Cup Experience News

Issue 25 | Monday 18 July 2016

With six of the nine AC World Series events completed, the teams go into Portsmouth with three teams fighting at the top of the leaderboard. One of them will end the series empty handed when it wraps up in Fukuoka, Japan in November. Emirates Team New Zealand continues to lead the series, with Land Rover BAR and Oracle Team USA tied on points.

America's Cup competition format and scoring explained here.

Dean Barker and his men on SoftBank Team Japan hope to build on their good showing in Chicago, where they were on the podium for the first time. Franck Cammas's Groupama Team France won races in Oman and New York and will try to bounce back from their poor results in Chicago.

Crew lineups have been shaken up with some of the top sailors off in Rio preparing for the Olympics. Skipper Glenn Ashby will be on the helm for series leader Emirates Team New Zealand replacing Peter Burling. Francesco Bruni will steer Artemis Racing since Nathan Outteridge is in South America getting ready to battle Burling for the 49er gold. More on that next week. Ben Ainslie will once again be without tactician Giles Scott, the favorite in the Finn class. Giles already missed the last AC World Series event, but the Brits showed the depth of their bench, taking second in the Chicago event.

The only opportunity to train in the one design AC45F's is at the AC World Series events - sailing on Thursday and practice racing on Friday. Francesco Bruni has never raced an AC45F and Glenn Ashby has not helmed in previous racing. Both are top sailors but will have their work cut out for them. Ed Powys will once again handle tactics in place of Giles Scott on Land Rover BAR.

Three races are scheduled each day, Saturday and Sunday. Provisional races will will be sailed on Friday. Remember that in Chicago Team Japan's win in the provisional race was counted when no races could be sailed in Saturday's light winds. Sunday's racing counts double points, meaning that last place on Sunday is as valuable as first place on Saturday.

The courses can be anywhere from four to ten legs long, always with a reaching start following by a series of windward-leeward legs and then a reach or short downwind leg to the finish, from either a mid-course rounding mark or the last gate. The diagram is a bit confusing, since it shows virtually all the options for the final leg to the finish.

Here's a video that explains the course and some of the tactics. A few things have changed since I made this video but the basics are all the same. Click the image to watch the video.

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh will visit the Land Rover BAR base on Friday and meet the design team. Here he is helming his Dragon "Bluebottle" in 1957. The young crew might be Prince Charles.

Prince Philip, now 95 years old and husband of Queen Elizabeth, enthusiastically campaigned his Dragon in the Cowes Week regattas. He is a former commodore of the Royal Yacht Squadron, whose subsidiary, Yacht Squadron Racing, is represented by Land Rover BAR.   

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be in Portsmouth to watch Sunday's racing and to present the awards at the prizegiving.

Her Royal Highness Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge at the helm of Land Rover BAR's T1 test boat in May. More info and photos of the Duchess sailing with Sir Ben here.

Coverage varies by country. Check details for your country here.

Live coverage on the AC App except in UK, Ireland, France, Monaco, Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand.

USA: No TV live coverage. Highlights available 30 July at 13:00 EDT on NBC.
UK: Live coverage on BT Sport at 13:00 local time Saturday and Sunday
Highlights on BBC Monday evening 25 July. Time not announced as of 17 July.

Online:
Live blog on www.lvacwsportsmouth.com
Instagram: ACWSPortsmouth
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ACWSPortsmouthTwitter: @acwspmth Send in messages and pics with #SailingTakesFlight

America's Cup Guide