America's Cup Racing Goes Extreme for 2013

It's been a great summer with the young sailors, family and friends, but not so good for writing blogs so I will try to make it up to you now.   Thanks to www.bizjournals.com, here is a photo of USA's entry "Oracle", driven by Australia's James Spithill in Plymouth, England.  It is the 2nd leg of the America's Cup World Series in the 45 foot catamarans that are raced this year and the next. At this point there are 9 boats racing against each other. They represent the countries of: USA, China, France, Korea, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden. Several boats have dropped out already from Australia and from Italy, while several others are rumored to be working towards meeting the participation requirements.  

The America's Cup finals in September 2013 in San Francisco will be in 72 foot catamarans competing for the oldest international sports trophy in the world, started in 1851.  This truly international competition now brings billions of dollars to the economy in the city of the country that wins and hosts this event.  One of the top three international sporting events along with the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup, the stakes in this event are extremely high in just about every way you can imagine from yacht and equipment engineering to the incredible physical conditioning and attention to safety for the sailors.  These new, incredibly fast catamarans have morphed the sport of sailboat racing into a thrilling event not just for sailors, but also for landlubbers.  There is the magic of sailing combined with the intensity of Formula 1 racing, but on the water.  It is a transformation akin to the introduction of Apolo Ohno's style of speed skating to the Olympics, snowboarding to the world of skiing events or perhaps even breaking the sound barrier in the world of aeronautics.

                                      

Next summer, the fleet of AC 45's and crews will be in Newport, Rhode Island, where there will be great spectator seating to experience the excitement.  More than 10,000 spectators, many on land, in Plymouth, England are now viewing the daring feats of sailors on boats that can achieve speeds of about 40 miles an hour as they hurtle through the water.   According to American Terry Hutchinson, skipper of the Swedish boat, "Artemis", when I saw him at Larchmont Yacht Club's Jr. Sailing Seminar in June 2011, the G Forces are such at that point that the sailors are all wearing protective gear and must be tethered to the boat so they don't fall off if the boat suddenly plows into a wave and stops.   Besides world class sailing skills, these sailors have to have the mental and physical conditioning of top athletes in the world, as well as total trust in their team members and their boats.  Hope to see you in Newport next summer!