2021 America's Cup Hall of Fame induction to be held at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron
by Herreshoff Marine Museum 10 Mar 2021 15:53 PST
19 March 2021
The Herreshoff Marine Museum / America's Cup Hall of Fame is happy to announce that the 2021 America's Cup Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron on March 19th.
After a virtual induction event in 2020, the ACHOF induction ceremony will return to a traditional gala dinner. This will be the second AC Hall of Fame induction ceremony to be held at RNZYS, and while this event had to be postponed from March 8th due to the Level 3 "lockdown" that postponed the start of the America's Cup, the fact that New Zealand is relatively COVID-free is what makes this live event possible.
Unfortunately, the downside of the tight NZ border controls that make the event possible is that only one of this year's two inductees will be able to attend, New Zealand's own Peter "PJ" Montgomery. The other inductee, Ed Baird, will have to watch with envy from St. Petersburg, FL, but he will be there in spirit and via video, and he'll be introduced by his old teammate Brad Butterworth.
"This will be a terrific event", said Herreshoff Museum President Bill Lynn. "I wish Ed could be there - and I wish we could be there too! We've had to be a bit flexible in terms of the schedule, but this new date will be interesting because at that point, we'll know who holds the Cup and we'll know who the COR is. It will be a very interesting gathering of AC enthusiasts, and it should be a hell of a party!"
This year's emcee duties will be shared by Hall of Fame member Bruno Troublé and RNZYS Commodore Aaron Young, the grandson of one of New Zealand's best known yacht designers. While perennial ACHOF emcee Gary Jobson will be missed, Mr. Troublé and Commodore Young are excited about the opportunity, and they have been working diligently on their material.
AC Hall of Fame Selection Committee Chair Steve Tsuchiya wishes he could be there too. "Our virtual event last Fall was wonderful and it was a nice pivot necessitated by the pandemic", said Tsuchiya. "This year's traditional-style event will serve as a capstone to the 36th America's Cup and we're thrilled that our friends at RNZYS are helping us making it happen."
Tickets to the event are NZ$300 and can be purchased here or email events@rnzys.org.nz to book a full table.