ACup World Series Archives - Stadium Sailing in San Diego Bay

America’s Cup World Series San Diego Receives Sailors for the Sea’s Clean Regattas Certification

December 19, 2011

Sustainability efforts and commitment to promote ocean health key to week long activities

Newport, Rhode Island – December 13, 2011 – Sailors for the Sea, the only ocean conservation nonprofit focused on the sailing and boating community, is proud to announce that the America’s Cup World Series San Diego earned the Sailors for the Sea Clean Regattas certification at the silver level. The America’s Cup Event Authority’s (ACEA) commitment to Clean Regattas practices resulted in environmentally focused activities throughout the event. The Clean Regattas certificates were presented to Bob Nelson, San Diego Port Commissioner, on behalf of the local organizing committee, and to the America’s Cup Event Authority.

Read about the Green Docks Project

“The San Diego community benefitted greatly from the diligent and focused efforts of ACEA and the commitment of the race teams to implement the Sailors for the Sea Clean Regattas program,” said Annie Brett, program specialist, Sailors for the Sea. “ACEA has now completed three events and continues to succeed in their goals for environmental sustainability throughout the AC World Series.”

Clean Regattas Efforts at America’ Cup – San Diego
Clean Regattas certification provides independent, third-party verification that a yacht club, sailing program, or regatta is environmentally responsible, and is doing its utmost to protect and restore the waters upon which people sail. This program is an effort by Sailors for the Sea, in conjunction with committed participants, to reduce our impact on our oceans and coastal waters.

“The ACEA remains committed to delivering sustainable events and achieving the Sailors for the Sea Clean Regattas best practices,” said Neill Duffy, Director of Sustainability, ACEA. “The ACEA and our partners raised the bar in San Diego over previous AC World Series events by delivering additional activities to protect the environment, such as providing public drinking water refilling stations and adhering to strict stormwater pollution prevention measures.”

At the America’s Cup World Series San Diego, ACEA undertook several Clean Regattas best practice efforts, including:

Water Bottle Reduction – Event organizers reduced disposable water bottle use by providing the entire event workforce with reusable water bottles, and implementing water refilling systemsfor staff, public and teams.
Green team – Champions in each America’s Cup facility worked to ensure on-shore recycling efforts ran smoothly, and volunteers worked to ensure trash from the 120,000+ onsite viewers was properly disposed of.
Trash-free regatta and recycling – Prominent and abundant placement of trash and recycling receptacles in the race village and spectator areas.
Non-toxic cleaning products – non-toxic cleaning products used in all event facilities.
Oil Spill Prevention- Oil spill kits available at marina fueling stations and onboard race management boats, and the use of fuel spill pads when fueling.
Stormwater pollution prevention – Strict measures in place to prevent runoff.
Bottom Paint – Non- toxic, copper-free bottom paint on all race management boats. Race boats are bottom paint free.
Bottom Cleaning – Race management boats are only in the water for 10-15 days and therefore do not to need to be scrubbed. Once they are pulled out they are sprayed down over the harbor before leaving to prevent spread of any invasive species between locations.
No Discharge – All vessels with holding tanks were pumped out at proper facilities on shore.
Maintenance – Maintenance was conducted in covered areas with vacuums available to clean up all dust.
Compost – Food waste composted by all back of house hospitality and food vendors.
Sustainable Sea Life – Only Monterey Bay Aquarium “Best Choice” sustainable seafood served in VIP hospitality areas.

ACEA and America’s Cup Race Management are tracking sustainability metrics in order to understand and improve performance at each AC World Series event; for example, the amount of fuel consumed and the amount of recycling collected.

Attention yacht clubs and event organizers: to make an event a Clean Regatta visit www.cleanregattas.org.

About Sailors for the Sea

Founded in 2004, Sailors for the Sea is a nonprofit organization that educates and empowers the boating community to protect and restore our oceans and local waters. For more information or to participate in any of the Sailors for the Sea programs, or to become a member and support the organization, visit www.sailorsforthesea.org.

About the America’s Cup

At 160 years old, the America’s Cup is the oldest trophy in international sport. The America’s Cup has evolved into one of the world’s leading sporting competitions – featuring the best sailors on the world’s fastest boats, the wing-sailed AC45 and AC72 catamarans. The new America’s Cup World Series runs August 2011 – June 2012. In the summer of 2013, the 34th America’s Cup begins with the Louis Vuitton Cup July 4-September 1, followed by the America’s Cup Finals September 7-22. For more information, visit www.americascup.com.

