AMERICA’S CUP HYPE

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America’s Cup cost defended by Plymouth City Council

The nine racing catamarans have been unloaded from a cargo ship in Millbay Docks
The cost of bringing the America’s Cup to Plymouth has been “money well spent”, the leader of the city council has insisted.

The yachts are due to begin racing in Plymouth Sound on 10 September.

Suggestions that it could cost up to £500,000 to stage have been rejected by Vivian Pengelly, who said the council had budgeted £100,000.

Plymouth City Council has estimated the second leg of the world series could generate £10m for the local economy.

It said providing accommodation for the teams alone – 700 beds for 20 days – will benefit local hoteliers by £1.2m.

The council has previously said it could not disclose the “fee” it paid to host the event in the city.

Devon sailor Conrad Humphreys said staging the America’s Cup could cost the council “at least” £500,000, but Mrs Pengelly said that was “not quite true”.

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The public are going to see quite a spectacle”

Peter Greenhalgh
Team Energy competitor
“It’s not going to cost nearly as much as we thought, because we’ve got so much sponsorship from people like the university and business, who’ve been absolutely fantastic,” she told BBC News.

“It can cost anything up to £100,000, but until we know exactly what sponsorship we’re getting, we’re not really sure what the cost will be.”

A media city has been set up on Plymouth Hoe where a 100-strong television crew will beam the competition across the world.

The nine 45ft (14m) catamarans taking part in the challenge have been unloaded from a cargo ship which arrived in Millbay Docks last week.

An estimated 150,000 people are expected to watch the newly designed AC45 racing yachts from vantage points all around Plymouth Sound.

Peter Greenhalgh, a British sailor who will be competing on board the French catamaran Team Energy, said the boats were fast and the racing would be close.

“The public are going to see quite a spectacle,” he told BBC News.

“The boats are very easy to identify and I think they’ll find it enjoyable viewing.”

Mrs Pengelly said staging the America’s Cup was an opportunity to showcase Plymouth to the world and the cost was “money well spent”.

“Everyone’s getting very excited about it and there’s a real buzz around the town,” she said.

Entertainment programme
The first stage of the series took place earlier this month in the Portuguese town of Cascais and the final leg of the qualifying event will be held in San Diego, California, between October and December.

Visitors will also be able to enjoy a full programme of entertainment over the 10-day event, including live music, food, shopping and a yacht racing simulator.

The America’s Cup is named after the yacht America which sailed from the east coast of the United States in 1851 to race against British yachts.

America won the race and the trophy was donated to the New York Yacht Club under a Deed of Gift that still governs the competition.

Newport, Rhode Island has been “awarded” one of the acts, I have written about this before. How will it work in Newport? I am not sure. It will allow the state to spend money to improve the docks and facilities at Fort Adams. Anyone who has experienced a festival at Fort Adams and the traffic in Newport might understand the logistical problems that the city of Newport has inherently has to deal with.
The event will from a distance be a feather in the cap of Newport and it’s reputation as the sailing capital of the world.
San Francisco does seem to be overcoming the issues that stood in the way of having the event there. Work is moving forward on the waterfront.

NEWPORT TO HOST AMERICA’S CUP FINAL

Newport, RI will host the final event in the world tour of the America’s Cup in June  23 to July 1, 2012. This will be in the same AC 45 catamarans that are being sailed now; and the last event in these boats before the 72 footers will be sailing in San Francisco for the America’s Cup Event itself.  Big news for Newport and tourism. I am anxious about the “improvements” that will likely take place at Fort Adams in preparation for the event.

This event will follow the Newport to Bermuda race which starts on June 15 from Castle Hill in Newport. We will all have to hustle back if we want to watch any of the action.

THE FASTNET RACE STARTS TOMORROW. This is probably my favorite of the 600 mile races in the world. The others being: the Bermuda race, Sydney-hobart race, the Middle Sea race.

