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2017 America's Cup

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35th America's Cup
the defending yacht 17
Defender  United States
Defender club:Golden Gate Yacht Club
Yacht:17[1]
Challenger  New Zealand
Challenger club:Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron
Yacht:Aotearoa[2]
Competition
Location:Great Sound, Bermuda
Dates:June 2017
Rule:AC50
Winner:TBD
Score:United States 0 New Zealand 3

The 2017 America's Cup is the 35th edition of the America's Cup yacht race. It is being held in June 2017 and is contested between the Challenger Emirates Team New Zealand, (winner of the 2017 Louis Vuitton Cup) and the Defender, Oracle Team USA (winner of the 2013 America's Cup). It was preceded by the 2015–16 America's Cup World Series. It is Oracle's second defense of the America's Cup, four years after its first successful defense. The races are conducted using hydrofoiling AC50 America's Cup Class yachts, which are slightly larger than the AC45F yachts used in the World Series.

Venue

The 2017 America's Cup course is located on the Great Sound in Bermuda.

In June 2014, media reported the venue of the 34th America's Cup, San Francisco, was no longer in consideration to host the 35th edition. San Diego, Chicago and Bermuda were listed as being still in the running.[3] In July 2014, americascup.com reported that Chicago was dropped from the running,[4] and finally on 2 December 2014, Bermuda was announced as the host of the 2017 America's Cup. The Premier of Bermuda, Michael Dunkley, welcomed the teams, sponsors, and spectators at a press conference in New York.[5]

The financial package included in the bid by Bermuda is worth approximately US$77 million, which includes a $15 million sponsorship fee, $25 million infrastructure improvements spending, $12 million operating costs and a $25 million guarantee against commercial sponsorship.[6] Dr. Grant Gibbons, Bermuda's Minister for Economic Development, has stated that the America's Cup has a possibility of generating revenue of up to US$250 million in Bermuda.[7]

Challenger of Record

Main article: 2017 Louis Vuitton Cup

On 1 October 2013, Australia's Hamilton Island Yacht Club[8] was confirmed as the "Challenger of Record" for the 35th America's Cup,[9] after submitting their paperwork only moments after the win by Oracle Team USA. The HIYC challenge was accepted by the Golden Gate Yacht Club, who was the Defender and Trustee of the America's Cup.[10] Australian businessman Bob Oatley, founder of Rosemount and owner of famed super maxi yacht Wild Oats XI, was confirmed to be the main financial backer of the Hamilton Island Yacht Club challenge.[11]

On 19 July 2014 Russell Coutts, Director of the America's Cup Event Authority (ACEA), announced that the Hamilton Island Yacht club had withdrawn Team Australia from the 35th America's Cup.[12][13] Team Australia claimed that the entry fee rules agreed to in the official protocol created too much risk due to the uncertainty of the then unknown venue and schedule of the event.

The Challenger of Record Committee (CORC) represents all of the challengers' interests and negotiates with Oracle over mutual concerns.[14] Luna Rossa replaced HIYC as the challenger of record.[15] In April 2015, Luna Rossa withdrew its challenge bid, pulling out of the 2017 America's Cup in protest at rule changes reducing the size of the boats.[16]

Rule changes

On 5 June 2014, it was announced that the regatta would be sailed in 62-foot-long (18.9 m) foiling catamarans, the AC62. The entry fee was $3 million. Each challenging team could only build one boat while Oracle Team USA could build two.[17] A nationality rule was agreed, requiring 25% of the crew to be from the entry's country. This nationality rule had been lifted prior to the 2003 America's Cup. The rules specify the size of each sailor, which must average 87.5 kg. The neutral International adjudicating yachting panel was dropped in favour of a 3-man panel appointed by the defender.

In March 2015, the teams voted to reduce the size of the boats to the 45- to 50-foot range,[18] leading to the withdrawal in protest of Luna Rossa. This in turn led to a joint statement from four teams attacking Team New Zealand which had supported Luna Rossa.[19]

Teams

The America's Cup is contested by Oracle Team USA, who represent the Golden Gate Yacht Club, and Emirates Team New Zealand, who defeated the other four challengers to win the 2017 Louis Vuitton Cup.