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SIMPLE WAYS SAILORS AND REGATTA ORGANIZERS CAN REDUCE THEIR IMPACT ON OUR OCEANS (more best practices are available here)

Water Bottle Reduction – Reduce single-use, disposable water bottles at the event site by providing Water Stations and Reusable Bottles to participants (participants can also be expected to provide their own reusable bottles).
Trash Free Regatta – Keep shores and waters clear of debris. Overboard discharge of trash and littering at shore facilities (e.g., rigging tape, cigarette butts, bottles, and cans) should be prevented.
Regatta Awards – Present race awards and trophies that contain recycled materials, as available. Alternatively, present awards that have a practical use, such as foul weather gear or boat gear.
Green Team – Assemble a team to work on shore and sea cleanup, oversee recycling operations, and communicate the goals and agenda of the program throughout the event.
Recycling – Provide recycling services at shore facilities for participants to deposit separated recyclable materials (e.g. bottles, cans, paper).

Hundreds of local school children tour America’s Cup Event Village

December 8, 2011

During the first four days of the America’s Cup World Series in San Diego, over 70 youth group organizations were invited to participate in tours of the event village and team bases. This community outreach was mostly to disadvantaged kids many of whom have never even been on a boat. The groups were from several different parts of San Diego County and included Kids Korp, ABC Youth Foundation, San Diego Center for Children, San Diego Girl Scouts, South Bay YMCA and many more. By the end of the day on Tuesday, over two hundred kids had been inside a sailing simulator, seen a close-up tour of the America’s Cup boats and teams, and then learned about ocean conservation and the science of sailing through hands-on exhibits from the Exploratorium Museum in San Francisco, the Port of San Diego and several environmental groups.

America's Cup World Series San Diego Heading up this volunteer campaign was Julie Servais from SEA San Diego. Julie and her husband, David Servais are new business owners in the area, with their eco-friendly rigging shop, SD Boatworks, located on Shelter Island. Julie started the work of inviting groups over a month ago by contacting the group leaders or supervisors and then booking the tours. “The last four days have been the real fun part” says David Servais, who lead the tours, “The kids just get so excited in the simulator, and then when we tell them they can go see the boats in ‘real life’ they are totally amped!”

The tours were held during the Port Cities Regatta on Saturday and Sunday, as well as the following two practice days. As well as these organized tours, hundreds of youth sailors came with their coaches and parents to a “Sneak Peek” preview event on the Wednesday before the event where they had a talk plus Q&A session with several famous America’s Cup sailors including the skipper of Team Artemis and the design team coordinator for Oracle Racing. SEA San Diego is a local non-profit organization that promotes major sailboat racing events in San Diego for the benefit of the local community.

Full List of organizations contacted on behalf of SEA San Diego:

Barrio Logan College Institute
Boy Scouts of San Diego
Mid-City Community Advocacy Network
Sea Scouts
Ocean Discovery Institute
Somali Youth League
Youth Empowerment Focus
Pro Kids
SAY San Diego/Latino Youth Council
International Rescue Committee Youth Programs Department
Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program
San Diego Asian Youth Organization
Outdoor Outreach
Clay and Rolondo Park Elementary School
San Diego Police Department Multi-Cultural Community Relations Office

ORACLE Racing Spithill wins fleet racing

November 21, 2011

San Diego saved the best for last, testing the international America’s Cup World Series fleet with the strongest winds of the week, with gusts approaching 20 knots on Sunday afternoon, making for great racing conditions. The teams didn’t disappoint the fans gathered on Broadway and Navy Piers – 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, winners on Saturday of the Match Racing Championship, came from behind to win the Fleet Racing Championship, becoming the first team to secure a double win at the AC World Series. Once again, team principal Larry Ellison was on board with the team today.

“It is very easy to forget how far we’ve come in a very short space of time,” said Richard Worth, Chairman of the America’s Cup Event Authority. “Three months ago the America’s Cup World Series didn’t even exist. Now, we have had three spectacular events, thanks largely to our sailors, these sportsmen of outstanding quality. We have created a stunning sporting event. We saw that today, with some outstanding sport, inches between the boats at the end and real drama throughout. So through a very short space of time the America’s Cup World Series has absolutely come alive.”

Results – San Diego Fleet Racing Championship
1. ORACLE Racing Spithill
2. Emirates Team New Zealand
3. Energy Team
4. Aleph
5. Team Korea
6. Artemis Racing
7. China Team
8. Green Comm Racing
9. ORACLE Racing Coutts

Results – AC500 Speed Trial
ORACLE Racing – Coutts – 26.87 knots
ORACLE Racing – Spithill – 26.79 knots
Emirates Team New Zealand – 26.56 knots
Artemis Racing – 25.98 knots
Energy Team – 25.96 knots
China Team – 25.67 knots
ALEPH – 25.19 knots
Green Comm Racing – 24.74 knots
Team Korea – 24.30 knots

ORACLE Racing Spithill wins Match Racing

November 20, 2011

The ORACLE Racing Spithill crew swept across the finish line ahead of 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 at the AC World Series in San Diego.

