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  America's Cup action accelerates—Sailing news from the U.S. and beyond
 | | 2017 America's Cup Qualifiers Race Day 7 Round Robin 2 - ORACLE TEAM USA and Artemis Racing Studio Borlenghi | Gattini |
Simply put, these are heady times for Cup aficionados, as the racing action is starting to get hot on the waters of Bermuda's Great Sound, which is playing host to the 35th America's Cup. While the wind didn't cooperate for the first day of scheduled racing in the Louis Vuitton America's Cup “Challenger Playoffs: Semi Final” (originally scheduled to start on Sunday, June 4; postponed to today, Monday, June 5), delivering winds below the six to 24 knots that are required for racing, the Louis Vuitton America's Cup “Qualifiers” delivered plenty of great on-the-water action while also sending the first team home.
Going into AC35, everyone knew that Oracle Team USA-the Defender-would be a tough act to beat (they won the Qualifiers with a record of eight wins to two losses), as would Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ; they also finished the Qualifiers in second place with a score of eight wins and two losses), but the other four teams-Artemis Racing, Land Rover BAR, Groupama Team France and SoftBank Team Japan-were all question marks or downright dark horses.
 | | Oracle Team USA & Artemis Racing - 35th America's Cup 2017 ACEA - Photo Gilles Martin-Raget |
While Artemis Racing participated in AC34, they suffered a boat-breaking capsize on May 9, 2013, that lead to the tragic death of Andrew “Bart” Simpson, and the team never fully recovered, at least in the AC34 cycle. Still, the Swedes looked strong in the friendly pre-event racing leading up to AC35, with some pundits wondering if the Swedish-flagged outfit could ultimately end-up foiling off with the Auld Mug, but the team's five-five scoreboard results in the Louis Vuitton America's Cup “Qualifiers” were likely a reality check for Artemis fans who are hoping to see the next America's Cup contested on Scandinavian waters. Still, skipper Nathan Outteridge and his teammates have proven that they can win races-including off of the Defender (twice)-so expect them to be a contender in the Challenger Playoffs: Semi Final.
Land Rover BAR finished the Louis Vuitton America's Cup Qualifiers with a record of four wins and six losses, not to mention a significant collision with SoftBank Team Japan that required the British-flagged team to foil into the harbor to avoid sinking their holed boat (worse still, Sir Ben Ainslie, Land Rover BAR's skipper, was also faulted with a collision [Ainslie called it a “love tap” in his apology] with the Kiwis just prior to the start of the Qualifiers, leading some people to question the effectiveness of the control systems on the British boat, while others pondered the temperament of her skipper). The team is currently sitting in third place on the leaderboard, just astern of ETNZ, thanks to a critical two points that they brought into the Qualifiers from their strong performance in the America's Cup World Series.
 | | 7. Race 6 - Land Rover BAR and Softbank Team Japan collision - 35th America's Cup - Bermuda May 27, 2017 Richard Gladwell |
SoftBank Team Japan has struggled in the Qualifiers, winning three races and loosing seven, a record that puts them in the penultimate position on the scoreboard, astern of the Swedes and ahead of the last-placed French by a single point. It‘s fair to say that this team is now on life-support and will likely be eliminated in the Challenger Playoffs: Semi Final, which are set to begin today, Monday, June 5 (conditions depending).
 | | Softbank Team Japan - Round Robin 2, Day 8 - 35th America's Cup - Bermuda June 3, 2017 Richard Gladwell |
As for Franck Cammas and his Groupama Team France, the squad has been freed to pursue other professional endeavors after having been eliminated from play in the Qualifiers, winning just two races (the first against Artemis Racing, the second against Land Rover BAR) and suffering six losses. While the start-up team is the first to be eliminated from the AC35 cycle, they appeared pleased with their experiences on sailing's grandest stage.
“We are all extremely proud of the work we have done throughout this America's Cup,” said Cammas. “Standing here after where we were, even two weeks ago, we have definitely finished with a smile on our faces. My feeling is as expected really because we didn't have big expectations at the start.”
 | | Groupama Team France - 2017 America's Cup Studio Borlenghi | Gattini |
While French blood was the first to be seriously spilled (metaphorically speaking, of course) on Great Sound, the waters will get much bloodier in the coming days, as the Challenger Playoffs: Semi Final will determine what team will meet Oracle Team USA on the starting line of the America's Cup Match, which is set to begin on Saturday, June 17. This means that three more teams will be packing up their wingsails and hydrofoils and heading home in the next week, as the Challenger Playoffs: Semi Finals are set to conclude on Monday, June 12 (if not sooner).
Based on what we've seen of the racing so far, most seasoned gamblers (of which I am decidedly not one!) would squarely put their money on ETNZ to successfully emerge from the Challenger Playoffs: Semi Final, however anyone with eyeballs and access to America's Cup broadcasting will advise that lead changes have been happening in New York minutes, and that sometimes the unexpected becomes reality (case-in-point: Artemis Racing's two wins off of Oracle Team USA).
 | 02/06/17 Emirates Team New Zealand sailing on Bermuda's Great Sound in the Louis Vuitton America's Cup Qualifiers
Round Robin 2 - Race 08 - Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) vs. SoftBank Team Japan
Copyright: Richard Hodder / Emirates Team New Zealand Richard Hodder/Emirates Team New Zealand |
So, before calling or IMing your favorite bookie, be sure to tune into the Challenger Playoffs: Semi Final, starting today, as you can safely bet your last shackle that things are going to get seriously interesting in the next week. Giddyap!
May the four winds blow you safely home,
David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor
A QandA with Andrew Howe about winning the 2015 Marion to Bermuda Race
David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor, 
In 2015, skipper Greg Marston and the crew of Ti, a 1967 Alden Mistral, racing under celestial rules, were the overall winners of the Marion Bermuda Race Founders Division, beating boats that were enjoying GPS accuracy. On the eve of the 2017 edition of the race, I reached out to Andrew Howe, the team's co-navigator, to gain perspective on this impressive win and hear about his 2017 plans.... [more]
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