The Basics
What are the exact dates of the Cup?
The exact dates have been formally announced. The racing for the Louis Vuitton Cup (challenger selection series) will be July 4-September 1, 2013, and the Cup match itself will go September 7-22, 2013.
Where will the racing take place?
The start/finish will be on the Cityfront, in the neighborhood of Piers 27 and 29. The initial plan was to have a weather mark near Blackaller Buoy, a limiting mark to leeward of the start/finish line, a leeward gate, and a reach mark in the Central Bay that would change location depending on the wind strength. Although AC Regatta Management has not made any formal declarations, they've been experimenting with reaching starts during the first two America's Cup World series events. Depending on the sea state, the race committee also has a provision for extending the weather leg out to Pt. Bonita. The marks will be dynamically-positioned boats instead of anchored inflatables, and will be adjusted to make the races last as close to 45 minutes as possible (to facilitate TV coverage).
What if I want to watch it on TV?
Hopefully that will happen, although to date, only TV New Zealand has been announced as having signed up for the full broadcast rights. Rolex Yachtsman of the Year and über-brainiac navigator Stan Honey — he developed the first-down line for TV football coverage — has been retained by the America's Cup Event Authority to improve the television coverage, and the results from the streaming feed from Plymouth have been very encouraging, with split-screen and overlay views. There will also be microphones on each crewmember, plus strategically located mics on the boat. There will be one onboard camera operator in addition to remote-controlled onboard cameras, plus what we assume will be aerial — helicopters have been employed in the ACWS so far, although concerns about noise and pollution have led to investigation of other options — and waterplane cameras.
In the meantime, organizers have a deal with YouTube to both live stream and archive the content they've been creating on an America's Cup channel that's already exceeded over 800,000 views. So far the results have been awesome.
When will we see boats on the Bay?
Although the event schedule for the America's Cup World Series is not yet completely fleshed out, the schedule for the two World Series events on the Bay is pretty well nailed down for August of next year. In the meantime, the roadshow will visit San Diego, November 12-20 before heading to Venice, Italy, May 12-20, 2012, and Newport, Rhode Island, June 23-July 1.
How many teams can we expect?
One of the biggest changes since the first iteration of these FAQs is in the lineup of teams. When we last checked in, there were four confirmed and announced entries in addition to Oracle Racing: Team Artemis, Emirates Team New Zealand, Aleph-Equipe de France and Challenger of Record Mascalzone Latino.
Of course, since then, there have been some major changes. First, Mascalzone Latino is kaput, and Artemis Racing has taken over as Challenger of Record. The others are still in the ballgame, and have been joined by some promising challengers, including Team Korea, China Team, France's Energy Team, and Spain's GreenComm Racing. That brings the total to seven teams, in addition to Oracle Racing, that have already participated in the first two ACWS events. To be clear, there is no guarantee that some of the newer teams will make it to the AC 72 stage of the game, but all have posted encouraging results so far, which should hopefully bode well for their continued existence.
As of this moment, the only sure bets are Oracle Racing, Artemis Racing, and Emirates Team New Zealand, all of which are funded. Artemis, although very strong looking, is backed by Swedish billionaire Torbjorn Tornqvist, who is rumored to not be excited about footing the bill entirely by himself, and the team's hunt for sponsorship is active. Changes to the protocol have left open the possibility for a later challenger to jump into the game, but the reality is that anyone doing so would be so far behind the curve that they would have little chance of contending.
When will work begin on the piers?
This is still the $55 million question. The project has already undergone an amazingly fast environmental review required under the California Environmental Quality Act, more commonly known as CEQA. The CEQA process, although budgeted to take one year, was completed in just about 8 months. But questions about, and opposition to, the plans still remain. At this point it appears unlikely that the development planned for the Cup will be ready for the first America's Cup World Sereis Events on the Bay in 2012.
A diagram showing the use of the piers along the Embarcadero (updated 1/14/11).
© 2010-2011 Google/America's Cup
Will they charge for viewing spots?
It's possible that there will be designated seating in certain places, but the fact that so much public land has prime views of the Bay means that there will be an abundance of good places from which to watch the races for free.
Will the Cup impact ferry service?
