AC 45s Coming to the Bay

As recently as a few months ago, it was looking like the Bay Area would miss the the spectacle of the AC 45s altogether. Given a schedule that saw no official activity on the Bay until August of next year — coinciding with the arrival of the AC 72s — it seemed as if the closest the AC 45s would get to sailing here was the proposed Youth America’s Cup. But according to a source with the Cup, Oracle Racing will have two AC 45s sailing here starting the first full week of June. After some practice time, they’ll be used to test the regatta operations and media side of the event for the ensuing three weeks. The source told us that they expect to have 10 of these ridiculously cool wing-sailed cats ready to go for the first America’s Cup World Series event in Cascais, Portugal, in early August. Still unresolved is the actual number of challengers, with the official tally at nine, along with four "undisclosed" teams. Although it hasn’t yet been confirmed, the source tells us that the final list will be announced in a press conference in San Francisco in the middle of June.