It’s Official: Bermuda to Host AC 35

As of yesterday widespread rumors about the venue choice for the 35th America’s Cup became official: It will be Bermuda, not San Diego. The decision was announced by Harvey Schiller, the AC commercial commissioner, at a press conference held in New York yesterday.

California is also still absent from the growing list of America’s Cup World Series venues, the lead-up regattas to be held in foiling AC45s. All teams have been given an opportunity to host events in their home countries. The schedule so far includes:

Season opener, location TBA, June 5-7, 2015
Portsmouth, UK, July 23-26, 2015
Gothenburg, Sweden, August 28-30, 2015
Hamilton, Bermuda, October 16-18, 2015

Four to six ACWS events are expected in 2016, including a summer regatta in Chicago and one in Portsmouth in July.

In 2017, all teams will compete in their new foiling, wingsail AC62 catamarans. Racing will begin with the America’s Cup Qualifiers, where the teams will be seeded according to their results in the AC World Series. The top challengers then go on to compete in the America’s Cup Challenger Playoffs to win the right to race the defender, Oracle Team USA, in the America’s Cup Finals in June 2017.

A second Red Bull Youth America’s Cup has been confirmed for Bermuda in 2017 prior to the main event, with qualifying starting from 2016. No young women raced in last year’s inaugural event — it remains to be seen if any effort will be made to include them next time.