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Photo above:©2011 Guilain
Grenier/Oracle Racing |
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The common is thread in all
of these venues is the chance to race the boats close to
shore, with spectators able to watch in a "stadium" type of
setting, as compared to yacht races which can sometimes be
staged miles from shore. Cascais, near Lisbon, in
Portugal was one of five short-listed cities to host the
2007 America's Cup, and was actually regarded as the
favorite for a while until losing out to Valencia, Spain.
San Diego of course hosted the 1992 and 1995 Defenses of the
America's Cup, though racing took place miles away off Point
Loma for those events. The RC44 Oracle Cup, held in San
Diego last fall showcased tight match racing and fleet
racing inside San Diego's harbor, often within feet of the
Broadway Pier, and the ACWS event held there should be
similar.
The 2011-12 America's Cup
World Series Regatta dates announced, updated as of October
31:
|
2011 |
|
|
Aug 6-14, 2011 |
America's Cup World Series Regatta - Cascais,
Portugal |
|
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Sep 10-18, 2011 |
America's Cup World Series Regatta -
Plymouth, England |
|
|
Nov 12-20, 2011 |
America's Cup World Series Regatta - San
Diego, CA, USA |
|
|
2012 |
|
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Apr 7-15, 2012* |
America's Cup World Series Regatta - Naples,
Italy |
|
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May 12-20, 2012* |
America's Cup World Series Regatta - Venice,
Italy |
|
|
Jun 23-Jul 1, 2012* |
America's Cup World Series Regatta - Newport,
RI, USA |
|
|
July 2012 |
America's Cup World Series 2012-13 season
begins
Read More |
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*
Important Note: Dates are believe to be
firm, but are subject to change by event
organizers and competitors. Please
confirm all dates before making any travel or
business plans.
Despite being included
in official materials as recently as October
31, 2011, an ACWS regatta Jan 28-Feb 5 of
2012 has been termed "doubtful" and
expectations are for Naples in April 2012 to
be the next event following San Diego in
November 2011.
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The first three ACWS venues were announced
on March 31, 2011.
Read Official Press Release
The exact San Diego dates were announced June 15, 2011.
Newport was announced August 12, 2011.
Read Newport Press Release
Venice was announced Sept 4, 2011. Dates for this stop
were earlier reserved as May 19-27.
Read Venice Press Release
Naples was announced September 14, 2011.
Read Naples Press Release
More Cities, More
Racing
Additional cities unofficially pegged as potential ACWS
venues include Auckland, New Zealand; Dubai (or another
Middle East location such as Oman); a South American spot
such as Rio de Janeiro; and Sydney Harbor in Australia.
To the degree possible, there is an inclination among
organizers to bring visibility to the challengers in their
home countries, too, if feasible, though none of the first
three venues accomplish that as far as is known.
Newport, Rhode Island, was a strong
contender to host an event leading up to the 2013 America's
Cup, and organizers negotiated with Rhode Island officials
regarding facilities to be built by the state at Fort Adams
to support the needs of an America's Cup World Series.
One motivation for selecting Newport is the city's strong
historical link with the America's Cup, though also, another
factor not to be ignored, such a move would go some distance
to healing any bruises caused when GGYC nearly chose Newport
to host the 2013 America's Cup Match itself, but ultimately
selected San Francisco.
ACWS events in San Francisco
August-September 2012, which regattas were also intended to
be the racing debut of the first batch of AC72 yachts.
Organizers announced May 31, 2011, however that the AC45
yachts would be raced for both America's Cup World Series
seasons.
As for SF, part of the agreement for
staging the 34th Defense there in 2013 included a promise to
bring an ACWS or AC "World Championship" races to the city
prior to the actual Defense, which would be helpful as a
learning experience for teams and organizers alike, and just
as importantly would also be a boost from an economic impact
perspective.
To
Be Announced
The first three ACWS venues were named in Spring of 2011 and
a competitive bidding process for prospective host cities
for the remaining five regattas of the 2011-12 season was
opened on June 2, 2011, with an initial reply deadline of
June 30. The bid process was also begun at that time
for the regattas slots that were still open for the 2012-13
ACWS season. Organizers were required by the Protocol
for the 34th Defense to name the 2012 venues by October 31,
2011, which they did, subject to change. As of
November, the 2011-12 season, which extends only into the
first half of 2012, now appears to be set.
2011-12:
Plans originally called for seven to eight ACWS regattas in
the 2011-12 season. Though dates for a
January-February 2012 regatta were being carried in official
statements as late as the end of October, 2011, discussion
by officials and team members in November during the San
Diego ACWS revealed that discussions with potential hosts
were not expected to be completed in time, and that Naples,
Italy, in April 2012 is to be the next ACWS stop. The
venue not named, which will not host, is widely cited as
having been Auckland, New Zealand. An early version of
the listed the regatta a few later in February.
The limited window between
Naples, Venice, and Newport seems unlikely to accommodate
the logistics necessary for another regatta within the
2011-12 season.
2012-13:
For the 2012-13 season a total of seven to eight regattas
are also expected, two of which are intended for San
Francisco in July and August 2012, and one in Venice, Italy,
in 2013.
See ACWS 2012-13 Season Schedule
Additional Links and Info:
See SailBlast.com (November 2, 2011) for discussion
of finalizing additional regattas 2011-12 ACWS Schedule
