Cup Watch

He Said She Said

by Kimball Livingston, Posted January 20, 2010

I’m pretty sure the BMW Oracle folks weren’t really expecting Alinghi to apologize for what they claim are misrepresentations attributed to Alinghi skipper Brad Butterworth—regarding the breakup of the Singapore negotiations—but for the record, Golden Gate YC commodore Marcus Young did request an apology in a January 15 letter to SNG commodore Pierre-Yves Firmenich. In a new

America's Cup 33

by Charles Mason, Posted January 20, 2010

Ian Campbell of the University of Southampton’s (UK) venerable Wolfson Test Unit takes data provided to him by SAIL and runs it through their velocity prediction programs and the WinDesign VPP developed in conjunction with Clay Oliver’s Yacht Research International. His detailed analysis, which begins on page 14 of SAIL’s February issue, suggests that

Getting Personal

by Adam Cort, Posted January 21, 2010

For those looking to capture the true tenor of the 33rd America’s Cup without having to wade through all those boring legal briefs, look no further than the work of Alinghi’s team cartoonist, Mark O’Brien.A native of Dunedin, New Zealand, O’Brien has been covering sailing for years, ever since he created a series on the 1989-90 Whitbread for the Auckland Star during the fleet’s

Wednesday AC Racing Abandoned

by Sail Staff, Posted February 10, 2010

Racing has been abandoned yet again, this time due to the strength of the wind. We'll have a further update from Kimball Livingston soon, but until then be sure to check out our CupWatch page's streaming coverage, straight from

USA wins Race One

by Meredith Laitos, Posted February 12, 2010

Today in Valencia, USA, the trimaran sailed by the Challenger, BMW ORACLE Racing Team, crossed the finish line 15 minutes and 28 seconds before the Defender Alinghi during Race One of the 33rd America's Cup. After two days of postponement, today's race kicked of a best-of-three match that will last throughout the weekend and possibly into next week. USA, represented by San

The Guts Behind the Gear

by Charles Mason, Posted February 18, 2010

Harken has been supplying gear to America’s Cup competitors since the early 1970s, and been providing the winch and hardware packages for both challenger and defender since the 1995 match. “As you would expect, the Cup match in Valencia was very interesting,” says Harken’s Global Manager, Mark Wiss. Harken supplied the batten car systems for all three masts BMW Oracle developed for their soft

Volvo Sets Route for 2011-12

by Adam Cort, Posted February 23, 2010

The course for the upcoming Volvo Ocean Race, due to start from Alicante in Spain in the autumn of 2011, is now set and the first port of call will be Cape Town, South Africa, making its eighth appearance as host to this premier ocean race.This marks the beginning of the port announcement process for the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12. Organizers will reveal the rest of the course around the

Tunnicliffe, Gulari Accept US Sailing, Rolex Awards

by Adam Cort, Posted March 1, 2010

The weather in New York City may have been frightful—closing airports and stalling trains—but it did nothing to dampen the celebratory atmosphere during last week’s US Sailing's Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year awards ceremony in the New York Yacht Club’s famed Model Room.Attendees, including former award winners Magnus Liljedahl, Hannah Swett and Dawn Riley, had the rare treat

America’s Cup Coming to Strictly Sail

by Sail Staff, Posted April 12, 2010

See what all the fuss is about firsthand. The America’s Cup will be on display from noon until 6 p.m. this Thursday at Jack London Square in Oakland, California.The Cup is coming to Oakland as part of the Strictly Sail Pacific show, taking place April 15-18.Following the public viewing, recent America’s Cup winners, Team BMW Oracle, will be on hand for an hour-long presentation

What a Long Strange Trip

by Kimball Livingston, Posted May 7, 2010

There were no bombshells in the America’s Cup 34 press conference held today in Rome’s Musei Capitolini, but the hour-long session had its moments. Most of all it got me to thinking how long it’s taken for a familiar idea to take root. That being, to normalize Cup racing, give it a structure, and establish a marketable schedule for an event that long ago outgrew the 19th century vision of a yacht