San Diego Gears Up for the Cup
San Diego Gears Up for the Cup
With the America's Cup World Series coming to San Diego later this month, racers and organizers fill us in on some changes afoot.
The third and final edition of the America’s Cup World Series 2011 takes place in San Diego, Nov. 12 to 20. With the AC45s already offloaded from the cargo ship and the event's "little city" under construction, it's all go in this West Coast sailing town.
On the water, conditions promise to be light, which could cause some changes on the leaderboard. “There’ll be a lot more finesse used here," says regatta director Iain Murray. "Don’t be surprised to see the Europeans do very well.”
Currently, Emirates Team New Zealand sits in first place, with 38 points overall, just four points ahead of the U.S.-flagged Oracle Racing Spithill, with 34 points. Tied for third with 28 points are Oracle Racing Coutts (USA) and Artemis Racing (SWE), both of which plan to rotate in different crew for the regatta. Team Korea has been the sweet surprise over the past two events and sits in fifth place with 26 points. Aleph (FRA) and Energy Team (FRA) are tied in 6th place with 18 points. Both French teams will be racing with new crew in San Diego. Yann Guichard, who has just one day of competition with the team, will be subbing in for Energy Team skipper Loick Peyron; Pierre Pennec, Christophe Espagnon, and Thierry Fouchier—of Group Edmond de Rothschild, which currently holds second overall in the Extreme Sailing Series—will join Aleph in San Diego. Bringing up the rear are the Spanish entry Green Comm Racing—which had a spectacular collision with Artemis Racing in Plymouth—and China Team.
As the first stateside America's Cup event under the new regime, the San Diego regatta could give U.S. fans a taste of what's to come in San Francisco in 2013. “There’s a lot of interest here in America because the final event will be in San Francisco," says Craig Thompson, CEO of America’s Cup Event Authority, whose hoping the San Diego event will help land some corporate sponsorships. "Companies are sending representatives to actually see our product, where they haven’t come to Portugal or England because of the travel distance.”
Thompson said corporate hospitality sales have been slow for San Diego, but he expects it’s more a function of the locale than anything. “We think that’s due more to the last-minute mentality of the region and expect an upsurge anytime. We really feel that we’ve established our product in the way that we’ve wanted to and are hopeful of a big turnout.”
