Congratulations, San Francisco!

[TaoJones]

"After months of rumors, speculation and chest-beating by America's Cup fans, politicians and officials on both coasts, San Francisco has been chosen as the official venue for the 34th America's Cup match race finals series. The following letter was released shortly after 2:00pm, December 31, 2010, by Marcus Young, Commodore of the Golden Gate Yacht Club, the official defender of the America's Cup:"

Full story here:

America's Cup: It's official ... San Francisco picked to host 34th Defense. - National America's Cup | Examiner.com

TaoJones

[IdoraKeeper]

Okay...so what design is the commitee going to allow this time?

Todd

[David M]

Tao,
You beat me to the punch.

San Francisco wins America's Cup | San Francisco Business Times

Originally Posted by IdoraKeeper

Okay...so what design is the commitee going to allow this time?

Todd

I would like to see each crew member in an El Toro. As with any regatta, the crews with the least amount of points wins the Cup. Doing this on the SF Bay would keep the costs down and prove just how macho each sailor really is. Hey, if you can sail an El Toro on the SF Bay, you can sail a boat anywhere.

[TaoJones]

Originally Posted by IdoraKeeper

Okay...so what design is the commitee going to allow this time?

Todd

From the official America's Cup website:

"In the 34th America’s Cup the best sailors in the world will meet their ultimate match; the fastest boat in the world.

"Technology returns to the fore with the AC72 wingsail America’s Cup catamaran, capable of regularly exceeding speeds of 30 knots.

"The AC72 will excite fans as it zips around the racecourse with one hull in the air. Equally important, it will leave the crews exhilarated and drained after a day of adrenaline-fueled racing.

"Crucial to the new boat is its ability to be raced hard in light and strong winds, a necessary development to do away with the frustrating delays of racing because of not enough wind or too much."


More, here: New America


TaoJones

[GeoPowers]

Woot! Congrats San Fran! I have a good feeling about this one!

[IdoraKeeper]

It takes nerve and agility to hike out in an El Toro. A steady breeze too. Looks like fun.

[IdoraKeeper]

I believe I will be down for the race. That will be big fun.

[Cotemar]

Congratulations, San Francisco!

To be totally honest. I was hoping it would be Newport RI.
I will be happy to watch it anywhere. It’s very exciting to watch.

Mark

[cabo_sailor]

I tend to agree with David M. Lets do the Americas Cup in lasers or something. I rather think the cup has lost its roots. Now it is multi-million dollar boats that are lucky to survive the race. I'm sorry but except that the race is held on the water, I don't see any connection to the day to day sailor.

I realize that some folk do enjoy watching it, and that's fine, but I won't be paying it much heed.

Rich

[David M]

The great advantage of sailing inside the San Francisco Bay will be that the spectators can watch the racing for free and relatively close from any hillside surrounding the Bay. All you really need is a lawn chair, a pair of binoculars and an ice chest of beer. If you remember in previous America's Cup's, the boats were towed out so far that you had to be in another boat to see the racing.

The ever changing currents, local knowledge, geography and gusty winds are going to add some elements that most other venues lacked, I think making for more interesting racing from a spectators standpoint.

One major change I wish they would make is to start all the boats at the same time.....like they do with real regattas.

[Cotemar]

Great Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xivNKFulYhU

San Francisco Wins Right to Host 2013 America

[Bash]

for those of you who don't read the SF Chronicle on Sundays, here's the rough draft of the course. No America's Cup regatta in history will
have been this visible from shore.

[Bash]

americas cup FAQs.

Latitude 38 Features: AC34 FAQ

[Wand]

Originally Posted by David M

I would like to see each crew member in an El Toro. As with any regatta, the crews with the least amount of points wins the Cup. Doing this on the SF Bay would keep the costs down and prove just how macho each sailor really is. Hey, if you can sail an El Toro on the SF Bay, you can sail a boat anywhere.

I'm with David M on this; give them a real test in something a bit flighty like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuxNT...e_gdata_player