 

fastnet rock on the bow

 

 

 

“J” CLASS REGATTA NEWPORT DAY TWO

These giants of sail are wonderful to look at. Here is the link to the web site for the regatta. Look carefully to find results. Starts (1pm) and finishes are off Ft. Adams which makes easy viewing.

Ranger is a re-creation, built new from scratch. Velsheda is a restoration.

NEWPORT STILL PREPARING FOR THE AMERICA’S CUP

NEWPORT, R.I.—Gov. Lincoln Chafee says the state will help pay for infrastructure improvements needed so Newport can host sailing races that lead up to the America’s Cup finals.

The “pre-regattas” are planned for Newport and locations around the world before the final races in 2013 in San Francisco.

In Newport, Oracle Racing is planning races in the east passage of Narragansett Bay this year between Sept. 17-25. On Friday, Chafee toured Fort Adams State Park and told The Newport Daily News, the state “will do our part” to pay for upgrades needed to host the races there.

“I’m big on creating infrastructure,” he said. “It’s the role of government.”

Chafee said improvements at Fort Adams would pay for themselves by making future events possible there, and also by giving the park more visibility.

“Everyone who comes to Fort Adams, Rhode Island residents and those from outside the state, says how beautiful it is,” the governor said. “Anything that can open up this historic asset to more people is a big plus.”

Among the improvements needed: new docks along the waterfront, two cranes to hoist the catamarans in and out of the water, a barge for additional docking space and a long pier to protect the docking areas.

State funding is available for capital improvements to state parks, and the Department of Environmental Management has money to repave roads in state parks, said Paul Harden, the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation’s manager of business and workforce development.

He said Oracle and racing organizers will pay for items such as the cranes.

“We think some federal funding also may be available,” Harden said.

LITTLE RHODY

‘WE GOT PLAYED’ – THE SAGA OF LITTLE RHODY
By Herb McCormick, yachting journalist
Here in Rhode Island, like last year, and the one before that, it’s been an exceptionally crummy year. In his Saturday column for the Providence Journal, the state’s biggest paper, sportswriter Bill Reynolds summed it up thusly: “Let’s see: high unemployment (about 12% and climbing), the Central Falls school disaster, everyone talking about moving to North Carolina, fear and loathing everywhere you go in R.I. Slink out the door, 2010.”

I grew up here, in Newport, and my dad’s longtime bookie, Nickie C at the old Cliff Walk Manor, would’ve wished the year farewell in similar fashion with his favorite expression: “Don’t let the screen door hit you in the ass on the way out.”

So when the news came down late on New Year’s Eve that the America’s Cup had been awarded to San Francisco after an 11th hour bid by the state to lure it to Newport, it seemed like the inevitable capper to a crappy year. As I watched the new flash on the tube a single word leapt to mind: “Perfect.”

A more accurate analysis was put forth in the “comments” section of the online story in the next morning’s ProJo. It was the first in a long string of like-minded assessments from folks who don’t happen to live by the water and who saw through the sham from the outset. I can’t remember if it was Vinnie from Cranston or Paulie from Pawtucket or Rocco from Woonsocket but it doesn’t really matter. Vinnie or Rocco or whoever it was absolutely nailed it: “We got played.”

Yo, Vinnie. Truth, brother.

Over the holidays I watched an old Charlie Brown Christmas special with my daughter. I love the fact that the “adults” never actually speak…you know they’re saying something by the single, repeated, droning note of an oboe or something: “Wah, wah, wah…”

A lot of good people put a lot of effort into trying to bring the Cup “home,” and though I tried to tell everyone who brought it up that there was an EXTREMELY strong possibility that we were being used as a negotiating tool for the ongoing talks in San Fran (not to mention the fact that finding the money that was being bandied about in a state on the brink of insolvement was going to be, um, tricky), optimism was high. There is little hope in RI at the moment (ironically, “Hope” is the state’s motto), and the possibility of a flood of jobs and tourists and development was strong ju-ju. Like, man, we needed this. Bad.

