Posts tagged americas cup world series

LONDON CALLING

Wednesday
May 01
2013 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor

AMERICAS CUP – Two of sports’ most prestigious trophies, the America’s Cup and the Louis Vuitton Cup, were presented in London as they paused on their way home to San Francisco after the America’s Cup World Series-Naples.

The twin trophy tour visited the Royal Thames Yacht Club in Knightsbridge, the first ever club to sponsor a challenger (James Ashbury’s Cambria in 1870), before the Cups were presented at the Mall Galleries located on The Mall by Admiralty Arch.

Christine Belanger of Louis Vuitton, Iain Murray, Regatta Director of the 34th America’s Cup, and Tom Ehman, vice-commodore of the Golden Gate Yacht Club spearheaded the trophies’ presentation.

The Mall Galleries’ function was hosted by luxury yacht charter specialists Ocean Independence, partner of the America’s Cup Superyacht Regatta and Program. The regatta is part of the Summer of Racing, interleaved with the America’s Cup Finals and raced September 9, 11 and 13.

2013 marks the 30th anniversary of the Louis Vuitton Cup, success in which is the stepping stone to the America’s Cup itself. Challenger racing in the Louis Vuitton Cup begins in two month’s time on July 4. The winner from Artemis Racing (SWE), Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) or Luna Rossa Challenge 2013 goes through to there America’s Cup Finals to meet the current champion and defender ORACLE TEAM USA on September 7.

Posted in Article - Tagged americas cup, sailing, sailing news

TEAM ORACLE TALKS ABOUT RACING PRADA

Tuesday
Apr 23
2013 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor

TEAM ORACLE – On the final day of racing at the America’s Cup World Series in Naples, Italy, ORACLE TEAM USA won the match race championship. Skipper Tom Slingsby and crew also finished second in the fleet racing, giving ORACLE TEAM USA a second consecutive ACWS second championship.

Posted in Moving Pictures - Tagged americas cup, sailing, sailing news, Team Oracle, team prada, Tom Slingsby

LIFE AS A SKIPPER IN THE ACWS

Tuesday
Apr 23
2013 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor

YOUTH SAILING – Charlie Ekberg Ehulund talks about sailing with Artemis Racing

Posted in Moving Pictures - Tagged americas cup, redbull youth sailing, sailing, sailing news, team artemis

TOM SLINGSBY TAKES THE HELM

Monday
Apr 22
2013 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor

TEAM ORACLE – At the America’s Cup World Series season finale in Naples, Italy, Tom Slingsby took the helm for ORACLE TEAM USA – his first regatta as skipper of an AC45. The crew quickly demonstrated the depth of talent on the team, and sat poised for success heading into Super Sunday racing.

Posted in Moving Pictures - Tagged americas cup, sailing, sailing news, Team Oracle, Tom Slingsby

ETNZ: LAST DAY IN NAPLES

Monday
Apr 22
2013 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor

TEAM EMIRATES – The final day of racing in Naples came on the ‘Super Sunday’ where it was triple points. Not a great day for the team but they wrapped up the regatta in 3rd place overall.

Posted in Moving Pictures - Tagged americas cup, Dean Barker, sailing, sailing news, team emirates

LUNA ROSSA SWORDFISH WINS

Monday
Apr 22
2013 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor

AMERICAS CUP WORLD SERIES – Led by helmsman Francesco Bruni, Luna Rossa Swordfish today won the overall championship of the America’s Cup World Series Naples.

Bruni posted a thrilling win in the fleet racing finale, coming from behind on the final run in a race that saw the lead change hands three times.

The win was cathartic for the emotional Italian helmsman. Earlier in the day Luna Rossa Swordfish lost the match racing championship to ORACLE TEAM USA SLINGSBY. Bruni was critical of his performance in the loss after leading the match early on.

“This win was the only way to forget our mistake in the match racing,” said Bruni, who will be the tactician aboard Luna Rossa Challenge’s AC72 in the upcoming Louis Vuitton Cup, America’s Cup Challenger Series (July 4-Aug. 30).

“The fleet race win really means a lot to me. We had an opportunity for the double win, but just missed out. I can’t thank my crew enough, Paul Campbell-James, Max Sirena, Xabi Fernandez and Manuel Modena. They did a great job today.”

