often sporting a majestic bow and arrow.
The Swedish team inherited the COR maniquer when Vincenzo Onorato’s Team Mascalzone representing Club Nautico di Roma dropped out earlier this year citing “funding limitations”.
Mascalzone was BMW Oracle’s foil after the American team won the America’s Cup match in 2010 off Valencia, ironically playing a role similar in scope to the denigrated Spanish COR, the Club Náutico Español de Vela (CNEV), only with a telephone and a website.
The COR is responsible for representing the challengers interests and organizing the elements of competition of what is the Louis Vuitton Cup (LVC). The winner of the LVC challenges the yacht club and team that is defending the America’s Cup in a best of nine series of races scheduled to take place in San Francisco, CA in September 2013.
Currently the Golden Gate Yacht Club holds title to the ‘Cup and Oracle is its champion.
Racing resume today in San Diego and the forecast calls for bluer skies and light to moderate winds from 6-9 knots.

San Diego's Preamble

As San Diego, California finalizes its preparations to host the 3rd round of the America’s Cup World Series (ACWS) and its first stop in the United States, it shares center stage with several high profile sporting events over the weekend.
The NFL is in town with the San Diego Chargers playing the Oakland Raiders, and the initial Carrier Classic college basketball game between the Michigan State Spartans and the North Carolina Tar Heels takes place on the flight deck of the USS Carl Vinson on Veterans Day with President and Mrs. Obama in attendance.
San Diego is well suited for an ACWS event having hosted 3 defenses of the America’s Cup between 1988 and 1995 off of Point Loma; plus two AC World Championships. In addition, it served as the training base of operations for BMW Oracle a few years back, when they tested their radical tri-maran USA 17 with its monstrous wing-sail for the 33rd America’s Cup in 2010.
The ACWS “festival of speed” encompasses two weekends. Featuring nine AC 45 catamarans, representing eight teams; plus a battle of multiple rock bands; shops, food, with an international flair and an amazing AC Village set onboard another aircraft carrier; the Midway!
The catamaran action will be front and center, providing a vantage point for the tens of thousands who will be in attendance to witness the bump & grind of ‘round the buoy racing within the tight confines of San Diego Bay off Harbor Island. All this as the America’s Cup Event Authority (ACEA) further exercises its classroom experiment in the art of “stadium sailing”.
As the ACWS heads into San Diego after stops in Cascais, Portugal and Plymouth, England, four teams are separated by just 3 points; led by Emirates Team New Zealand on top with 19 points in first place. Closely followed by; and tied for second place is Artemis Racing from Sweden, Team White Tiger from South Korea and Oracle Racing’s Team Four, with skipper Jimmy Spithill.
All the rock stars will be in place. In addition to Spithill, who skippered USA 17 to victory in the America’s Cup last year, American Terry Hutchison is on Artimas, Dean Barker is driving for the Kiwis again and the legendary Russell Coutts, though off the boat for Oracle (by his own volition, he is the CEO, after all) will surely make his presence felt in some respect.
The teams compete in AC 45 catamarans which were all built by Core Builders in Warkworth, New Zealand under a class formula, which allows for minimal modification parameters at this point by the teams in competition. Each boat is fitted with a state of art fixed wing-sail measuring more than 70 feet in height and in combination with the gennaker jib more than 1,500 sq. ft. of sail area!
The boats so far have shown great bursts of speed at more than 40 knots per hour (kph) and a propensity for pitch poling & capsizing! The series in Plymouth featured multiple rollovers in an event that captured the action like a World of Outlaw winged sprint cars race on the dirt bull ring tracks across America. The “capsize club” has captured about every team to date!
What makes the new format for the America’s Cup unique to its rich history is that the format for the event is set up for sailing within the confines of bays and harbors in order to bring the racing home for average spectators who can watch the action from shore.
Fleet racing in San Diego begins this weekend and while the points in these events will not count towards the Louis Vuitton Series for the challengers, the sailing and competition has been intense for all the teams as they get used to this form of racing in preparation for the 2013 America’s Cup in San Francisco, when the stakes will ratchet up when the competitors transcend to the AC 72’s next year!