And in the aftermath of the decision, a lot of politicians and an Oracle spokesman were quoted about how close we’d come, and how cool that was, and what little doucats we might get tossed our way if this or that might happen down the road. But it all sounded like a lecture to Linus to me: “Wah, wah, wah, wah, waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.” Noise. More noise. Endless noise.

Anyway, congratulations San Francisco. You’ll put on a hell of a regatta in the prettiest city on the planet. Honestly, when we first heard that the Cup was coming to Northern California, we were overjoyed.

Then, suddenly and dramatically, we were part of the discussion, and we allowed ourselves the luxury of dreaming, hoping against hope we weren’t in the crossfires of shysters and soundbites.

But here in hapless Little Rhody, the song remains the same. We got played.

The best argument I’ve heard for Newport as host of the AC

While this is indeed the most compelling argument I have read for bringing the America’s Cup to Newport, there is a very big difference between One boat using Newport as a base and an America’s Cup event.  An America’s Cup event in Newport would disrupt life here in ways we cannot imagine. I much prefer to see boats being built and launched here.

Can Newport and the state of Rhode Island afford to spend the money to bring the Cup here? Do the numbers really make sense? Will it really increase employment in a meaningful way? Not just part time jobs.

COULD THIS BE NEW ENGLAND’S BEST CHRISTMAS EVER?

Ken Read is a resident of Newport and is the CEO and Skipper of PUMA Ocean

Racing – a sailing team built to participate in the Volvo Ocean Race. He is

also the Vice President of North Sails Group LLC. Here he shares his

excitement on the possibility of the America’s Cup coming to his town:

———————————————————————-

Rhode Island needs the America’s Cup, and has the opportunity within its

grasp to do so. An amazing last minute organizational effort between many

different state and private organizations has made Rhode Island a front

runner in the race to be the venue for the 2013 America’s Cup.

At first glance it would appear that I am the most biased person in the

state to write an editorial in support of the America’s Cup coming to Rhode

Island. I grew up in this area, and have sailed on Narragansett Bay my whole

life. I moved to Newport in the infamous summer of 1983 and witnessed

firsthand the removal of the America’s Cup from our shores. Since then I

have had the good fortune to be a part of dozens of world class sailboat

racing teams including skippering Dennis Conner’s America’s Cup bids on two

separate occasions.

Over the past three years I have served as the CEO and Skipper of PUMA Ocean

Racing, the Volvo Ocean Race entry of the sports-lifestyle company PUMA. The

Volvo Ocean Race is considered as one of the big three sailing events in the

world, along with the Olympics and the America’s Cup.

I am proud to say that PUMA Ocean Racing is the second largest professional

sailboat racing team in the United States, second only in size and success

to BMW-Oracle Racing, the holder of the America’s Cup. Like all professional

teams we had a choice on where we wanted to organize, train and build our

program. We chose Rhode Island.

Why did we choose Rhode Island?

First of all, Rhode Island has a marine trade industry that helped us create

a racing program that can successfully compete against the best in the

world.

Secondly, we can keep the construction, design and engineering of our

programs major components literally within driving distance of our

waterfront base, located at the Newport Shipyard since 2007.

And finally, we are a five-minute sail from some of the best sailing grounds

in the world that we use for training, testing and racing.

What does this all mean to the State of Rhode Island? Thanks to these three

major attributes PUMA Ocean Racing has spent over 20 million dollars in

Rhode Island in the past three years. This sum has covered the fundamental

components’ of a program our size such as design and engineering, boat and

mast construction, sails, rigging, housing, and food. Not to mention the

influx of cash that our employees and their families spend to live their

daily lives. And this is money that represents a few cents on the dollar

compared to what the America’s Cup would bring to the region.