Slingsby delivered on his stated goal: to secure the overall 2012-2013 America’s Cup World Series season championship for ORACLE TEAM USA, the defense team in the upcoming 34th America’s Cup (Sept. 7-21). He wrapped up that championship yesterday and today added the match racing title as well.

“I’m really proud to be getting the America’s Cup World Series trophy for ORACLE TEAM USA,” said Slingsby. ORACLE TEAM USA also won last year’s championship. “Jimmy Spithill and his team set it up for us. We just had to come here, do our best and luckily he gave us enough of a lead to take home the trophy.”

The second America’s Cup World Series Naples surpassed last year’s event in terms of spectators. Local event officials estimate that more than 1 million people have turned out along the Naples waterfront and in the Race Village to enjoy the week-long event.

The crowds began coming out in force last Sunday with some 100,000 people estimated to have lined the shores of the Bay of Naples for the informal coastal race. The fans kept returning, lured by close racing yards from the shoreline and nightly entertainment at the Race Village.

Slingsby won the match racing championship by overtaking Bruni on the second upwind leg. After trailing by 22 seconds at the leeward gate, Slingsby showed the moves that have earned him the nickname “the wind whisperer” due to his ability to sniff out wind shifts and puffs.

“It was so shifty that I honestly thought we had a good chance,” said Slingsby. “I knew if we could get them out of phase on the shifts and we were in phase, huge gains could be made. We said we could catch them and I’m so glad that we did.”

Slingsby passed Bruni when the Italian failed to cover. Until that moment, Bruni had sailed a brilliant match. He showed great patience in the pre-start, stuffing Slingsby and holding him off the course.

“We did everything perfectly until that moment,” said Bruni. “We made a couple of big mistakes on the last upwind leg. The wind was shifting a lot and we had a couple of bad tacks where boat completely stopped.”

Second place in the America’s Cup World Series season championship went to Chris Draper and Luna Rossa Piranha. The defending champions at America’s Cup World Series Naples placed fourth overall this year.

“I think we were going so well just before event, we probably got a little bit expectant and ahead of ourselves,” said Draper, the helmsman of Luna Rossa’s AC72. “But we’re pleased to place second overall in the series. There are a lot of good teams out here.”

America’s Cup World Series Naples wraps up the 2012-13 America’s Cup World Series season. The focus now shifts to the “Summer of Racing” planned for San Francisco. It begins in July with the Louis Vuitton Cup, the America’s Cup Challenger Series, and concludes in September with the America’s Cup Finals.

America’s Cup World Series Naples Championship Standings
1. Luna Rossa Swordfish (Francesco Bruni) – 80 points
2. ORACLE TEAM USA (Tom Slingsby) – 80
3. Emirates Team New Zealand (Dean Barker) – 71
4. Luna Rossa Piranha (Chris Draper) – 70
5. J.P. Morgan BAR (Ben Ainslie) – 65
6. Energy Team (Yann Guichard) – 58
7. Artemis Racing White (Charlie Ekberg) – 40
8. HS Racing (R. Hagara/H.S. Steinacher) – 36
9. China Team (Mitch Booth) – 30

America’s Cup World Series Naples Match Racing Championship
1. ORACLE TEAM USA SLINGSBY, 2. Luna Rossa Swordfish, 3. J.P. Morgan BAR, 4. Luna Rossa Piranha, 5. Emirates Team New Zealand, 6. Artemis Racing White, 7. Energy Team, 8. HS Racing, 9.China Team

2012-2013 America’s Cup World Series Season Championship
1. ORACLE TEAM USA SPITHILL/SLINGSBY – 245 points
2. Luna Rossa Piranha – 191
3. J.P. Morgan BAR – 181
4. Emirates Team New Zealand – 171
5. Energy Team – 160
6. Artemis Racing White – 160
7. Luna Rossa Swordfish – 151
8. Team Korea – 105
9. ORACLE TEAM USA COUTTS – 98
10. Artemis Racing Red – 90
11. China Team – 73
12. HS Racing – 36

2012-2013 America’s Cup World Series Match Racing Championship
1. ORACLE TEAM USA SPITHILL/SLINGSBY 29 points, 2. Emirates Team New Zealand – 22, 3.Artemis Racing White – 21, 4. ORACLE TEAM USA COUTTS – 16, 5. J.P. Morgan BAR – 15, 6.Energy Team – 15, 7. Luna Rossa Swordfish – 14, 8. Luna Rossa Piranha – 13, 9. Artemis Racing Red – 8, 10. China Team – 5, 11. Team Korea – 5, 12. HS Racing – 3

Posted in Article - Tagged Amercia's Cup, luna rossa, Oracle Racing

AC WORLD SERIES DAY 1

Friday
Apr 19
2013 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor

AC WORLD SERIES – Here is a replay of Day #1 in Naples.