Defending club Helmsman AC50 launch
United States Golden Gate Yacht Club Oracle Team USA Australia James Spithill Bermuda, 14 February 2017
Challenging clubs Helmsman AC50 launch
Sweden Kungliga Svenska Segelsällskapet Artemis Racing Australia Nathan Outteridge Bermuda, 22 February 2017
New Zealand Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron Emirates Team New Zealand New Zealand Peter Burling Auckland, 14 February 2017
United Kingdom Royal Yacht Squadron Land Rover BAR United Kingdom Sir Ben Ainslie Bermuda, 6 February 2017
France Yacht Club de France Groupama Team France France Franck Cammas Bermuda, 13 March 2017
Japan Kansai Yacht Club SoftBank Team Japan New Zealand Dean Barker Bermuda, 25 February 2017
Withdrawn Challenging clubs Helmsman Withdrawal Date
Australia Hamilton Island Yacht Club Team Australia Australia Mathew Belcher 19 Jul 2014[20]
Italy Circolo della Vela Sicilia Luna Rossa Challenge Italy Max Sirena 5 June 2014 [21]

Luna Rossa withdrew over concerns over the changes to the America's cup class design. [22]

Team Australia withdrew over cost concerns. [23]

Technology

Teams were allowed to take onedesign AC45s out of measurement by modifying crossbeams, wings and rudders, adding hydraulic systems, as well as produce a maximum of six custom daggerboards to test on the existing platform ahead of building their race boat. All teams took advantage of this opportunity: Oracle Racing modified three AC45s, selling their first development boat to SoftBank Team Japan as part of their technology-sharing agreement and subsequently conducted a two-boat testing program with their last two boats; Land Rover BAR modified three AC45s and conducted a two-boat testing program with their last two boats; Artemis Racing modified two AC45s and conducted a two-boat testing program with them. Groupama Team France and Team New Zealand both modified one AC45 each.[24]

Team New Zealand also modified SL33 foiling wingsail catamarans to try new ideas for its race boat, in which they produced a number of distinct features absent from other boats in the fleet: The two four-handed grinding pedestals on their development AC45 were replaced by four cycling stations; Peter Burling was the only helmsman to be relieved of daggerboard controls in order to focus on steering only; Instead cyclor Blair Tuke undertook daggerboard deployment, trim and overall responsibility of pitch angle and ride height; Daggerboards were lengthier than those of other teams by virtue of a distinct dihedral bend in the middle of the hydrofoil tip.[25]

The rise in foiling catamarans encouraged competing teams to enter into technical partnerships with companies specializing in aerospace technologies. Land Rover BAR allied with Red Bull Advanced Technologies, headed by ten-time Formula 1 World Constructor's Championship car designer Adrian Newey. Oracle Team USA entered a technical partnership with Airbus. Artemis Racing allied with high performance engineering giant Cosworth. Luna Rossa Challenge had partnered with Lenovo to analyze and predict race simulations, assisting in the design of their boat.

Qualifying events

Main articles: 2015–16 America's Cup World Series and 2017 Louis Vuitton Cup
Date Venue
25–26 July 2015 United Kingdom Portsmouth America's Cup World Series
29–30 August 2015 Sweden Gothenburg
17–18 October 2015 Bermuda Bermuda
27–28 February 2016 Oman Muscat
7–8 May 2016 United States New York City
11–12 June 2016 United States Chicago
23–24 July 2016 United Kingdom Portsmouth
10–11 September 2016 France Toulon
19–20 November 2016 Japan Fukuoka
26–29 May 2017
provisional 		Bermuda Bermuda Louis Vuitton America’s Cup
Qualifiers round robin 1
30 May – 3 June 2017
provisional 		Bermuda Bermuda Louis Vuitton America’s Cup
Qualifiers round robin2
4-9 June 2017
provisional 		Bermuda Bermuda Louis Vuitton America’s Cup
Challenger Playoffs semi-finals
10-12 June 2017
provisional 		Bermuda Bermuda Louis Vuitton America’s Cup
Challenger Playoffs final
17–18th & 24–28 June 2017
provisional 		Bermuda Bermuda 35th America’s Cup Match
presented by Louis Vuitton

The America's Cup World Series was won by Land Rover BAR, earning two points to take into the 2017 Louis Vuitton Cup Qualifiers Round. The runner up was Oracle Team USA, earning one point to take into the 2017 Louis Vuitton Cup Qualifiers Round.

Oracle Team USA won the 2017 Louis Vuitton Cup Qualifiers Round, earning one point to take into the 2017 America's Cup competition. Emirates Team New Zealand, Land Rover BAR, Artemis Racing and SoftBank Team Japan advanced from the 2017 Louis Vuitton Cup Qualifiers Round to the Challenger Playoffs Semi-finals, while Groupama Team France was eliminated from further competition.

