Latitude 38 Latitude VOLUME 422 Augu 012 WE GO WHERE THE WIND BLOWS AUGUST 2012 VOLUME 422 AMERICA'S CUP WORLD SERIES — At last. On August 22, two dozen years since the legendary Tom Blackaller touted the potential excitement of sailing a year ago in Cascais, Portugal, and fender (Oracle Team USA) to race against big fast cats in the America's Cup, a gun hit Plymouth, UK, San Diego, and both all the other challengers. will sound starting the fi rst offi cial match Naples and Venice, Italy, before conclud- This means eleven crews represent- race in catamarans between America's ing July 1 in Newport, R.I. ing eight teams and eight countries were Cup teams on San Francisco Bay. The 2012-2013 series starts fresh this gearing up at bases in San Francisco and "What? I thought the Cup was next month with a three-city, four-regatta, Alameda as Latitude went to press. year?" It is. But if you missed the memo circuit kicking off in San Francisco. Starting with practice racing on Tues- — and we know many sailors who are We get two regattas here — August day, August 21, through a fi nal race and just starting to catch up — the America's and October — followed by a return to celebrity pro-am contest on Sunday, Cup World Series arrives on our doorstep Venice and Naples this month. in April and May 2013. We hear one Multi-City Circuit or two more cities The San Francisco event begins the may be added. second year of a two-year Cup ramp-up U n l i k e t h e that features the AC World Series as an challenger elimi- annual multi-city race circuit. nations next year It is equal measures team training, during the Louis race management refi nement, Cup pro- Vuitton Cup, the motion, and — seriously — just plain America's Cup exciting spectating of what may be the World Series al- sexiest and most grueling short-course lows the Cup De- racing we've ever seen. (Well, the St. Francis YC Laser Slalom on a nuking day is pretty high on the thrills and spills ALL PHOTOS GILLES MARTIN-RAGET GILLES MARTIN-RAGET PHOTOS ALL measure, too.) For the World Series, the teams race in one design 45-ft LOA wingsail catamarans from a single builder in New Zealand, with soft sails for jib and gen- naker, and a quite minimal crew of fi ve (see sidebar for specs). Each AC45 boat sails with a sixth person as guest crew — often a sponsor or other VIP — who is not allowed to assist in any way. Because these boats can reach 30 knots or more, helmets are required. A six-city circuit made up the 2011- 2012 AC World Series. Racing started Page 82 • Latitude 38 • August, 2012 CITYFRONT SENSATION air races. Sweden's Artemis Racing was third overall, and France's Energy Team August 26, these teams will compete for in match racing and 55 points in fl eet fourth. points in both boat-on-boat match racing racing — a total of 102 points compared On match race points alone, though, and full fl eet racing. to Emirates Team New Zealand's (ETNZ), Artemis came out on top with 50 points, Trophies and season points will be second overall, with 93 points after some followed by Spithill (47), ETNZ (41), Or- awarded to the top match race fi nish- uneven performance, particularly in light acle Coutts (39), Energy (38), and Team ers and top finishers in Korea (33). Remember, the the Super Sunday fleet actual Cup is decided on races. Top points through match racing prowess. next year win you a very The two Italian Luna spiffy America's Cup World Rossa boats, called Pira- Series trophy: a polished nha and Swordfi sh, only silver globe supported by competed in the second nine wingsails. half of the circuit, so they fell low in overall stand- 2011-2012 ings. However, Piranha, Series Results skippered by UK 49er The '11-'12 trophy went Olympic medalist Chris to Oracle Team USA's boat Draper, placed just be- skippered by Jimmy Spith- hind Spithill and above ill. ETNZ for those three re- Over the six-city tour, gattas. Spithill earned 47 points Team China struggled, and withdrew for racing in Newport. Big Stakes Of course, there's much more at stake than a World Series title. There's that little matter of keeping the Auld Mug in San Francisco next year. Course racing in AC45s is extremely fast, Which would be nice. Can we get a little exhilarating and physically demanding. It's a "Go Team USA?" show you won't want to miss, whether you But it's even more. As past America's view the action from the water, from shore, or