Cup Experience News | FLASH: 5 Teams Announce AC 2019 & 2021 | Video: Practice Racing in Bermuda | BAR to Launch 6 February

Cup Experience News

Issue 46 | Monday 30 January 2017

In this issue:

Video: Practice Racing in Bermuda
FLASH: 5 Teams Agree on AC 2019 and 2021 in Same Boats
BAR to Launch at Base Opening Next Monday
New Construction Photos from AC Village at Dockyard
Lessons from San Francisco 2013 AC Match
Ask Jack: From FB: DoG Hip pocket

Video: Practice Racing in Bermuda

As I reported last week, the four Bermuda-based teams have been holding practice races. No "won-lost" results are being reported but we are getting some video to enjoy. Oracle has put out a polished and edited clip. Friends of Cup Experience in Bermuda have provided videos that are a bit raw but more interesting... Watch them at CupExperience.com here.

Image: Somers Kempe

FLASH: 5 Teams Announce AC 2019 and 2021

The heads of five of the six teams met in London last week to announce that their yacht clubs have signed a Framework Agreement outlining the next two editions of the America's Cup, to be held in 2019 and 2021.

Photo: ACEA

Racing will be held in a modified version of the AC Class yachts being used in 2017 (more details below). No surrogate test boats will be allowed. AC45F's will be raced in the AC World Series until August 2018. From September 2018 onwards the new version AC Class yachts will race in the ACWS. The ACWS will include fleet racing and match racing. The final ACWS event will be held in the venue of the America's Cup Match and the Challenger Playoffs will start right afterwards, followed by the Match.

The AC Class rule will be modified to allow racing in a wider wind range - 4 to 26 knots. This probably means adding a gennaker for light conditions and having a smaller wing for heavy air days. Remember that the original version of the AC72 Class Rule included a heavy air wing. The smaller wing was dropped from the rule, a move later regarded as a mistake, given the number of races cancelled due to wind above the limit in San Francisco in 2013.

The yacht clubs represented by Oracle Racing, Land Rover BAR, Groupama Team France, Artemis Racing and SoftBank Team Japan have agreed that if one of them wins the America's Cup Match in Bermuda this June, they will only accept a challenge from a yacht club that has agreed to these terms. That could be one of them, a new team, or Emirates Team New Zealand, should the Kiwis change their minds and agree to these terms. The fly in the ointment is that if the Kiwis don't agree to these terms and then go on to win the America's Cup, this framework goes out the window. Such is the America's Cup.

Land Rover BAR will Launch Race Yacht Next Monday

Construction is advancing quickly at BAR's base in Bermuda. A grand opening is planned for Monday 6 February, the end of their 28 day blackout period for sailing their AC Class yacht.

Construction Progressing on AC Village at Dockyard

On the right, the causeway to the main AC Village on Cross Island

Still moving a lot of fill...

Decorated gateposts on Pender Road at the entrance to Dockyard

Thanks to Scott Stallard for the photos at Dockyard!

Lessons from the 2013 AC Match in San Francisco

As we build towards racing this Spring, I'll show you some of the things we can learn from the Match in 2013, and how they apply (or don't) to the matchups we'll see in Bermuda beginning Friday 26 May. (Race calendar available for download here.)

This video shows five key moments from the 2013 Match.

One thing in Bermuda will be similar to San Francisco: stunning photos. The two venues are clearly very different, but both are beautiful. The island backdrop will show off Bermuda to the world during racing. And, the water is both much bluer and much warmer than the San Francisco Bay.

Photo: Ezra Shaw - Getty Images Click to go to the video page.

Join the Conversation on the Cup Experience Facebook Group.

Reader Questions to "Ask Jack"

from George in Virginia
ask jack!

What is a "hip pocket challenger?"

Hello George, A hip pocket challenger is a yacht club and team that have already agreed to general principles and probably a lot of details for the next America's Cup Match. The new Framework Agreement means that five of the teams in the current America's Cup have already agreed to the terms they will establish with their hip pocket challenger. Each club/team in the current Match will have a hip pocket challenger ready to present their challenge the moment a club/team wins the Match. The representatives of the respective clubs/teams will be watching the final race together on board a yacht. As soon as the winner crosses the finish line, the challenge is presented. This prevents another club/team from presenting a challenge - important, since the Deed of Gift requires the defender to accept the first valid challenge they receive. In 1987 Michael Fay and the Mercury Bay Yacht Club presented an unwanted challenge to San Diego Yacht Club. The ensuing court case established that the first valid challenge had to be accepted. The solution: line up a hip pocket challenger before you win. In 2013 in San Francisco, Emirates Team New Zealand / Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron had Luna Rossa / Circolo della Vela Siciliana lined up. Oracle Team USA / Golden Gate Yacht Club won the Match and accepted their hip pocket challenger, Team Australia / Hamilton Island Yacht Club, who withdrew seven months later. The new Framework Agreement means that the terms for the next match are now known, if one of the five signatories wins the current AC Match this June.

America's Cup Guide