Latitude 38 March 2010

from Latitude 38 March 2010

the racing sheet

AMERICA'S CUP 33

standing relationship with Coutts.

We feel that a mutual consent challenge from these two teams will probably produce a desirable result. We're pretty sure we won't see powered winches — the only truly regrettable thing we found about America's Cup 33.

And we've got to say it's about 50-50 for Monohulls or multihulls for the next match. Spithill said that the best thing about this Cup cycle was getting to sail such a sweet boat each day. That's a mighty contrast to a typical AC campaign — what the sailors have called 'sail jail' for its endless weeks of mind-numbing, two-boat, straight-line speed testing. The public loved the boats. They captured as much attention as their billionaire owners, and while they may not work on that scale, we won't rule multis out entirely.

Larry Ellison hoists the Cup; hopefully he'll defend it with the principles that made him challenge for it.

The question of where and when the next Cup will take place is just as murky. Ellison had previously promised the mayor of Valencia that he would host the next Cup there if his team were to take AC33. Now he's telling San Francisco

he'd love to hold it here. He also mentioned at the GGYC reception that he wants to see a Formula 1-type traveling circuit with visits to Hong Kong, Auckland and Newport, Rhode Island, as a prelude to the Cup. There are just too many red herrings as of now. But one thing is for sure, bringing the Cup to the Bay would have a huge impact on both the West Coast's sailing scene,

GILLES MARTIN-RAGET / BMW ORACLE RACING

and the ability to reach out to a more mainstream audience in the U.S. There are challenges, many of which can be overcome. Those that are likely to prove the most difficult are ones that almost every Californian faces — those that involve that sticky red tape.

For those who felt as if the 33rd America's Cup was an exercise in egodriven, billionaire histrionics, keep in mind that the Cup's cache and mystique is built around names like Vanderbilt, Lipton and Turner that have kept it at the forefront of public consciousness for over one-and-a-half centuries. The Cup has survived two World Wars, and the Great Depression. While it wasn't the best-case scenario for the commercial side of the sport, America's Cup 33 was a momentous punctuation in the evolutionary equilibrium of the oldest trophy in sports.

— latitude/rg

We'd like to expressly thank Special Correspondent Ron Young, whose work on the ground in Valencia contributed immensely to this story. Thanks Ron!

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Page 98 • Latitude 38 • March, 2010

South Beach Yacht Club 2010 Racing Season

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