The Maritime Report: For July 11, 2013
The Maritime Report: For July 11, 2013
Artemis Racing offers the media a tour of their Alameda Point home base. Video courtesy of Artemis Racing.
LOTS of America's Cup-related news this week.
GREAT ARTEMIS TOUR VIDEO
On Saturday, Artemis Racing held a long-awaited media tour of their base at Alameda Point. No photography or video was permitted, but their own staff had cameras all over the place. On Tuesday, Artemis released a 15-minute video of tour highlights, including some really good comments by CEO Paul Cayard and Helmsman Nathan Outteridge. Readers of this blog know that I'm partial to Artemis - they're our (original) Alameda Home Town Team, after all - and I'm happy to say that I heard nothing but pride and determination from all the team members who spoke with us.
THE JURY - STILL OUT?
As I write this at 5:30 Wednesday afternoon, the promised-today decision from the America's Cup International Jury has not yet been issued. The protests from Luna Rossa Challenge and Emirates Team New Zealand center on the size of the winglets attached to the rudders on the boats. I won't go into detail here. The most important thing about the decision will be that, if it goes in favor of Luna Rossa/ETNZ, it will effectively knock Artemis Racing out of the competition. Artemis has rudders that are eligible under the new safety rules, but they will not have anything they can use if the Jury throws that particular rule out. If this changes overnight or Thursday morning, I will add the information to the bottom of this article as a comment, so scroll down!
RACES - SORT OF
You all know that the Italian Luna Rossa Challenge team skipped the first race against Emirates Team New Zealand on Sunday. The Alameda Point-based team explained that they wanted to wait until the International Jury ruled on their protest.
SO, ETNZ went out on Sunday and sailed the full course on their own, winning the first point toward the Louis Vuitton Cup. They shattered several America's Cup records, reaching nearly 40 knots even with relatively light winds. New Zealand was out there again on Tuesday, sailing the race originally scheduled against Artemis Racing, which is still building their AC72. They won this race too, earning another point.
It's looking pretty good for ETNZ to win the round robin this month! That will advance them directly to the LV Cup Finals in mid-August, while Luna Rossa and Artemis will race a series that will pit one of them against ETNZ for the LV Cup and the right to advance to the America's Cup itself.
FUNDRAISER FOR AMERICAN YOUTH SAILING FORCE JULY 25
The highlight of the summer regattas might actually be the Red Bull Youth America's Cup, with 10 teams from eight countries (real national teams; all members from the host country) competing in fleet races for four days starting the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. These 19- to-24-year-old sailors are really excited, as well as being very nice people.
Oakland Yacht Club will host a fundraising dinner for the AYSF on Thursday, July 25. A member of the team will be at each table; there will be a fundraising auction, gourmet dinner, sponsored wine throughout the meal, and an America's Cup update. You'll see video of the team in action and they'll talk about their intense training program.
Tickets for this are $65 online or $75 at the door, and are LIMITED. You can buy yours now at http://forcealameda.eventbrite.com/. For more information, visit http://americanyouthsailingforce.com/.
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