America’s Cup news, IMOCA update—Sailing news from the U.S. and beyond

by David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor on 12 Jun 2014 If you were lucky enough to have attended any of the 34th America’s Cup (or even watched it on TV), you know firsthand that San Francisco Bay is the world’s best natural sailing amphitheater for hosting sailing’s greatest trophy. Given San Francisco’s dramatic scenery, it’s crisp sea breezes and its spectator-friendly viewing opportunities-coupled with the fact that the Defender’s yacht club is none other than the Golden Gate Yacht Club-it would seem like an absolute no-brainer that Oracle Team USA would select SFO as the venue for AC35. Sadly for fans who loved the 34th America’s Cup, this reality was not meant to be as Russell Coutts, Oracle Team USA’s CEO, struck the city from the shortlist of prospective venues earlier this week.

While the Protocol for the 35th America’s Cup calls for an official venue announcement by December 31, 2014, this is presenting a problem for publically funded challengers, most notably Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ), as it is extremely hard to secure sponsorship funds without more concrete facts. Because of this, the Defender made the decision to eliminate San Francisco from the list, leaving San Diego, Chicago (which could present some legal issues, as Lake Michigan is not an 'arm of the sea' as it is not influenced by ocean tides) and Bermuda as the remaining options.

'Given the tight timeline and demands from prospective teams to confirm the final venue, it has been necessary to continue reducing the shortlist of candidate cities,' wrote Coutts in an email to San Francisco’s mayor, Ed Lee. 'We have therefore taken the difficult decision to no longer consider San Francisco as a possible candidate to host AC35.'

While Coutts’ email did not specifically state a reason for this decision, it’s fair to say that, as with almost all things, the final reasons for Oracle’s call came down to money, and to the sweetness of the deal being offered by the prospective cities.

In a separate interview, Oracle’s skipper, Jimmy Spithill, revealed that the Defender offered the challengers the right to build a second boat, but that this was declined. This is of real interest to serious Cup fans, as many of last week’s 'foul-play' cries (remember, this is the America’s Cup, a place where the playing field is always steeply tilted in the Defender’s favor) centered around the fact that the Defender can build a second boat, while the challengers were only allowed one.

Across the Pond, Sir Ben Ainslie recently announced his official bid to win the 35th America’s Cup in a ceremony that was attended by the Duchess of Cambridge (who is said to enjoy a bit of recreational sailing). 'This is the last great historic sporting prize never won by Great Britain,' said Ainslie. 'It has always been my ambition to mount a home challenge. The time is right and I am hugely encouraged by the support we are getting, not least from the Duchess of Cambridge. I learned a great deal aboard Oracle in San Francisco [during the 34th America’s Cup] and I would not be challenging if I did not believe we have a real chance of winning this time.'

The other big concern for America’s Cup fans is the fact that ETNZ reportedly has less than three weeks’ worth of operational capitol remaining. According to reports, the financially strapped team must find additional funds ASAP or face the very real prospect of having to disband, despite their almost 30-year history.

Get the full multi-media America’s Cup report, inside this issue.

Meanwhile, in offshore-sailing news, news broke on Thursday that shorthanded sailor Marc Guillemot, who is competing in the doublehanded Transat New York to Barcelona Race along with co-skipper Morgan Lagraviére, suffered a fall during some foredeck work in 35-40 knots of air and has likely broken one or more ribs, forcing the team to divert to Cadiz, in southern Spain, to seek medical help. This is crushing news for Guillemot and Lagraviére, as the two sailors had managed to keep 'Safran' in the pole position for the majority of the race.

While 'Safran' had not yet made an official decision to abandon racing as of this writing, this almost certainly ruins Guillemot and Lagraviére’s chances for a win. This now leaves 'Hugo Boss', 'Team Neutrogena' and 'Gaes Sailing Team' to determine the final podium places. More, inside.

Also inside, get the latest news on the Newport to Bermuda Race, the Laser North Americans and the TP52 Worlds.

May the four winds blow you safely home,