My point takes a twist though, and I sincerely hope that our governmental

leaders and citizens understand a second crucial point. The decision to

spend money on infrastructure to lure the America’s Cup has very little to

do with the sport of sailing as a whole, and has everything to do with good

business. — Read on:

http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=11021

BMW PULLS OUT OF THE AMERICA’S CUP/ SAN FRANCISCO STILL WANTS THE RACES

The following is written by James Boyd

At the end of the year BMW will bring to a close its longstanding partnership with Oracle Racing and thereby end its involvement in the America’s Cup. This is by mutual agreement of both partners. Both parties set ambitious goals and achieved the ultimate objective: winning the America’s Cup.

BMW has partnered BMW Oracle Racing since 2002. Technology and skills have transferred freely between the automaker and sailing team, most notably in the fields of structural engineering and high-modulus composite construction. The result was celebrated in the February when the team’s wing sail trimaran USA 17, the fastest yacht in the history of the America’s Cup, won the 33rd Match with a 2:0 victory off Valencia, Spain.

“On the design and engineering front, BMW engineers set new benchmarks in terms of intelligent lightweight design,” said Ralf Hussmann, General Manager BMW Sports Marketing and Brand Cooperation. “In winning the 33rd America’s Cup, we achieved all of our ambitious goals. We will continue to be involved in the sport on a national level.”

“The America’s Cup combines a technological challenge with a sporting one and success is measured by the result on the race course,” added Russell Coutts CEO of BMW Oracle Racing “In that sense, both the team and BMW are proud that our collaboration resulted in victory.”

“WE ARE IN THE RED ZONE”

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is working around the clock in a last-ditch

effort to keep the city’s bid for the America’s Cup alive – even as Larry

Ellison openly courts Newport, R.I. “We are in the red zone,” Newsom said

Tuesday evening. San Francisco’s bid for the 2012 race took a sudden dive

last week when Team Ellison began talking very publicly with Newport about

holding the race there.

“I would like to believe that our deal was not used as a negotiating

strategy to leverage a deal in Rhode Island,” said Supervisor Ross

Mirkarimi, a key backer of San Francisco’s bid. That’s exactly what is

happening, however. Although everyone is trying to keep on the high road,

the folks at City Hall are anything but smiles as they try to deal with

Ellison’s group.

According to Newsom, the negotiations are not over what piers to use or how

much public money to spend, but rather about tax increment financing and

other financial details. “This is a billion-dollar economics package, with

thousands of jobs and a big investment by their organization. I can

understand their need for certainty,” Newsom said.

“I’ve been on the phone steadily for the past five days,” the mayor said.

“The one thing we can’t afford to do is get petulant and throw up our hands

or start pointing fingers.” Besides, there will be plenty of time for that

if Ellison raises the anchor and heads east. — SF Chronicle,

http://tinyurl.com/SFC-122210

METAPHORS: San Francisco supporters should be concerned about Newsom’s

comment of being “in the red zone.” This phrase, which references a football

team’s ability to score inside the 20 yard line, has not been a strength of

his town’s team. As of December 23rd, the San Francisco 49ers ranked 23rd

out of 32 NFL teams in red zone scoring percentage. As for Newport, which

typically cheers for the New England Patriots, their team is ranked third

overall.

MORE NEWSOM: “They (GGYC) seemed dissatisfied with some key components of

our bid,” said Newsom. “We’ve been working aggressively behind the scenes to

address those concerns.” Newsom would not say what specifically changed, but

the Board of Supervisors has given the Mayor’s Office the power to make

amendments as long as the major components of the agreement remain intact.