Posted in Moving Pictures - Tagged americas cup, sailing, sailing news, team new zealand, Team Oracle, team prada

HS RACING BRINGS DOUBLE GOLD MEDALISTS

Thursday
Apr 18
2013 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor

AMERICAS CUP WORLD SERIES – Roman Hagara and Hans-Peter Steinacher (the ‘H’ and ‘S’ in HS Racing) are two of the most successful Olympic athletes in Austria. Sailing together, they’ve won two gold medals each in the Tornado Class catamaran at the Games in Sydney and Athens.

As living legends in the Tornado, it’s no surprise the multihull maestros had their interest piqued by the new form and format of the America’s Cup. Their role as Sports Directors for the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup led to an opportunity to compete as HS Racing in the final America’s Cup World Series event in Naples.

“It was always a plan for us to go to the America’s Cup,” Hagara says. “So this is a good opportunity to show the outside world and our partners how it could work for us to compete. Hopefully, the America’s Cup is in the future for us, so this is a good chance towards that.”

The new style America’s Cup would appear to suit Hagara and Steinacher well. The boats certainly do. Hagara says the AC45s – the wing sail catamarans used at the America’s Cup World Series – are a pleasure to race, even if they’re physically very demanding.

“The AC45s are really nice boats. They’re quick, easy to handle and fun to sail. But they’re very tiring. There’s a lot on for all of the crew, especially for the guys on the front of the boat. It gets a little easier as you move back! But even for me as helmsman I’m pulling on the wing sheet, grinding, hiking, looking around for tactics, as well as steering. It’s not easy.”

It’s hard to consider double Olympic gold medalists as underdogs, but Hagara is realistic about his prospects this week.

“I think from race to race I want to see us improve a little bit and hopefully get some finishes near the top. The other teams have many more hours on the water than we do, but I think there’s a chance we could surprise some people.”

Posted in Article, Races - Tagged americas cup, sailing, sailing news

BACK ON THE RACE TRACK

Wednesday
Apr 17
2013 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor

AC WORLDS SERIES – The nine skippers of the America’s Cup World Series met with an enthusiastic and large pool of media on Tuesday morning in Naples at the skippers’ media opportunity.

All of the talk was on the excitement of getting back to racing following a long break after the last event in San Francisco.

“The big thing this week is for the team to practice going racing,” said Luna Rossa Piranha helmsman Chris Draper. “We’ve put a lot of work in over the last six months so we’re keen to see where we stack up.”

His comment was echoed by Emirates Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker who noted that with all the testing the team has been doing on for its AC72 program, this week would be a great opportunity for the crew to sharpen their race skills.

“It’s easy to get rusty,” he said. “We’re looking forward to getting race ready again.”

After meeting the media in the morning, most of the teams then took to the Bay of Naples in moderate wind conditions on a bright Tuesday afternoon to get more training in ahead of the first racing on Thursday.

Download the full race schedule and format here

Quotes from the skippers:

Charlie Ekberg, Artemis Racing: It’s the best possible way for us to prepare for the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup. Getting used to the boats has been a challenge. It will be exciting to see if we can manage the boat as well as the others do. There are some great sailors out here. It might be a good thing I don’t know too much about all of them!

Ben Ainslie, J.P. Morgan BAR: The lighter air sailing is something that’s quite new for us. But we want to be up at the top of the fleet like we were last time. We’d like to be fighting it out with the leaders. We had a really good day of training yesterday and we’ll make the most of our time before racing starts to get ready.

Mitch Booth, China Team: We’ve had a few weeks of training in Sanya, China, sailing 28-foot catamarans. That doesn’t necessarily prepare you for racing an AC45 against the best sailors in the world, but it allows you to practice on your communication skills on board. Most of our guys haven’t raced at anything like this level. The loads are higher and the intensity is much greater, so it’s going to be a great learning experience.