The short answer is yes. However, we get the impression after talking with AC Regatta Management chairman Iain Murray that the provision in the Host City Agreement that the event would have "exclusive use of the Bay between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m." will likely not mean a continuous, eight-hour blackout for commercial or recreational traffic. Also, we'd be surprised if more than just the racing area, and possibly a security perimeter, will be restricted. These issues will likely apply to recreational traffic as well.
Management
I'm lost in the America's Cup in a sea of alphabet soup; what are these various management arms of AC 34?
There are four main entities behind this America's Cup. In no particular order they are the America's Cup Event Authority, America's Cup Race Management, America's Cup Organizing Committee and Oracle Racing. The America's Cup Event Authority is headed by Richard Worth and Craig Thompson and is primarily charged with managing the event, selling event sponsorships, and marketing the 34th America's Cup.
The America's Cup Race Management, led by former Cup skipper and six-time 18-ft skiff World Champion Iain Murray, is primarily charged with running the Cup races, the America's Cup World Series, and the shoreside logistics of the event. The America's Cup Organizing Committee is a group of local civic leaders headed by San Francisco Rec and Parks Commission president Mark Buell who will be responsible for helping the Event Authority sell the event sponsorships as stipulated in the Host City Agreement reached between San Francisco and the defender, Oracle Racing.
America's Cup World Series
What is the AC World Series?
The America's Cup World Series is the series of regattas that leads up to the main event in August 2013. Five events — down two from the original projections — are either done and dusted or scheduled between now and August 2012.
Have the first two America's Cup World Series Events gotten much attention?
Absolutely! Although organizers have been inclined to overplay the actual attendance, conservative estimates have put attendance at the first two events in range of 10,000 people at both of the first two America's Cup World Series events.
Why are there so many different events within an AC World Series?
Honestly, we're not sure. The format so far has been pretty confusing, switching up between speed trials, fleet racing, match racing, and fleet racing to seed the match racing. Thankfully, the video it's produced has been fun to watch. The format may change as ACRM evaluates the viability of these components.
I thought one of Oracle Racing's big things was that they weren't going to race against the challengers. Why are they racing in the America's Cup World Series?
Since the America's Cup World Series events are sailed in the one design AC 45s, Oracle Racing is participating. The results will have no impact on the completely separate Louis Vuitton Cup in which Oracle Racing will not participate, nor the America's Cup itself. The America's Cup World Series is, in essence, a prelude that provides sponsor exposure, concept testing for media, and battle-hardening for crews.
Will Fleet Racing Be Part of the Cup?
This would seem extremely unlikely, despite its inclusion in the AC world Series events. Although the fleet racing is more visually dramatic on camera than the match racing.
The Boats
What kinds of budget will it take to compete?
The projected figures are in the neighborhood of $50 million for a budget campaign and $100 million for serious contender.
What are the specs on the AC 45s?
The five-man AC 45s are 45-foot long catamarans and have solid wings that are about 70 feet tall, in addition to a jib and gennaker. All trimming is done with top-handle-ground winches, and the boats have straight daggerboards that do not articulate (although teams are welcome to test lifting foils on their boats). The entire boat is demountable, and the wing is in sections, which allow both to be packed up into shipping containers on a dedicated ship for transport between the America's Cup World Series events.
When will the AC 72s be launched?
Originally, the first America's Cup World Series event on the Bay in August of next year was to mark the debut of the AC 72s, but that has changed, and now the 72s and their 11-man crews won't come into play until the Louis Vuitton Cup.
What are the specs on the AC 72s and who is building them?
The AC72s will be 72-ft long catamarans that are 45-feet wide, and carry wing masts. An initial plan to have two different sized wings has been scrapped, in favor of only the big, 130-ft tall one. The minimum weight is 6.5 tons. The AC72s will most likely be built in-house by the teams, although Oracle Racing is providing a starter design package, that will probably be the best option for the "fringe" teams who have yet to get enough funding to hire a top-notch deisgn team. The hulls and beams are required to be built in the country of the challenging yacht club, but everything else can be built anywhere.
How fast will the AC 72s be?
On a reach the boats could tickle 40 knots; upwind their VMG will be in the 14- to 15-knot range.
How many sailors will be aboard?
There will be 11 crew aboard the AC 72s
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