The third stop of America’s Cup World Series landed in San Diego Bay November 12-20, the first American stop in the series. The racing promised to be close and it delivered, with ORACLE Racing Spithill securing the event’s first-ever double win.
The America’s Cup World Series made its first stop in the United States in San Diego Bay November 12-20. ©2011 ACEA/Gilles Martin-Raget
Published: December, 2011
The third stop of America’s Cup World Series landed in San Diego Bay November 12-20, the first American stop in the series. The racing promised to be close and it delivered, with ORACLE Racing Spithill securing the event’s first-ever double win.
The opening day of the San Diego match racing championship featured three seeding fleet races, along with the AC500 speed trials. The fleet race results were used to seed the teams into match racing pairs for qualifying and semi-final matches on Thursday and Friday, ahead of Saturday’s finals.
ORACLE Racing’s James Spithill, the skipper of the American team, said, “As a sailor, you want challenges and to push yourself and this Bay has it all. And with the racing right off the Piers, any of the teams here can win. The level has risen. This is one-design racing, the boats are the same, and it really comes down to the best team.”
The ORACLE Racing Spithill crew swept across the finish line ahead of France’s Energy Team to a 2-0 win on Saturday afternoon, earning appreciative applause from the large crowd gathered just a few yards away on Broadway and Navy Piers. The victory gave ORACLE Racing Spithill the match racing championship.
“We’re really happy,” Spithill said. “We’ve worked very hard after the last regatta on our match racing; the sail design team, the shore team, our preparation was second to none, so it’s great to reward the team with victory. Energy Team have had great speed and been sailing very well. We did a good job of hanging tough, keeping composed and really keeping close. When we found the opportunity we took it and didn’t look back. I’m very happy.”
San Diego saved the best for last, testing the international America’s Cup World Series fleet on Sunday afternoon with the strongest winds of the week—gusts approaching 20 knots, making for great racing conditions. The teams didn’t disappoint the fans gathered at the America’s Cup Village; the race was full of intrigue, with plenty of lead changes on the race course, and lots of near misses and thrills and spills from start to finish.
ORACLE Racing Spithill came from behind to win the fleet racing championship, becoming the first team to secure a double win at the AC World Series.
“We really wanted to win the double,” said Spithill following the race. “We started okay, but got mixed up in the pack. But [tactician] John Kostecki got us back into it and then the boys did a fantastic job. We were able to stretch away and use our speed.”
It was Emirates Team New Zealand who exploded off the starting line to lead the fleet of nine AC45s into a tense, action-packed turn at the first mark just a few hundred yards away. While the Kiwi team led early, the long leg upwind allowed several teams to shine, none more so than Artemis Racing who worked their way up to the front of a very tight pack by the top gate.
But ORACLE Racing Spithill chose the favored mark at the top and was soon leading the fleet downwind at speeds near 25 knots, slowly extending away from the pack of boats giving chase.
While Spithill moved away from the fleet, Team Korea, Emirates Team New Zealand, Energy Team, and Aleph were locked in a dogfight for second place. The advantage was first with Korea and then the Kiwis, but the two were just yards apart for most of the race, until a poor gybe on Korea allowed the Kiwis and both French boat to go past. At the finish, it was Emirates Team New Zealand in second, with Energy Team just one second ahead of Aleph for third, and Team Korea in fifth.
San Diego was the last event of the calendar year for the America’s Cup World Series. The teams will now have four months of winter training before the next AC World Series stop in Naples, Italy from April 7 to 15, 2012. Venice then follows from May 12 to 20. The inaugural series will then finish stateside in Newport, Rhode Island from June 23 to July 1.
“We’re going to go to some fantastic venues,” said regatta director Iain Murray. “The AC World Series has grown legs of its own; it has proven itself as a concept. I see the AC World Series going from strength to strength. The AC72s are starting to be built, teams are getting stronger and more confident. We’re heading towards some great events.”
After three events hopscotching from Portugal to England to the United States, the top of the leaderboard is separated by just one point, showcasing how tight the racing has been.
AC World Series Leaders After Three Events
1. Emirates Team New Zealand
2. ORACLE Racing Spithill (USA)
3. Artemis Racing (SWE)
4. ORACLE Racing Coutts (USA)
5. Team Korea
6. Energy Team (FRA)
7. Aleph (FRA)
8. Green Comm Racing (ESP)
9. China Team
Broadway and Navy Piers provided excellent viewing areas for the tight course mapped out in San Diego Bay. ©2011 ACEA/Gilles Martin-Raget
San Diego was the last event of the calendar year for the America’s Cup World Series. The teams will now have four months of winter training before the next AC World Series stop. ©2011 ACEA/Gilles Martin-Raget
