Cup Experience Monday News | Racing Action Moves to Rio | Bermuda Progress | 2017 Race Calendar

Cup Experience News

Issue 27 | Monday 1 August 2016

In this issue:

America's Cup Sailors in Rio
- Showdown in Rio in the 49er Class: Burling vs Outteridge
- Finn Class: Giles Scott Taking Up Where Ainslie Left Off?
- A Woman on the Helm - Family Tradition
Progress at America's Cup Village in Bermuda
Race Calendar for 2017
Ask Jack: Does the Defender race in the Louis Vuitton Cup?

Showdown in Rio

Artemis Racing helmsman Nathan Outteridge and teammate Iain Jensen are the underdogs as they try to defend their gold medal from London in the 49er. Emirates Team New Zealand helmsman Pete Burling and Blair Tuke took silver in London and then won 24 regattas in a row, including four 49er world championships. The 49er racing begins on August 12th. Racing continues on the 13th, 15th, 16th and concludes with the medal race on the 18th.

Outteridge and Jensen

Burling and Tuke Photo: Yachting NZ

Taking Up Where Ainslie Left Off?

Britain's Giles Scott is the heavy favorite in the Finn class in Rio. Tactician for Land Rover BAR, Scott has missed the last three America's Cup World Series to concentrate on preparations for Rio. Racing in the Finn begins Tuesday August 9th; the medal race is scheduled a week later on the 16th.

Giles Scott Photo: Richard Langdon

Family Tradition

The Olympic multihull is one of only three mixed events in the Olympics (mixed doubles in badminton and tennis are the other two). Only two teams have the woman on the helm of the Nacra 17 and one of those women is Gemma Jones, daughter of America's Cup Hall of Fame member and four time America's Cup winner, Murray Jones.

New Zealand's Gemma Jones helming, crew Jason Saunders. Photo: Walter Cooper

America's Cup Village in Bermuda

The infill work is complete to create a nine acre space for the America's Cup Village at Bermuda's Royal Naval Dockyard.

America's Cup Race Calendar - 2017

Download the calendar here.

Join the Conversation on the Cup Experience Facebook Group.

Reader Questions to "Ask Jack"

from DAVID IN UK
ask jack!

Does the defender, ORACLE TEAM USA, race in the Louis Vuitton Cup?

I get questions like yours a lot, David. The full answer is complicated!

Short answer: Yes, Oracle sails in the challenger selection series and no, there is no longer an event called the "Louis Vuitton Cup."

Full answer: Standings at the end of the currently running "Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series" will be used in 2017 to break ties at the end of the round robin "Louis Vuitton America's Cup Qualifiers." Those standings also determine bonus points - one for first place and two for the runner-up - to be carried into the round robin Qualifiers. Defender Oracle competes in the World Series and will also race in the round robin Qualifiers. At the end of the Qualifiers, the lowest placed challenger is eliminated; the other four challengers go into the semi-finals of the "Louis Vuitton America's Cup Challenger Playoffs." The winner of the Playoffs - in the past called the winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup - meets Oracle in the "America's Cup Match Presented by Louis Vuitton."

So, given the importance of the World Series - bonus points and tie-breaking - and given that Oracle sails in the round robin Qualifiers, the answer is an emphatic YES, Oracle sails in the challenger selection process.

You can download a chart showing the competition format and the 2017 race calendar here.

America's Cup Guide