ORACLE Racing bound for Cascais

By ORACLE Racing Comms // July 11, 2011

ORACLE Racing shore team member Andrew Henderson summed up last week the best: “We’re all packed up and ready to go. Next stop: Cascais.”

Cascais, Portugal, that is and the inaugural event of the America’s Cup World Series, scheduled. Aug. 6-14.

Watch the video: San Francisco wrap party

ORACLE Racing has two crews – one skippered by Jimmy Spithill and the other by Russell Coutts – entered in the global competition that marks the official beginning of the lead-up to the 34th America’s Cup in 2013 and includes the eight challengers.

“Cascais is going to be the first time that ORACLE Racing, as the defender, goes up against the other challengers, so we’re particularly motivated to win,” said John Kostecki, tactician for Spithill.

“We’ve got to beat many good teams that are out there,” Kostecki continued. “Emirates Team New Zealand with Dean Barker, Artemis Racing with Terry Hutchinson, then there’s Loïck Peyron from France. We have a Chinese team that’s new to America’s Cup racing, so there are a lot of tough teams out there.”

The AC45 wingsail catamaran is easily disassembled and shipped in containers. Last Wednesday the team placed three containers on a tractor trailer for a seven-day trek across the U.S. to the east coast port of Savannah, Georgia.

The containers carry the team’s two catamarans plus spare parts, sailing gear and other equipment. From there they’ll be shipped to Algeciras, Spain, and then be loaded onto trucks again for an 8- to 10-hour trek to Cascais.

“It’s a tight schedule, but we’re pretty used to it,” said Chris Sitzenstock, in charge of shipping logistics. “The ship should arrive in Spain on July 28 and then the truck in Cascais on the July 29 or 30.”

The Cascais AC World Series will consist of four events over nine days: the Cascais America’s Cup Open, the America’s Cup 500 Speed Trial, the America’s Cup Match Racing Championship and the America’s Cup World Series Cascais Championship – a winner-takes-all race, which is the showcase competition of the Cascais event scheduled Aug. 14.

“It’ll be great to be in Cascais, it’s a fantastic venue for sailing,” said Murray Jones, wingsail trimmer for Coutts. “I’ve sailed there quite a few times before and it’s always been really enjoyable. I think we’ll have some awesome racing. It’ll be tricky. It’ll be quite puffy, shifty; we’re sailing quite close to shore. It’ll be a great regatta.”

Download the press release: ORACLE Racing bound for Cascais and America’s Cup World Series
Link to website: ORACLE Racing
Photo: Guilain Grenier/ORACLE Racing

America’s Cup charts new course in Cascais

Source: America’s Cup Comms // July 8, 2011

The countdown to the start of the Cascais Ameirca’s Cup World Series closed to within 26 days today, and the activity in and around the Portuguese coastal town is beginning to heat up.

Last week, the America’s Cup Event Authority announced the format of the Cascais AC World Series will consist of four events over nine days: the Cascais America’s Cup Open, the America’s Cup 500 Speed Trial, the America’s Cup Match Racing Championship and the America’s Cup World Series Cascais Championship – a winner-takes-all race, which is the showcase competition of the Cascais event.

Cascais AC Open – Held over the opening weekend, this fleet racing event will reveal what the teams are made of both in terms of tactical decision-making and pure speed. The opening weekend will feature up to four fleet races with 10 boats battling for supremacy.

AC 500 Speed Trial – On the opening Saturday, the teams will vie for the title of fastest boat through timed speed trials over a 500-metre course, pushing their wing-sailed AC45 catamarans to the limit.

Cascais AC Match Race Championships – The third stage of the competition pits the teams in one-on-one clashes to earn a place in a final showdown on Saturday. Each day will consist of three, 20-minute fleet races to determine the top six teams, who then face off through three match races. Every day of racing produces a ranking of the full fleet. The results over the three days will determine the seeding order for the Match Race Championships.

On the final Saturday, The Match Race Championship will find the six best teams (as determined over the previous three days) battling through a Quarter Final, Semi-Final and Final to determine the Cascais AC Match Race winner.

AC World Series Championship Cascais – This title is at stake on the final Sunday in a winner-takes-all fleet race, where all teams will have a shot at glory.

“Seeing 10 AC45s jockey for position on the starting line is an image that will set any sports fan’s heart pounding,” said Iain Murray, CEO and Regatta Director, America’s Cup Race Management. “And the one-on-one match races promise to be even more intense, at just 20 minutes per pressure-filled contest. Every decision – and every mistake - could be a game changer.”

Link to full article: America’s Cup charts new course in Cascais
Related information: Cascais event schedule
Illustration: ACEA
Photo below: The coast of Estoril, including Cascais, will see lightning quick action on the water when the Cascais America’s Cup World Series gets underway.

Team Korea celebrates entry into America's Cup

Source: Team Korea // July 6, 2011

The nation of Korea joined a select group of yachting nations today when it became the 16th country in the nearly 160-year history of the event to enter the America’s Cup competition.

Team Korea, the White Tiger Challenge, celebrated its entry into the prestigious competition with a press briefing at the spectacular Seoul Marina on the mighty Han River in Seoul.

Proud moment for Korea
Team Korea grew out of founder Kim Dong-Young’s (top at podium) dreams after having watched the 2000 America’s Cup in New Zealand, where he was studying English. Young has singlehandedly created Korea’s interest in grand-prix yacht racing with the Korea Match Cup, and the government is behind the challenge to support the maritime industry throughout the country.

‘’I am very proud to have helped create a new chapter for the sport and in the history of the America’s Cup by being involved with the first-ever Korean challenge. It has been a dream of more than 10 years for me, ever since I first saw the old America’s Cup yachts racing in New Zealand,” said Young.

Skipper announced
Team Korea also presented its skipper: 33-year-old Chris Draper (above) of the U.K.

Draper, married with one child, won a bronze medal in the 49er at the 2004 Athens Olympic Regatta. He’s also a two-time 49er world champion, as well as two-time European champion. Draper has raced multihulls in the Extreme 40 series and in 2009 was crowned world champion with the Oman Sail Team.

Draper said: “I consider it an extremely proud honor to have been chosen by Team Korea as their skipper. I am looking forward to the first America’s Cup World Series regatta in Portugal next month, and an intense period of training ahead of that with our new crew.”

Link to full article: Team Korea celebrates entry into America’s Cup
Related article: Draper to lead S. Korea America’s Cup bid
Photos: Jeong Sik Lee

The Aleph cat is on its way

Source: America’s Cup website

ALEPH Equipe de France is scheduled to take delivery of its AC45 in the coming days, when a shipment of containers arrives in Lisbon. Several of the other challenger teams will also receive their boats at that time.

The ALEPH team will muster at the special dockside compound organized by ACEA and, with the AC45 builders Core Builders, start the first part of the sports project, assembling their AC45 from the components that arrive in the various containers.

This step is expected to take the rest of the week such that a fully assembled AC45 will be ready to have its colors applied July 18-19. ALEPH’s race helmsman and multihull expert Alain Gautier is expected to arrive in Lisbon July 20, along with a pile of new headsails and spinnakers fresh from the North Sails loft in Vannes, France. If all goes well the crew will take the boat for its first sail sometime on July 21.

Skipper and sports director Bertrand Pacé is expected to arrive on July 25, and that week the team hopes to train aboard the AC45 and begin developing the techniques needed to trim the solid wingsail and maneuver the boat around the short courses.

Link to full article: The Aleph cat is on its way
Related link: America’s Cup teams page
Photo: Frenchman Bertrand Pacé is a veteran of America’s Cup teams dating back to 1986-87.

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