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Oracle Team USA

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Oracle Team USA
Career
Yacht clubGolden Gate Yacht Club
Established2000
NationUnited States
Team principal(s)Larry Ellison
CEORussell Coutts
SkipperJames Spithill
Notable victories2010 America's Cup
2013 America's Cup
Yachts
Sail no.Boat name
USA–71USA 71
USA–76USA 76
USA–87USA 87
USA–98USA 98
USA–17USA 17
Team Oracle AC 72 boats

Oracle Team USA is an American yacht racing syndicate initially formed to compete for the 2003 America’s Cup. They competed again in the 2007 event before winning the 33rd America's Cup regatta in 2010 – representing the Golden Gate Yacht Club. The team also won the 34th America's Cup in 2013.

The syndicate was initially named Oracle for the 2003 campaign and backed primarily by Larry Ellison, the wealthy co-founder and CEO of Oracle Corporation, but was renamed in August 2004 to Oracle BMW Racing to reflect the German company's role, and subsequently revised again to BMW Oracle Racing to reflect increased involvement from BMW. At the end of December 2010 it was announced that by mutual agreement of both partners, BMW was bringing to a close its longstanding partnership with ORACLE Racing and thereby ending its involvement in the America's Cup.[1] Subsequently, the syndicate was renamed to Oracle Team USA to compete for the 2013 34th America's Cup.

History

31st America's Cup (2003)

Main article: 2003 America's Cup

The team was created by purchasing the assets of Paul Cayard’s AmericaOne syndicate which was the losing finalist against Luna Rossa in the 2000 Louis Vuitton Cup. The syndicate got off to a rocky start with changes in the skipper position, alternating between Cayard and Chris Dickson, to Dickson alone, to Peter Holmberg, and then back to Dickson. Oracle reached the finals of the 2003 Louis Vuitton Cup, losing to Alinghi 5–1.

32nd America's Cup (2007)

Main article: 2007 America’s Cup

BMW Oracle Racing through the GGYC was the Challenger-of-Record for the 2007 America’s Cup which was held in Valencia, Spain. BMW Oracle Racing, lost to Luna Rossa Challenge 5 to 1 in the 2007 Louis Vuitton Cup Semi Finals.

33rd America's Cup (2010)

Main article: 33rd America's Cup

Larry Ellison hired Russell Coutts to be the CEO of the 33rd America's Cup campaign. In July 2007, the Golden Gate Yacht Club, sponsoring BMW Oracle Racing, filed a challenge with the Société Nautique de Genève for the 33rd America's Cup stating that they did not believe that SNG's hand picked challenger, Club Náutico Español de Vela (CNEV) was a qualified club under the Deed of Gift.

After extensive court action, Golden Gate Yacht Club was declared Challenger of Record and sailed against SNG's team: Alinghi, in February 2010 in Valencia, Spain.[2][3] The competing boats, Alinghi 5 and USA 17 were both 90-foot multihulls.

BMW Oracle Racing won the America's Cup on February 14, 2010, off Valencia, Spain, beating Alinghi 2–0 in the best-of-three series and becoming the first American syndicate to win the cup since 1992.[4] The rigid wing sail of USA 17 provided a decisive advantage and Golden Gate Yacht Club won the 2010 America's Cup by a considerable margin.

34th America's Cup (2013)

Main article: 2013 America's Cup

Oracle Team USA's Larry Ellison declared that the 34th America's Cup would be sailed on AC72 class wing-sail catamarans.

Oracle Team USA experienced the first major accident involving the new AC72 class, when the boat capsized during training off San Francisco on October 16, 2012.[5]

Oracle Team USA successfully defended the trophy and won the 2013 America's Cup on September 25, 2013. They accomplished this achievement by coming back from 7 points down and one point away from defeat in the series, and completing the largest in-series comeback in America's Cup history.[6][7][8] The Wall Street Journal later called it "one of the greatest comebacks in sports history".[9]

35th America's Cup (2017)

Oracle Team USA is the defender of the 35th America's Cup. It is scheduled to take place sometime during 2017. Protocol for the 35th America's Cup is currently being negotiated with the Challenger of Record, Team Australia and the Hamilton Island Yacht Club.[10][11]

Boats

BMW Oracle's USA-17 training off Valencia, Spain in late January, 2010

As of the 2013 America's Cup, the BMW Oracle/Oracle USA team has owned seven boats. BMW Oracle Racing operated four IACC boats—USA 71 and USA 76 were built for the 2003 America’s Cup, while USA 87 and USA 98 were built for the 2007 America’s Cup. For the 2010 America's Cup, BMW Oracle Racing's entry for the Deed of Gift match was trimaran USA 17. Oracle Team USA built two AC72 catamarans for the 2013 America's Cup—17 and Oracle Team USA 17.

USA 87: On March 26, 2006, BMW Oracle Racing christened USA 87. The hull is two feet shorter than the older boat USA 76 and features a bow sprit. While this boat was initially believed to have a tandem keel, it is now accepted that the boat uses a conventional single strut keel.

USA 98: USA 98 was delivered in January 2007 and was evaluated against USA 71 until transfer to Valencia, Spain for the Louis Vuitton Cup 2007 campaign.

USA 17 is a trimaran measuring 90-foot (27 m) length-on-waterline, maximum beam of 90-foot (27 m), and length overall of 113-foot (34 m). She was launched on the 22nd of August 2008 in the city of Anacortes, Washington, USA. The boat was BMW Oracle Racing's entry for a Deed of Gift match against SNG/Alinghi that took place in February 2010 in Valencia. The yacht's mainsail is a rigid wing that is 224-foot (68 m) tall and some 55 percent larger than the wing of an Airbus 380 airplane, making it the largest rigid wing ever.

Miscellaneous

The team also appeared on the Series 20 premiere of Top Gear, emerging victorious in what was called by some a Cat Vs. Car race. Set in New Zealand, it matched Oracle in its AC45 with James May as a passenger against Jeremy Clarkson in a rented Toyota Corolla or Toyota Auris from the northern tip of the Coromandel Peninsula to the northern tip of New Zealand's North Island.

References

  1. ^ "America's Cup: BMW ends partnership with Oracle Racing". Charterworld. 2010-12-24. Retrieved 2012-12-28.
  2. ^ "Scuttlebutt News: Cory E. Friedman – 33rd America's Cup". Sailingscuttlebutt.com. Archived from the original on 9 February 2010. Retrieved 28 December 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ Golden Gate Yacht Club v. Societe Nautique De Geneve (New York Court of Appeals 2 April 2009), Text.
  4. ^ "USA Win 33rd America's Cup Match". SAIL! × BULKHEAD magazine. February 14, 2010.
  5. ^ Fisher, Adam (May 9, 2013). "The Boat That Could Sink the America's Cup". Wired. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  6. ^ "Live Analysis: America's Cup, Oracle USA vs. Emirates New Zealand". NY Times. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  7. ^ "Oracle Team USA completes greatest comeback in America's Cup history, defeating Emirates New Zealand". New York Daily News. 25 September 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  8. ^ "Ben Ainslie leads Oracle Team USA to remarkable 9-8 victory over Emirates Team New Zealand". The Independent. 25 September 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  9. ^ Stu Woo (February 28, 2014). "Against the Wind". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  10. ^ "Protocol and class rule expected in March". 35th America's Cup. 11 February 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  11. ^ "City of San Francisco proposes venue sites for the 35th America's Cup". 35th America's Cup. 23 December 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
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