RACLE Racing will stage its 2013 training program at Northport, New Zealand’s newest port facility located at Marsden Point, Northland.
ORACLE Racing expects to launch its first AC72 this summer from its base at Pier 80 in San Francisco (shown here) but testing in 2013 is now scheduled to take place in New Zealand. Photo by Joel Williams
Published: May, 2012
RACLE Racing will stage its 2013 training program at Northport, New Zealand’s newest port facility located at Marsden Point, Northland.
Northport is a deep-water commercial port situated at the entrance to Whangarei Harbour, making it the northernmost multi-purpose port in New Zealand. The nearby city of Whangarei is among the 12 largest in New Zealand, with a population of around 52,000.
The locale was selected for reasons including its close proximity to Core Builders Composites (CBC) in Warkworth, about an hour’s drive to the south. CBC is building many of the key components for ORACLE Racing’s two AC72 wingsail catamarans. (The hulls are being built at the team base in San Francisco, per the nationality rules for the Cup.)
Northport also has ample shore space and easy access to open waters where the team can test its two AC72’s. ORACLE Racing’s training is scheduled to begin in January 2013 and run through the end of April.
The full sailing team will be on-site as well as the full support/shore team. The team plans to erect a tent measuring 70 x 40 meters that will be the main onshore facility to support the trialing of the AC72.
ORACLE Racing expects to launch its first AC72 this summer from its base at Pier 80 in San Francisco. Under the cost containment rules of the America’s Cup, the team can sail that boat for only 30 days from its launch date through January 31, 2013. On February 1, teams are permitted to launch a second AC72 and may sail each yacht 45 days through April 31, 2013.
ORACLE Racing’s first AC72 will undergo tests on San Francisco Bay after its launching. Later this year, it will be shipped to Northport where it will join the second AC72 for two-boat testing beginning in February.