Dean Barker, Emirates Team New Zealand: We’ve spent the last 10 months focused on testing the AC72 and unless you get into racing the small boats again, it’s easy to get rusty. So we’re looking forward to getting race ready again.

Yann Guichard, Energy Team: Naples is a fantastic place for racing. It’s really a stadium racing arena, because you can sail so close to the shore. Last weekend we were sailing along the shoreline for the Coast Race and it was really, really nice.

Chris Draper, Luna Rossa Piranha: The match racing is something we’d like to do well in but obviously if you make just one mistake there you’re out. So the big thing this week is for the team to practice going racing. We’ve put a lot of work in the last six months so we’re keen to see where we stack up.

Francesco Bruni, Luna Rossa Swordfish: I’m really happy to be in Naples again. The public is warm and passionate and I’m sure that Luna Rossa will enjoy a lot of support. I think it will be tough but also a lot of fun.

Roman Hagara, HS Racing: We are looking for some good racing here. We need to work on our maneuvers as it’s a little bit different to the Extreme 40s we’ve been sailing on but our crew is good and we’ll be ready.

Tom Slingsby, ORACLE TEAM USA Slingsby: I think we’re a bit of the underdogs as it’s our first event and some of the other skippers didn’t do that great in their debuts. But I think we’ve got a good young team that could surprise some people. Our boat handling looks pretty good so we just need to get our race experience up.

Posted in Article - Tagged americas cup, sailing, sailing news

GETTING READY FOR NAPLES

Thursday
Apr 11
2013 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor

AMERICAS CUP WORLD SERIES – Preparations are in full swing in Naples, Italy ahead of the America’s Cup World Series, which begins in earnest next week (April 16-21).

This is the third and final event of the 2012-13 America’s Cup World Series season and the last competition for teams before the Summer of Racing in San Francisco.

This weekend, the local organizing committee in Naples is hosting the invitational Coast Parade Trophy on Sunday April 14. Most of the AC World Series crews have indicated they will be racing on Sunday.

Teams will then be training on the Bay of Naples in the early days of next week ahead of the first races of the America’s Cup World Series Naples on Thursday April 18.

Download the full regatta format here

For JP Morgan BAR skipper Ben Ainslie, the Naples regatta is an opportunity for his team to get back into race mode:

“First and foremost we’re really looking forward to getting racing again, it’s going to be interesting to see what kind of conditions we will have in Naples. We’ve been doing some practice sailing in San Francisco, which is predominantly windy, and we might face some lighter conditions in Naples and that means we’ll have to adapt quickly…

“The event was a great success last time and everything is very close to the shore so the public will really feel a part of the racing. As a team we made real progress during our last event in 2012, so we really want to build on our performance. This is our last opportunity to show what we are capable of this season so we will be working very hard to achieve an overall podium position at the end of it.”

Posted in Article - Tagged americas cup, sailing, sailing news

BEN AINSLIE’S OUTLOOK ON NAPLES

Tuesday
Apr 09
2013 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor

BEN RACING – AC UNCUT’s Genny Tulloch catches up with JP Morgan BAR’s helmsman Ben Ainslie after a day of training on the AC45s in San Francisco with Oracle Team USA Slingsby. Ben fills us in on crew changes and weather forecast in Naples. Most of all, he is looking forward to racing again.

Posted in Moving Pictures - Tagged americas cup, Ben Ainslie, sailing, sailing news, team bar

NAPLES TO FEATURE NINE CREWS

Friday
Mar 22
2013 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor

AC WORLD SERIES – Austrians Roman Hagara and Hans-Peter Steinacher, double Olympic Gold medalists in the Tornado catamaran, have entered the upcoming America’s Cup World Series Naples, scheduled Apr. 16-21.

The duo will sail under the banner HS Racing and race under the US flag in partnership with ORACLE TEAM USA.

HS Racing is one of nine crews entered in the regatta, which will also feature America’s Cup World Series leader ORACLE TEAM USA, second-placed Luna Rossa Piranha, third-placed Artemis Racing White, J.P. Morgan BAR, Energy Team, Emirates Team New Zealand, Luna Rossa Swordfish and China Team.