— SF Examiner: http://tinyurl.com/SFE-122210

RHODE ISLAND RALLY: Supporter came out for a Rally to Host the 2013

America’s Cup on Wednesday morning at the Marriott in Newport, RI, where

Sail Newport Executive Director Brad Read encouraged the crowd to embrace

this opportunity. “We believe in Narragansett Bay as the premier tourist

attraction that Rhode Island has,” said Read. “We want to make sure that we

run the best events, the most worldwide recognizable events that we can. I

think Narragansett Bay is the perfect backdrop for the America’s Cup.” Watch

video from the event here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gF2drHLbkSQ

MORE READ: Sailing World magazine’s Stuart Streuli caught up with Brad after

the rally to grill him on the details. Here is the interview:

http://tinyurl.com/SW-122210

TICK TOCK: The America’s Cup defender Golden Gate Yacht Club is required by

the Protocol for the 34th America’s Cup to declare the venue location by

December 31st. While there are provisions to amend the Protocol so as to

extend this deadline, it would not be a popular move. GGYC is already

considered to have a technical advantage, thus challenging teams are eager

to focus their design strategy on the selected venue. Additionally, the

selected venue will determine whether prospective challengers can seek

suitable sponsorship for them to enter the event. —

http://tinyurl.com/AC-122210

the latest AC dope? a moving target

This is from sailing anarchy, I still believe that Newport should be careful what they wish for. Valencia has a purpose built venue, empty. It seems that the AC community wants their cake and eat it as well.

ac dope

a change we can live with?

The absolute shitstorm of meetings, public statements, news reports and lobbying over the location for the 34th America’s Cup is massively it is impacting the goals so loftily sought out by Messrs. Ellison and Coutts.

We’ve gone from an event that will revolutionize the public perception of sailing, that will grab the ‘Facebook Generation’s’ interest and introduce the sport to millions of new people to something that is only going to work if it can be hosted cheaply and easily.

That’s BMW/Oracle’s stated reason for the world’s third richest man ditching San Francisco: The deal left him on the hook for far too much cash if the event didn’t make any money or if the sponsorship dollars didn’t materialize.

We’ve said from the very, very beginning that Ellison could succeed at his goal of changing the face of the Cup and sailing in the US only through a very careful and expensive process that guaranteed maximum eyeballs watching a completely new presentation of the kind of racing that few have ever seen.  His success would depend absolutely on a well-prepared and promoted venue, on participation of a half dozen solid teams, and on him paying whatever it costs to bring in network television and fully integrate it with the web and the dozens of new distribution channels.

But something has changed – something big – and it looks as though the team may have given up on the vision, working instead on getting something ironed out in much less desirable and accessible Newport and proceeding with the plans for a traveling circus.

So what happened?  Is this the final step of Tom Ehman’s decades-old plan to get the Cup back to Newport where he first worked with the NYYC? Is the team finally getting enoughpressure from Grant Dalton and the other CEOs to get it sorted or they are out?  Are Larry and Russell sick and tired of trying to do something special for an ungrateful sailing public, or sick of trying to make San Francisco work for a government that didn’t appreciate the opportunity?

One thing is for sure:  Considering the volume of cash that Larry Ellison has spent on not only previous Cups but numerous projects throughout his lifetime, it ain’t about the money.  But considering the glee with which the ‘yachting establishment’ up in the Northeast is tossing lifelines to Ehman & Co, perhaps it is about something far simpler, far older, and far more in keeping with the AC being unable to escape being an ancient and obsolete competition for the super rich…and not the public.  After all, San Fran is like the nouveau riche guy ostracized by the real old money folks that built America…and had their summer homes in Newport.

But hell, who knows? Galway is almost as isolated as Newport, and they had hundreds of thousands of visitors to that small Irish town for the Volvo stopover.  Larry can still accomplish his TV-based goals if he gets some good competitors and they sail in the confined waters of Narragansett Bay with innovative coverage tachniques.  It could work.  Ok, It probably won’t, but it could.  So maybe there won’t be billions for a region, but there would be lots of good yachting jobs coming up in Rhode Island, a great time to be the skipper of a rich NYers powerboat or a canvas guy…

Check the Newport thread here for some light reading and the SF thread here.  Pack a lunch.