Cup grinder Dick Enersen commented via TV or Internet. after returning from watching ACWS Newport, "there is a sort of grim sense that 'this experiment must succeed.'" The Experiment? That would be no less than the pro- fessional and commercial future of sail- ing. Ever tried to convince non-sailing buddies to watch a sailboat race — any August, 2012 • Latitude 38 • Page 83 AMERICA'S CUP WORLD SERIES — race? Wondered why a painfully slow- moving sport such as golf captures big bucks, big audiences and big TV time? over the nine-day event, which kicked off close, the ACWS coming to the Bay this What about more college sailing scholar- with a sailing festival. The venue at Fort summer will exceed all expectations. ships and stable career tracks for sail- Adams State Park reported a peak total These boats and crews perform like no ing (or sailing journalism, hear, hear)? of 14,000 attendees and began turning others, and we will get to see them like Then there are the softening numbers away people when the park's 10,000 ca- no regatta on the Bay has been seen in sailing participation hitting boat before." builders and others in the marine Still, this is big, badass San Fran- industry. What about convincing a cisco Bay, and the hope is for more city to build a marina rather than a like 50,000-60,000 spectators on stadium? AC World Series weekend days this We are participating in Extreme Specs year, and upward of half a million for Makeover: America's Cup edition. Hull Length: 44 ft. the fi nals of the Louis Vuitton and The goal: make the America's Cup Max Beam: 22.6 ft. America's Cup next summer. specifically, and sail racing more Mast Height: 70.5 ft. generally, into a mainstream spec- Max Draft: 8.8 ft Ramping Up tator and commercial enterprise. A (boards down) The ramp-up is unmistakable. On byproduct could be a permanent Displmt: 3,086 lbs, the night of July 23, a 121-car, 1.5 Wing Area: 914 sq ft America's Cup Event Authority, mile long train dubbed the "America's Jib Area: 516 sq ft similar to the International Olympic Gen Area: 1,345 sq ft Cup Express" rumbled to a stop at Committee. Crew: 5 max the Port of San Francisco rail yard Eyeballs mean money, and for (187 lbs/person) carrying all the boats, buildings, equipment and displays to run the race. Some of the race committee and team RIBs arrived separately. We are participating Construction is going at a furious in Extreme Makeover: clip at San Francisco's triangular Piers 27-29, where the America's America's Cup edition. Cup Village will be housed in 2013. Welders there from Turner Con- struction subcontractor BEI Steel better or worse, the same theme of have been working 10-hour days, chasing spectators has been playing with a fi nal roof beam labeled "Pier out with sailing in the Olympics, the 27 America's Cup Turner" set in Volvo Ocean Race, and other sailing place during a so-called topping off "properties." The difference with the ceremony on July 18 with Mayor Ed America's Cup is that the San Fran- Lee. cisco area is on the hook to deliver a The work is even more frantic at success. pacity was reached. And the fi nal Coutts Piers 30-32 (and in the adjacent basin In contrast with an overcast, some- versus Spithill match race fi nal was as previously occupied by Pier 36 and a what subdued regatta in San Diego last memorable as can be. scary minefi eld of rotting pilings). That's November, the Newport event concluded Napa Valley sailor and Alpha Omega where team bases and moorings are Winery owner Erik Sklar sure is sold. on July 1 has been billed a success. The One question on the minds of both organizers Rhode Island Economic Development De- He was one of the lucky few to sail on and fans is how the AC45s will do in the Bay's partment reported that a total of 60,000 an AC45 as a guest racer in Newport. big winds. The most breeze they've seen so far people attended the event cumulatively He says, "Having witnessed Newport up was at Plymouth (images below). ALL PHOTOS GILLES MARTIN-RAGET PHOTOS ALL Page 84 • Latitude 38 • August, 2012 CITYFRONT SENSATION planned starting this month. Farther south on Pier 80 where Cesar Chavez Street meets the Bay in the city's Dogpatch neighborhood, Oracle Team USA has transformed an enormous dusty shed into a VIP lounge, cafeteria, sail loft, gym, top-secret high-tech construction center, and museum for the team's 2010 Cup-winning trimaran USA 17.