“It is a dream come true for us,” said Hagara, 46, whose aim, along with tactician Steinacher and their crew is a top placing at the final event of the 2012-13 AC World Series season.

Posted in Article - Tagged americas cup, sailing, sailing news

NAPLES BRINGS AC45 FLEET BACK ON THE WATER

Tuesday
Mar 19
2013 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor

AC WORLD SERIES -

A fleet of nine crews is expected when the America’s Cup World Series returns to the waters off Naples, Italy, April 16-21.

Entries have been received from series leader ORACLE TEAM USA, second-placed Luna Rossa, third-placed Artemis Racing, Emirates Team New Zealand, J.P. Morgan BAR, Energy Team and China Team. A ninth crew is expected to be announced later this week.

Last year’s AC World Series Naples drew crowds estimated at 500,000, who were there in part to catch the debut of Luna Rossa Challenge 2013. Chris Draper led his Luna Rossa Piranha crew to a thrilling win in the final fleet race. The victory kicked off celebrations among the tens of thousands of Italian America’s Cup fans lining the Naples waterfront to catch a glimpse of their heroes.

The conditions were as varied as any venue on the AC World Series. The fleet race finale was held in light wind and turned into a drifter at the finish. That occurred just two days after big wind and waves saw the AC45s powered up and leaping from the wave tops.

Crew lists are still being finalized, but quite a few familiar names are lining up for the final AC World Series regatta before the America’s Cup. Sailors such as Dean Barker, Francesco Bruni, Chris Draper, Yann Guichard and Tom Slingsby are expected to be on hand. The Naples event will also feature the return of Mitch Booth to the helm of China Team.

ORACLE TEAM USA has tabbed Slingsby, the Laser Olympic Gold medalist, to helm the entry team skipper Jimmy Spithill has sailed to the top of the table in the previous events. Slingsby raced the 2012 AC World Series Naples with helmsman Darren Bundock, but now gets the tiller as Spithill prepares for the launch of the team’s second AC72 in San Francisco.

“I’ve been in the tactician role, but now to steer in an America’s Cup World Series event, I can’t wait,” Slingsby said. “I saw my name on the wing the other day, and there was a realization that it’s going to happen. Having been the tactician and calling a lot of the shots on the water, it shouldn’t be too hard of a transition.”

Draper leads the Luna Rossa Piranha entry in an effort to repeat the magical success of 2012. The team’s AC72 tactician, Francesco Bruni, will skipper Luna Rossa Swordfish. Bruni replaces Paul Campbell-James, who will man the bow for the event.

“Probably the most surprising change relates to Paul Campbell-James, who moves from the helm to take on the role of bowman,” said Luna Rossa skipper Max Sirena. “But this proves what we have always said. There is no role that is more or less important; these boats require sailors who are competent in all roles and everyone needs to understand what’s happening, but above all to do whatever is needed on board. Which is why these catamarans are fun for the sailors, but it is also what makes them so challenging to sail.”

Barker and his Emirates Team New Zealand mates, including tactician Ray Davies and wing sail trimmer Glenn Ashby, will step into the AC45 after four months of training on their AC72. France’s Energy Team will be skippered by Guichard, who led the team to fourth place at the first AC World Series San Francisco last August.

Booth returns to the fray for China Team. Booth was China Team’s original skipper when the team was launched in 2011, but then moved to the commentary booth. In Naples he’ll be racing with a crew comprised of Chinese nationals.

Posted in Article - Tagged americas cup, team emirates, Team Oracle, team prada

ALL PACKED UP FOR NAPLES

Tuesday
Jan 29
2013 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor

TEAM EMIRATES - Emirates Team New Zealand’s AC45 has been packed away in containers in preparation for shipping to Naples, Italy, for the final America’s Cup World Series regatta. The team has held a series of practice races in Auckland with the Italian Luna Rossa team while commissioning its second AC72.

The Naples regatta starts on April 16 and runs through to the 21st. Two back-to-back regattas scheduled for New York in May have been cancelled to allow teams to concentrate on preparing for the start of the Louis Vuitton challenger series.

The Louis Vuitton Cup will be raced from July 4 to August 30th, and will be followed by the Youth America’s Cup from September 1 to the 4 and the America’s Cup from September 7 to the 21. The America’s Cup will be won by the team which wins nine of a maximum 17 races.

