The Cup Comes to America
We wish we could say that the America’s Cup Event Authority has relented and is bringing racing back to San Francisco. But that would just be a (cruel) April Fools’ joke. The closest that the AC teams will get to S.F. Bay this year is Chicago, on June 10-11.
But before they go to the Windy City, the six teams in the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series will race in the Big Apple — and we don’t mean Cupertino. Fleet races are scheduled for May 7-8. Sailors will perhaps spare a glance for the New York City skyline while fans gather in Battery Park City and Brookfield Place Waterfront Plaza to catch a glimpse of the sailors. The event will be free for the public, and no tickets will be required. All races will finish just off the plaza, home to one central event village.
The event village, featuring entertainment, vendors and sponsor activities, will be open on May 7 and 8 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The main stage will host music and performances, including the Dock Out Show, during which fans can hear from each team’s skipper before they head out to race, and the awards ceremony on Sunday. The races will be telecast on big screens in the plaza with an announcer calling the race live over a speaker system.
“The New York Harbor and waterfront parks on both sides of the Hudson River are sailing’s version of nature’s perfectly created stadium,” said the AC’s commercial commissioner, Harvey Schiller. “The harbor’s ability to bring fans so close to the action is what made New York the Mecca of sailing 100 years ago and an ideal home for the America’s Cup more than a century ago. It is an honor to bring this competition back to where it began.”
Spectators interested in watching from their own boats in New York Harbor should visit www.americascup.com/en/spectator-boats.html. We’ll share info on watching the action online or on TV in an upcoming ‘Lectronic post.