Emirates Team New Zealand eliminated Land Rover BAR in the 2017 Louis Vuitton Cup Challenger Playoffs Semi-finals, advancing to the Challenger Playoffs against Artemis Racing who had eliminated SoftBank Team Japan in the other semi-final.

Emirates Team New Zealand won the 2017 Louis Vuitton Cup Challenger Playoffs Final against Artemis, 5–2, advancing to face Oracle Team USA in the 2017 America's Cup.

Cup Match

Races are held from 17 June. The first team to seven points wins and becomes the Defender of the America's Cup. Due to Oracle Team USA's win in the America's Cup Qualifiers, Team New Zealand started the match with a score of -1.

Wins marked in green
Day Date Race United States Oracle Team USA New Zealand Team New Zealand Delta Score
United States New Zealand
pre-match qualifiers' champion 0 -1
1 June 17
[26]		 1 21'37.697" 21'07.495" 00'30.202" 0 0
2 23'08.208" 21'40.662" 01'27.546" 0 1
2 June 18
[27]		 3 20'02.219" 19'13.434" 00'48.785" 0 2
4 22'26.887" 21'15.216" 01'11.671" 0 3
3 June 24 5
6
4 June 25 7
8
5 June 26 9
10
6 June 27 11
12
7 June 28 13
14

The first race of the day is scheduled each time at 2:00 pm ADT.[28]

Day 1

The first two races of the 2017 America's Cup were held in winds ranging from 7-10 knots. In Race 1, Oracle Team USA held the advantageous port entry, but went over the starting line half a second early and were issued a two-boat penalty in response. From there, Emirates Team New Zealand controlled the race, at one point being 1:46 ahead at Mark 5. A poor jibe while attempting to line up for the finish line slowed the New Zealand boat down to less than 5 knots, but they were able to minimize their losses, finishing with an advantage of 30 seconds.

In Race 2, Oracle Team USA attempted a late hook on New Zealand who were forced to sail all the way to the boundary on the left side of the start box, but were able to out accelerate Oracle to the first mark. Emirates Team New Zealand once again pulled out a large margin, but encountered poor breeze on the right side of the course on the upwind Leg 5. Oracle Team USA closed a 400 meter gap down to just 30 nearing the mark, lodging a Y-Flag protest against Emirates Team New Zealand for excessive blocking near the gate. The protest was denied by the race committee. Shortly afterward, with the gap between the two boats still being less than 50 meters, both teams attempted to jibe to the advantageous right side of the downwind course. At this point, Oracle Team USA slowed to less than 3 knots (compared to New Zealand's 22 knots) after what appeared to be either a lack of hydraulic pressure or a rudder malfunction.[29] This allowed Emirates Team New Zealand to pull out a massive margin of 1:27 on the last two legs to take a 1-0 lead into Day 2.

Day 2

The second day of the 2017 America's Cup was held in winds ranging from 8-12 knots. In Race 3, Oracle Team USA made a considerably better start, but were unable to roll Emirates Team New Zealand who were able to stay alongside and take the inside at the first mark. Both teams stayed alongside of each other to the boundary on the right side of the course. Emirates Team New Zealand jibed first in order to satisfy the requirement of giving an alongside boat room to maneuver. Oracle Team USA just slightly touched down the leeward hull during their jibe, slowing their boat by 1.5 knots, allowing New Zealand to get directly in front of them to create wingwash. Oracle Team USA decided to split to the right at the second mark, but were unable to make any noticeable gains the rest of the race. Oracle lodged a protest later in the race after New Zealand (going downwind on Leg 6) sailed within a boat length of Oracle Team USA (upwind on Leg 5), but the protest was denied. Emirates Team New Zealand cruised down the course to win by 48 seconds.

In Race 4, the story of the race was the pre-start. Oracle Team USA had the advantageous port entry and sailed much deeper into the start box than they had during Race 1. Emirates Team New Zealand attempted to follow like they did the day prior, but splashed down hard after a daggerboard issue when attempting to tack on Oracle's wake. Jimmy Spithill believed there to be too much time (1:25) to attempt a clean hook, settling his own boat down three lengths behind New Zealand's. He then attempted a late hook closer to the start time, but was unable to get a clear overlap. Emirates Team New Zealand was once again able to out-accelerate Oracle Team USA, putting the Americans behind by four seconds at the first mark. Oracle once again went for a right-hand split at the second mark, where they managed to stay within 200 meters during the first half of the leg. New Zealand covered USA's tacks on several occasions before pulling out a large margin which they stretched significantly over the later legs of the race. Emirates Team New Zealand took a commanding 3-0 lead after crossing the finish line with a delta of 1:12 over Oracle Team USA.