Posted in Article - Tagged americas cup, sailing, sailing news, team emirates

2012: AMERICAS CUP IN PHOTOS

Thursday
Dec 27
2012 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor

AMERICAS CUP - 2012 in review slide show America’s Cup photographer Gilles Martin-Raget captures it all – America’s Cup World Series in Naples, Venice, Newport, and San Francisco. Including Moët moments to capsizes to onshore activities around the AC Village, plus AC72 photos from Carlo Borlenghi (Luna Rossa),Chris Cameron (ETNZ), Guilain Grenier (ORACLE Team USA), Sander Van der Borsch (Artemis Racing).

Posted in Moving Pictures - Tagged americas cup, luna rossa, sailing, team artemis, team emirates, team energy, Team Oracle

AC WORLD SERIES EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS

Sunday
Dec 23
2012 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor

27/08/2012 - San Francisco (USA,CA) - 34th America's Cup - America's Cup World Serie San Francisco August, Fianl Day, Tracking system screengrabs during Spithill Vs Coutts Match Racing Final

AMERICAS CUP – The America’s Cup World Series’ first and second seasons delivered eight completed regattas in front of millions of fans whether onshore or online around the world.

The America’s Cup World Series features the best sailors in the world racing the fastest boats. The teams from Sweden, Great Britain, China, New Zealand, France, Italy, Korea and the U.S. feature skippers such as Russell Coutts, Jimmy Spithill, Ben Ainslie, Dean Barker, Chris Draper, Loïck Peyron, Nathan Outteridge and Max Sirena. This group of sailors has won the America’s Cup, Olympic gold medals, world championships and non-stop circumnavigation races. They are at the top of the sailing pyramid.

They race the AC45, a 45-foot long catamaran with an 85-foot tall wing sail that features performance characteristics which allow the craft to race at twice the windspeed. These boats are roughly half the scale of the boats that will sail the Louis Vuitton Cup and the America’s Cup in 2013 which will be contested in extreme performance AC72s.

From startup to global phenomenon, the America’s Cup World Series has delivered positive-growth results at eight highly successful regattas in Europe and the USA. The last three events attracted approximately one million spectators with racing staged just off the shoreline; the television graphics package won an Emmy Award for outstanding technical achievement; and knowledge of the America’s Cup has reached new heights.

“Everywhere we’ve taken the AC World Series the response has been positive,” said Stephen Barclay, CEO of the America’s Cup Event Authority. “Whether it’s the champion sailor who’s changing his/her opinion about catamaran racing or the new fan who’s simply taken in by the speed, athleticism and close racing, the ACWS has been successful in delivering positive-growth results.”

Some of the highlights of the past year include:

More than 250 million global television audience
An average of one million US viewers at the three American races
Nearly 12 million YouTube views
Nearly 7 million visitors to the America’s Cup website
Nearly 2.5 million spectators on-site at regattas (including San Francisco Fleet Week 2012)
173 races over 44 days, with 43 days’ racing completed on schedule
1 Emmy Award

“We couldn’t have been more thrilled with the stellar production of the America’s Cup World Series event in San Diego that aired Live for five consecutive days on our network in November,” said Comcast SportsNet California Vice President and General Manager Larry Eldridge. “The addition of new, ground-breaking virtual graphics that helped visually explain distances and strategies also significantly enhanced the viewer experience. The coverage of the final Sunday fleet race was fantastic and full of the kind of drama never normally seen so up close in sailing.”

“The summer of racing that lies ahead stands to be very exciting for TV and on-site fans of the America’s Cup and very physical for the sailors,” said Barclay. “The next America’s Cup may come to represent some of the most fantastic racing ever seen on an America’s Cup course.”

2012-13 America’s Cup World Series Season Championship (after 2 events) Team (Skipper) – Total
1. ORACLE TEAM USA SPITHILL (Jimmy Spithill) – 165 points
2. Luna Rossa Piranha (Chris Draper) – 121
3. Artemis Racing – White (Terry Hutchinson) – 120
4. J.P. Morgan BAR (Ben Ainslie) – 116
5. Team Korea (Peter Burling) – 105
6. Energy Team (Loïck Peyron) – 102
7. Emirates Team New Zealand (Dean Barker) – 100
8. ORACLE TEAM USA COUTTS (Russell Coutts) – 98
9. Artemis Racing – Red (Nathan Outteridge) – 90
10. Luna Rossa Swordfish (Iker Martinez) – 71
11. China Team (Phil Robertson) – 43

Posted in Article - Tagged americas cup, sailing

NATALIE GOES SAILING

Tuesday
Oct 09
2012 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor 2

TEAM NZ SAILING – Day 3 of racing was ‘average’ on the water, but very exciting for 12 time swimming Olympic medalist Natalie Coughlin who got a ride onboard Emirates Team New Zealand’s AC45

Posted in News, Racing - Tagged americas cup, sailing, team emerites new zealand

AC WORLD SERIES – DON’T MISS IT!

