AMERICA'S CUP 34 SAN FRANCISCO BAY • AMERICA'S CUP 34 SAN FRANCISCO BAY • AMERICA'S CUP 34 SAN FRANCISCO BAY • AMERICA'S CUP 34 SAN FRANCISCO BAY •
AMERICA'S CUP 34 T
he second America's Cup World Series event is in the books. Whether you were one of the reported tens of thousands of spectators in Plymouth, England watching from the "Hoe" above the race course, or one of the thousands watching on YouTube and americascup.com, chances are the crash and burn spectacle of nine AC45s ripping around, capsizing, colliding, and at times just surviving, got your attention. Held September 10-19, the event produced some interesting results in its various segments, but none as attention-grabbing as the final day's fleet racing championship. Sailed in breeze up to 30 knots, with the boats hitting speeds up to 27 knots, the battle for the podium on the final day was a three-way affair between Oracle Racing’s two boats and Emirates Team New Zealand. In the prestart, Energy Team capsized trying to avoid Team Korea, although the former managed to get the boat upright quickly and rejoin the race. But the carnage didn’t stop there — Artemis Racing got tangled with GreenComm Racing, causing the latter’s skipper, Vasilij Zbogar, to fall overboard and suffer a minor hand injury. GreenComm retired before the start and was subsequently penalized for tacking too close. Steering clear of trouble in the prestart, the two Oracle Racing boats and Emirates Team New Zealand set the pace off the line. The first mark nearly claimed China Team which capsized, but recovered quickly to stay in the race. Oracle’s Jimmy Spithill had to wait until the final lap to take the win, and ETNZ's Dean Barker had to satisfy himself with second place ahead of Oracle's Russell Coutts. The Charlie Ogletree-led China Team finished seventh when Artemis capsized later in the race, with American Ogletree crossing the finish line 9 minutes and 54 seconds after the winner — just 6 seconds before the time limit. Aleph moved past
GILLES MARTIN-RAGET
Tangles of angles — the cats and their tight downwind angles make for some pretty cool visuals.
Team Korea at the end of the race to take fourth, with Energy Team in sixth. “Today it was racing and survival,” Barker said. “When the wind cranked in, it was full on. The hard thing was not the wind speed but the big puffs, which were unpredictable. We always like to win, but it's nice to get past Russell and take second.” The fleet racing championship was a bit of redempt i o n f o r Oracle Racing as neither of the team’s two entries was able to crack the podium in the match racing championship, where Barker and his mates proved to be at the top of the class, and surprisingly Team Korea, led by British skiff sailor Chris Draper, slipped into second, with Artemis third. FAQs Now the attention turns to San Diego, where the third America's Cup World Series event will be held November 12-20. In the meantime, we thought we'd update on some basic info about the Cup and what to expect on the Bay. Earlier this year when San Francisco was named as the venue for the 34th America's Cup we put together a list of FAQs for quick reference. Since then, a number of things have changed — some expected, some not — so we thought we'd take the time to provide you with some new answers to the questions. If you're a dedicated
'Oracle Racing Spithill' lifts off — Russell Coutts took the speed trial, posting a 30-knot sprint down the 500-meteer course off the Plymouth Hoe.
Cup fan, much of this info might seem pretty basic, but you'd be surprised at how many inquiries we still get about some of the more fundamental topics. We've attempted to address those below. A complete list of the questions and answers is on our website at www.latitude38.com, and we'll update it periodically. What are the exact dates of the Cup? The exact dates have been formally announced. The racing for the Louis Vuitton Cup (challenger selection series) will be from July 4-September 1, 2013, and the Cup match itself will go from September 7-22, 2013. Where will the racing take place? The start/finish will be on the Cityfront, in the neighborhood of Piers 27 and 29. The initial plan was to have a weather mark near Blackaller Buoy, a limiting mark to leeward of the start/finish line, a leeward gate, and a reach mark in the
AMERICA'S CUP 34 SAN FRANCISCO BAY • AMERICA'S CUP 34 SAN FRANCISCO BAY • AMERICA'S CUP 34 SAN FRANCISCO BAY • AMERICA'S CUP 34 SAN FRANCISCO BAY •