Broadcasting

One of the attractions in the successful Bermuda bid was its ability to avoid middle-of-the-night live broadcasts in each of the respective teams' home countries. Races were held in the late afternoon, Bermuda time, allowing for the broadcast to take place in prime time in Europe, early afternoon in the United States, and early morning in New Zealand. On February 9, 2015, the America's Cup Event Authority announced an agreement with NBC Sports Group to broadcast the America's Cup Finals, as well as the America's Cup World Series, along with the America's Cup Qualifier and the Louis Vuitton Cup.

Home Country and Territories Served Broadcaster
 New Zealand Sky TV
 France Canal+
 United Kingdom BT Sport
 United States NBC Sports Group
 China China Central Television
 Portugal Sport TV
 Italy Mediaset Premium
 Austria /   Switzerland ServusTV
 Germany ServusTV / Sky Deutschland
 Bermuda Bermuda Broadcasting Company

References

  1. ^ oracle-team-usa.americascup.com
  2. ^ etnzblog.com
  3. ^ "America's Cup: Coutts eliminates San Francisco as 2017 venue". sail-world.com. 11 June 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  4. ^ "Bermuda and San Diego shortlisted as Americas Cup venues". americascup.com. 8 July 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  5. ^ "Bermuda is the home of the 2017 America's Cup". americascup.com. 2 December 2014. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  6. ^ Rossingh, Danielle. "America's Cup: The money men behind sailing's expensive extravaganza". CNN. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  7. ^ "Bermuda to pay $77 million to host America's Cup". sailingscuttlebutt.com. 8 December 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  8. ^ "Yacht Club Holiday Villas for Sale". Hamilton Island. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
  9. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 2, 2013. Retrieved October 1, 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXi4Hc4cLlg%7C Press conference
  11. ^ John Stensholt (30 September 2013). "Bob Oatley funds Hamilton Island-based bid for America's Cup". BRW. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  12. ^ "America's Cup: Aussie challenge have pulled out". 19 July 2014 – via New Zealand Herald.
  13. ^ "Coutts 'disappointed' by Aussie withdrawal". Retrieved 11 May 2017 – via TVNZ.
  14. ^ "America's Cup 2017? - Defenders and Challengers for the 35th Defense: Team List - from CupInfo". Cupinfo.com. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
  15. ^ Italy hosting America's Cup World Series opener in coastal city of Cagliari stuff.co.nz, 23 January 2015
  16. ^ "Luna Rossa pull out of America's Cup in protest over reduced boat size". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  17. ^ "That sinking feeling it's time to bail out of America's Cup", 07/06/2014, DUNCAN GARNER, "Comment" column in The Dominion Post
  18. ^ "America’s Cup Votes to Race Smaller Boats in 2017", The New York Times, 2015-04-01
  19. ^ "America’s Cup boat size row escalates as teams close ranks after Luna Rossa exit', The Guardian, 2015-04-03
  20. ^ "Australia withdraws from America's Cup challenge". 19 July 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  21. ^ Rossa, Luna. "TEAM LUNA ROSSA CHALLENGE ANNOUNCES ITS WITHDRAWAL FROM THE 35th AMERICA'S CUP - Luna Rossa". www.lunarossachallenge.com. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  22. ^ Rossa, Luna. "TEAM LUNA ROSSA CHALLENGE ANNOUNCES ITS WITHDRAWAL FROM THE 35th AMERICA'S CUP - Luna Rossa". www.lunarossachallenge.com. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
  23. ^ "theaustralian". www.theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
  24. ^ Team New Zealand chasing in the development race, New Zealand Herald, 2016-06-21
  25. ^ Mark Jardine (2017-06-19), Kiwi America's Cup domination - What can Oracle Team USA do about it?
  26. ^ 170617_chatter
  27. ^ 170618_chatter
  28. ^ America's Cup schedule
  29. ^ America's Cup (17 June 2017). "America's Cup match, presented by Louis Vuitton. Helmsmen press conference race day". YouTube. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
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