Friday
Oct 05
2012 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor 2

AC WORLD SERIES UPDATE – The big match race on tap today is between Ben Ainslie’s JP Morgan BAR team and ORACLE TEAM USA’s Jimmy Spithill. This is a preview of next year’s Defender Trials, when Ben Ainslie joins ORACLE TEAM USA and is slated to go head-to-head with Spithill in the AC72.

Spithill spoke yesterday about the friendly competition between the two and how Ainslie fits into the team’s plans: “I’m excited. We’ve got to build an incredible in-house racing program. It was a no brainer when Russell (Coutts) and I were talking about it. ‘Who do we bring in to help us win and defend the Cup?’ Well we hire the best sailor in the world. To be pushed, you have to work with the best and Ben and I get along really well. We both crave competition and enjoy going out and pushing each other.”

For his part, Ainslie is talking down his chances in the match racing, saying he still has a lot to learn about match racing the AC45s.

“It’s a really different style compared to what I’ve done before,” he said. “The start period is much shorter and it all comes down to one or two key manoeuvres in the pre-start and then good boat-handling throughout the race, so that’s what we’ll focus on.”

Don’t believe him. This will be a great match.

The other match should be good too, with Nathan Outteridge looking to step up his match racing form against the old master Russell Coutts.

In both matches, the winner advances to the Semifinals, the loser is out. The match races are first up today, just after 4pm local time.

ORIGINAL POST: 0900 hours

With ORACLE TEAM USA sailors holding down three of the top four spots on the fleet racing leaderboard (Ben Ainslie 1st, Jimmy Spithill 2nd, Russell Coutts 4th), the Defender made an impressive debut on the first day of Championship Racing. New Artemis Racing sailor Nathan Outteridge is the only ‘outsider’ to break into a podium position. The other teams will have to step up their performances or Jimmy Spithill may just fulfil his goal of having all three ORACLE skippers on the podium.

Today, all three ORACLE TEAM USA boats open the day with quarterfinal matches, before the full fleet comes out for fleet races three and four. Racing is scheduled to begin at 4:00pm PDT and will be broadcast from 4pm to 6pm.

Quarterfinal Races
Artemis Racing Red takes vs. ORACLE TEAM USA Coutts
J.P. Morgan BAR vs. ORACLE TEAM USA Spithill.

The forecast is for similar weather to yesterday, with Southwest winds in the 14-18 knot range.

TO WATCH LIVE GO TO: www.americascup.com

Posted in News, Racing - Tagged sailing

AINSLIE IS LEADING

Friday
Oct 05
2012 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor

AMERICAS CUP – England’s Ben Ainslie arrived at the first America’s Cup World Series San Francisco in August fresh from winning his fifth Olympic medal. With scant time to prepare for some of the most competitive sailing in the world, he struggled to learn a new boat and new fleet.

Now, with a month of preparation under his belt, Ainslie has streaked to the early lead in the fleet racing championship of the second AC World Series San Francisco.

Sailing in 15-knot winds late this afternoon, Ainslie’s J.P. Morgan BAR crew won the first race by 17 seconds and followed it up with a third in the second race to lead the series with the high score of 21 points.

Five points behind in a three-way tie for second is ORACLE TEAM USA SPITHILL (Jimmy Spithill), winner of the second race, Artemis Racing – Red (Nathan Outteridge), which scored a pair of fourths, and ORACLE TEAM USA COUTTS (Russell Coutts), which scored a 3-5.

“We had a nice start and a good first race with Nathan and Team New Zealand. We hung on and are delighted to get our first win in this series,” said Ainslie, who won his fourth Gold medal at the Olympics. “It comes down to practice and time in the boat, just like anything else. If you don’t train and put the effort in you’re not going to get the results.”

