ACWS NYC Preview
Many San Francisco Bay sailors are bummed that the Bay was not selected to host any America’s Cup 35 events — despite the fact that Cup defender Oracle Team USA flies the burgee of the Golden Gate YC. But organizers seem to have gone to great lengths to provide access to live video, via real-time TV broadcasts and a free America’s Cup app, to the ongoing Louis Vuitton AC World Series events.
The 2016 America’s Cup World Series kicked off in February with a weekend of racing in Oman. Tomorrow, the six-team competition continues in New York on foiling AC45F catamarans. You can catch all the action live Saturday on NBC Sports Live Extra at 11 a.m. (Pacific Daylight Time), or via the free AC app. A just-announced Substitute Race will be run during today’s practice sessions, and will also be broadcast on Saturday.
Sunday’s races will be broadcast on NBC Sports Network and NBC Sports Live Extra at 11 a.m. (PDT). And if you miss those opportunities, you can catch the event highlights May 21 on NBC, also at 11 a.m.
Our on-the-scene reporter, Ellen Hoke, tells us that the festive AC village on the Hudson got a good soaking yesterday by heavy rain, with more rain expected through the weekend, but that hasn’t dampened the spirits of Cup fans who’ve descended on the Big Apple from far many far-flung destinations.
Emirates Team New Zealand is currently leading the Series with 192 points, with Oracle Team USA (186) and Land Rover BAR (185) not far behind. The others are SoftBank Team Japan, Artemis Racing and Groupama Team France.
While the AC35 website is impressive in many ways, we find it a bit difficult to access basic info, so we’ve put together a selection of dates and links on our own website, including links to past news articles. There, you’ll see that the next ACWS event will be in Chicago, June 11-12; followed by Portsmouth, UK, July 23-24; Toulon, France, September 10-11; and a final event in November, the location of which has yet to be announced.
A final footnote to today’s report: Golden Gate YC has just announced the production of a special-edition burgee commemorating the club’s sponsorship of Oracle Team USA. We’re told Larry Ellison himself designed the graphics. We’re curious: What are your thoughts on this new club burgee?
