This is why I hurried back to Newport after the Bermuda Race. It is unlikely that I will ever get closer to the boats than this. The America’s Cup village has been likened to a circus. I think it is an appropriate analogy. They arrive and set up completely self-sufficient.
Many of you are traveling to Newport this week to sail the Bermuda race. A retrospective of how Newport looked in the 60’s and 70’s
Again I am re-posting from sailing anarchy. I had barely mentioned the Atlantic Cup and the Open 40 class; which have just finished sailing in Newport. This is an attempt to bring a European event to America. It is very cute to say the least. These boats are set up for offshore sailing so the inshore racing is more about the spectacle.
There are days I am unsure of what to post and then there are days like today when I feel I must choose the most appropriate story. Mother’s day, but I gave it a story yesterday. Soldini’s attempt to set the transatlantic record is interesting, I am quite curious as to why they chose to set off now, knowing they would have to transit a ridge. College sailing semi finals took place in Annapolis.
The America’s Cup is now being advertised here and the AC web site now allows you to purchase tickets.
POSTED ON 11 MAY 2012
Inaugural America’s Cup World Series Champion to be determined
Tickets for Newport, R.I. event in June on sale now
America’s Cup racing returns to the United States next month when the AC World Series brings nine of the top sailing crews in the world to Newport, R.I. The American team, ORACLE TEAM USA, currently leads the AC World Series by one point and so the final stop on the 2011-12 AC World Series circuit will determine the overall winner of the first-ever season.
“The championship has been extremely close since the first event in Portugal last summer,” said Jimmy Spithill, skipper of ORACLE TEAM USA. “I won’t be surprised to see it come down to the final race, on the final day in Newport. And that’s the way it should be.”
Newport will host a festival of sailing from June 23 to July 1, culminating with the AC World Series running from Tuesday, June 26 through Sunday, July 1. The series will climax on the final Sunday, when both the event and season champion will be crowned. The final race day will air live, nationwide, on NBC.
The AC Village will be located at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, the shoreside hub of the event. Visitors will experience a unique view of the team bases – the ‘pit row’ – where the 45-foot catamarans with their 70-foot fixed wing-sails will be launched each day. The AC Village will offer a fantastic vantage point for spectators, with racing unfolding just yards offshore in the East Passage of Narragansett Bay.
Fans will enjoy a live race feed with commentary, as well as a Moët & Chandon champagne bar, Napa Valley Vintners wine lounge, multiple concessions featuring the best of the local Rhode Island food scene, the PUMA store, and the Teams Store. The Exploration Zone, with interactive exhibits from the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography and the America’s Cup Healthy Ocean Project partners, will give visitors an appreciation of the marine environment.
General admission tickets to the AC Village in Fort Adams State Park during race days (June 28 – July 1) are $10 per person per day, with children aged 12 and under free. No tickets are required from June 23 – 27. Tickets are available online at http://americascup.frontgatetickets.com and at the Newport Gateway Visitor’s Center. The AC Village opens at 11am each day, closing at 5pm (7pm on race days).
“Rhode Island has been working hard to prepare Fort Adams for high-performance sailing events and other acclaimed Newport attractions such as the Newport Folk and Jazz festivals,” said Governor Lincoln D. Chafee “Infrastructure improvements at Fort Adams State Park will showcase the spectacular natural assets of Narragansett Bay – assets that have made Newport one of the world’s most renowned sailing centers. Inside Fort Adams spectators can experience a number of activities including the Ocean Exploration Center, sailing education programs, and a racing center.”
To purchase tickets, go to: http://americascup.frontgatetickets.com
POSTED ON 27 MARCH 2012
It’s full speed ahead for the 2013 America’s Cup race in San Francisco.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors today approved the agreement to host the America’s Cup in San Francisco September 7 to 22, 2013.
One of the most fiercely competitive and sought after trophies in all of sport, the America’s Cup, was first raced in 1851 around the Isle of Wight, 45 years before the modern Olympics. The U.S. yacht Americawon, giving the international sailing competition its name.
At the first race, Queen Victoria, who was watching at the finish line, asked who was second to America. The famous answer, “Your Majesty, there is no second.”
The 2013 race will be the first time the competition for the “Auld Mug” will be held in San Francisco, a perfect natural sailing arena where more than one million spectators will see the 34th edition of the America’s Cup.
The San Francisco agreement calls for teams to be based at Piers 30/32 and for the America’s Cup Village – the public Race Headquarters – at Piers 27/29. The pier improvements will be funded by the Port.
“We have worked very hard to bring this historic race to San Francisco and we’re very happy to have finally reached an agreement,” said Stephen Barclay, interim CEO of the America’s Cup. “Now we are focused on making this the most spectacular race in America’s Cup history.”
