America's Cup Celebration at City Hall

January 6, 2011

As the planning for America's Cup 34 rolls along little tidbits get revealed, and some slipped out at Wednesday's celebration at San Francisco's City Hall, including the following:

The AC45 World Series will start this year in June in Europe, followed by a USA venue in September. Where we don't know yet. The schedule is pretty general at this point. A couple of 'Winter Races' must be destined for the Southern Hemisphere. The AC72 World Series starts in August 2012 in San Francisco, then heads to Asia and beyond.

When trophies collide: (l-r) Mayor Gavin Newsom, Larry Ellison, and California's Chief of Protocol Charlotte Shultz with the America's Cup, and the Giants' Bill Neukom and Larry Baer with the World Series trophy. ©2011 norcalsailing.com

Post celebration press conference. Left to right: Mayor Newsom, Larry Ellison, Richard Worth, Craig Thompson, Iain Murray. ©2011 norcalsailing.com

Gavin Newsom and Larry Ellison. ©2011 norcalsailing.com

The courses will be in the Central Bay with a "chance" of going out the Gate, according to America's Cup Race Management head Iain Murray, who also confirmed that the wind range for racing is still 3-30 knots. But they'll look at the sea state, and if it's too choppy during an ebb they may not go. (Guess the AC72s are not Folkboats.) That may mean the racing will be on a slack or flood tide. So look for the boats to head towards the Cityfront shore on the beat.

A chart of the piers affected. ©2011 www.americascup.com

A graphic of the racing area, with viewing areas in neon colors. ©2011 www.americascup.com

More tidbits and observations:

• The realignment of the piers has been finalized, and work getting the environmental permits is underway.
• Larry Ellison is looking at as many as 12-15 teams, including teams from Asia.
• There is a chance that USA 17 (the giant trimaran that won AC33) will sail on the Bay this year. According to John Kostecki: "Larry wants to do it and it's possible if we go with the original wing. Remember we added 10 meters of height to the wing just before going to Valencia."
• Jonny Moseley is a good moderator and should host his own game show someday.