Spithill, who won the August AC World Series San Francisco, was disappointed with the first race, an eighth place. He noted a bad start and a few mistakes around the racecourse, but rebounded in the second race to win going away by 37 seconds.

“It was good to get that one under our belt. The boys were fired up after the first race and they ground us up into a sizable lead,” said Spithill. “Any team here can win. The boats are the same and it comes down to the team that sails well. Ben did a fantastic job and deserves to be leading. He sailed very well.”

Outteridge, sailing his first fleet races with Artemis Racing, showed the steady hand he’s shown in the past by scoring a pair of fourths.

“We had two really good starts,” said Outteridge. “We focused hard on getting the good starts and it worked well for us. We need to work on the other little pieces of the race to stay ahead, but if we can sail every day like today, we’ll be alright.”

The fleet races were held later in the afternoon after the first two quarterfinal races in the match racing championship. Artemis Racing – White (Terry Hutchinson) defeated young upstart Team Korea (Peter Burling) while Emirates Team New Zealand (Dean Barker) beat Energy Team (Loïck Peyron).

The two remaining quarterfinal matches are scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, with Artemis Racing – Red taking on ORACLE TEAM USA COUTTS at 4:05 pm PDT and J. P. Morgan BAR meeting ORACLE TEAM USA SPITHILL at 4:22 pm PDT.

After that, fleet races three and four are scheduled, beginning at 4:50 pm PDT.

AC World Series San Francisco Fleet Racing Championship (After 2 of 7 races)

1. J.P. Morgan BAR (Ben Ainslie) 1-3 – 21 points
2. ORACLE TEAM USA SPITHILL (Jimmy Spithill) 8-1 – 16
2. Artemis Racing – Red (Nathan Outteridge) 4-4 – 16
2. ORACLE TEAM USA COUTTS (Russell Coutts) 3-5 – 16
5. Emirates Team New Zealand (Dean Barker) 2-8 – 14
6. Artemis Racing – White (Terry Hutchinson) 10-2 – 12
7. Energy Team (Loick Peyron) 6-7 – 11
8. Team Korea (Peter Burling) 5-9 – 10
9. Luna Rossa Piranha (Chris Draper) 9-6 – 9
10. China Team (Phil Robertson) 7-10 – 7
11. Luna Rossa Swordfish (Iker Martinez) 11-11 – 2

Posted in Article - Tagged americas cup, sailing, TEAM BEN

THE AC ON TV!

Friday
Sep 28
2012 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor 2

AC WORLD SERIES NEWS – The “Super Sunday” final races of AC World Series San Francisco will be broadcast nationwide on NBC on Oct. 7, beginning at 1:30 p.m. (PDT).

More than 20 years had passed since the America’s Cup was on network television, but NBC broke that trend in July when it broadcast the final day of AC World Series Newport. It followed up with a similar program on the final day of AC World Series San Francisco in August.

The broadcast agreement with NBC preempts the YouTube coverage of the final day in the U.S., but replays, highlights and on-demand full replay coverage are unaffected and will be available to American viewers throughout all four days of the America’s Cup World Series San Francisco.

Viewers in the Bay Area can also tune in Thursday to Saturday on NBC Bay Area (11.2), while viewers across California can watch on NBC’s California NonStop channel as well as Comcast Sportsnet.

Globally, the Emmy award-winning coverage is available on more than 35 networks, including Mediaset in Italy, Canal+ in France, SkySports in the UK, Supersport in South Africa, Rogers Sportsnet in Canada, OSN across the Middle-East, Fox Sports in Australia, TVE in Spain and TVNZ in New Zealand.

Live Broadcast Schedule (all times PDT):

Wednesday October 3
Match Race Qualifying – 1605 – 1800 – (VirtualEye only – via americascup.com)

Thursday October 4
Match Race Quarterfinals, Fleet Racing – 1630 – 1830

Friday October 5
Match Race Quarterfinals, Fleet Racing – 1600 – 1800

Saturday October 6
Match Race Semifinals, Fleet Racing – 1600 – 1800

Sunday October 7
Match Race Final, Super Sunday Fleet Race – 1330 – 1500

Posted in News, Racing - Tagged sailing

Posts tagged americas cup world series

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