“We are thrilled that, in addition to the Louis Vuitton Cup and the America’s Cup racing in 2013, that the America’s Cup World Series will also take place in San Francisco in 2012,” said Mayor Edwin M. Lee. “This will add even more visitors, jobs and economic development as part of hosting one of the world’s premier sporting events.”
The inclusion of Piers 30/32 as the “pit row” for the teams in close proximity to the America’s Cup Village at Piers 27/29 will make the event’s footprint more compact and will benefit the teams as well as the general public. Racing will be visible from the shoreline – only minutes from downtown shopping and hotels, making this the most spectator-friendly event in the Cup’s 162-year history.
The dates for this year’s (2012) racing for the America’s Cup World Series, the global circuit of events leading up to the 2013 America’s Cup regatta in San Francisco, were also confirmed today:
Each event will be a combination of practice and championship racing, with additional practice sailing on-site ahead of each event.
Racing for the Louis Vuitton Cup, the America’s Cup Challenger Series, will take place in July and August, 2013. The America’s Cup Match (finals), pitting the winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup against defending champion ORACLE Racing – Team USA, commences Saturday, Sept. 7, 2013 and is a first to win five-race series.
America’s Cup racing in 2012 and 2013 will be televised internationally, and for the first time in more than 20 years it will be broadcast free-to-air in the U.S. by the NBC network. It will also be broadcast internationally through our family of media partners, and will be streamed to the web on www.youtube.com/americascup.
This unprecedented broadcast coverage is a reflection of the exciting venue, the technologically-advanced yachts, the Emmy-nominated fan-friendly advances in the television production, and the sheer physical and tactical challenge presented to the world’s best sailors by the yachts, format and venue.
Before the end of 2013 the America’s Cup is expected to have generated more than $1 billion in economic benefits for San Francisco, and created several thousand jobs.
Major sponsors include some of the world’s top brands: Louis Vuitton, PUMA, Prada, Emirates Airline, TAG Heuer, and Oracle.
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The Bermuda Race has not yet happened, and already plans are set for another transatlantic race. While I understand the desire to break a record set; the idea of finishing at the Lizard, which is near nothing, seems silly.
Last night, Like many of the sailing population of Newport, I sat and listened to Brad Read speak about the America’s Cup World Tour visit to Newport in June-July. The Bermuda Race will be done and dusted, but preparation for the event will be well underway even before the Bermuda Race leaves Newport.
The Ship which brings the traveling “circus” will dock at Quonset and 90 containers will be trucked to Ft. Adams.
Big efforts are being made to move the expected crowds in other than cars. Anyone who has ever driven in Newport, particularly in the summer recognizes the potential problem. The Sailing will be best seen from land based on the description by Brad. And while I am excited to see the boats, the event itself sounds like everything I try to avoid.
I added the photo of Ft. Adams taken a few days ago which shows the trees which provided a buffer between those living in housing there and the public parking removed. I hope it proves to be a wise decision.
Beechwood could be restored to its past glory if renovations to the historic property are approved. Above, a loggia designed by Richard Morris Hunt that was lost to a storm, would be rebuilt.By Tom Shevlin
NEWPORT — When yachtsman and Oracle CEO Larry Ellison purchased the Astor’s Beechwood two years ago, speculation swirled as to the historic manse’s fate.
Would it become his summer home? A home port to use as he sailed the northeast? Or would it be a simple trophy home – a house built by a titan of American industry, once again in the hands of another?
It appears that we now have an answer.
Plans submitted to the city’s zoning department on Tuesday detail the project.
Once rennovations are complete, Ellison plans to re-open the property to the public as an art museum through the newly created Beechwood Art Museum.
According to Newport attorney Peter Regan, who is representing the applicant locally, the property is currently zoned as a museum and single family dwelling. And while its use as a museum will remain the same, significant changes are also planned.
While the building had most recently been used as a living history museum and special events center, Ellison’s Beechwood will house a special collection of artwork personally owned by Ellison on the first floor, and a private residence on the second floor.
Regan likened the project to that of the Frick Museum in Manhattan, where artwork will be set amidst a residential backdrop.
The museum will be operated by the Atlantic Arts Museum, a 501(c)4 non-profit that will lease the property from a private holding company, thereby keeping the property on the tax rolls.
According to Regan, once renovations are complete the museum will be open to the public “from day one” and the view from both Bellevue Avenue and the Cliff Walk will be preserved. Further, rather than competing with existing art institutions, Regan says he believes the property will enhance Newport’s reputation as an arts destination.
I have always had a fascination with lighthouses. I marvel at the organization of the system of lights for navigation. For me, no less impressive even in today’s world of GPS which is now so accurate. They have become touchstones, memories of the ocean races I have sailed with so many shipmates.
more images: HERE.