“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.”

Conditions were tricky again on San Diego Bay, with the wind variable in direction, and ranging from 5 to 11 knots in strength. The sun was out for much of the day, bringing the crowds down to the AC Village.

“It was really difficult today, the wind was very shifty,” confirmed Energy Team skipper Yann Guichard. “We had a good start in the first race, but then I made a small mistake and they passed us. In the second race there was no opportunity to come back. Jimmy was better today. They were the stronger team on the water. But I’m happy. We’ve done a good job all week.”

ORACLE Racing Spithill to meet Energy Team in Final of Match Racing Championship

November 19, 2011

ORACLE Racing Spithill to meet Energy Team in Final of San Diego Match Racing Championship at America’s Cup World Series

Both Semi Final pairings saw convincing 2-0 sweeps for the winners, as ORACLE Racing Spithill and Energy Team advanced to the Final of the Match Racing Championship at the America’s Cup World Series.

The first Semi Final pairing featured two heavyweight teams – Emirates Team New Zealand and ORACLE Racing Spithill who came into the regatta as the top ranked crews on the World Series leaderboard.

On Friday, it was Spithill’s team who won the first race in the pre-start, pushing the New Zealand boat over the starting line early and then leading the Kiwis around the race track after they paid off their start penalty. The second match was closer, with Dean Barker’s Kiwis winning the start before Spithill escaped a tight New Zealand covering position to find a pleasing wind shift on the left side of the race course to move into the lead. With team principal Larry Ellison on board for both races, Spithill and crew swept their way into the Final.

In the second Semi Final, Energy Team trailed early in both races before using a similar passing move on the first downwind leg. With Artemis Racing leading the two boats towards the course boundary, new Energy Team skipper Yann Guichard was able to gybe his boat inside the Swedish challenger in both races, each time getting a favorable puff of wind at a critical moment to power ahead of Artemis to make the pass. From there, Energy Team extended in each contest to advance to the Match Racing Final on Saturday.

ARTEMIS RACING QUALIFIES FOR SEMI FINAL

November 18, 2011

ARTEMIS RACING QUALIFIES FOR SEMI FINALS San Diego, CA (November 16, 2011) – Artemis Racing has advanced into the Semi Final of the AC World Series Match Racing Championship in San Diego, beating a red hot Aleph team to join the final four. The last match of the day was a cat and mouse affair, the result in doubt until the very end, but finally, Artemis Racing prevailed.

Aleph skipper Pierre Pennec led his crew into battle five times on Thursday (although only four counted), bullying his way through the fleet from the lowest seeded pair. After dispatching China Team, Team Korea and ORACLE Racing Coutts, Aleph ran out of magic in the match against Terry Hutchinson and Artemis.

Artemis Racing joins Energy Team, Emirates Team New Zealand, and ORACLE Racing Spithill in the Semi Finals, each of whom previously qualified via the seeding races on Wednesday.

A thick fog that enveloped San Diego Bay burned off by mid-morning, allowing a light 7-10 knot sea breeze to build. But by early afternoon, the fog settled in again, dropping the temperature and keeping the wind light and shifty in the bay. — Full story: http://tinyurl.com/89vnvpy

Results San Diego Match Racing Championship – Qualifying Matches

Q1. Aleph beat China Team

Q2. ORACLE Racing Coutts beat Green Comm Racing Q3. Aleph beat Team Korea Q4. Aleph beat ORACLE Racing Coutts Q5. Artemis Racing beat Aleph

Friday’s Semi Final Matches (first to two)

SF1. Emirates Team New Zealand vs. ORACLE Racing Spithill SF2. Energy Team vs. Artemis Racing

French Energy Team on top Day One

November 16, 2011

Perfect Conditions Greet The Large Crowd of Spectators

Consistency was the key for the French Energy Team who won the third of three races on Wednesday afternoon to top the table at the end of the seeding races for the San Diego Match Racing Championships at the America’s Cup World Series.

French Americas Cup Team New skipper Yann Guichard posted three race finishes inside the top five to end the day one point clear of Emirates Team New Zealand. ORACLE Racing Spithill, plagued by penalties and starting trouble all day, recovered strongly in each race to hold on to third place.

Those top three teams on today’s ranking are seeded through directly to the Semi Finals of the Match Racing Championship. The remaining six teams will be paired up to race in Thursday’s qualifying matches, competing in a knockout format to earn the fourth and final Semi Final berth. Read More >>

Thursday is a full day of match racing. The teams will be paired up according to their seeding from the previous day and face off in an attempt to advance to the Semi Final.

Friday is Semi Final day at the Match Racing Championship, with the top four teams advancing out of the Qualifiers, battling for a position in the Final.

Saturday sees the winner of the San Diego Match Racing Championship decided in a best of three duel.

Super Sunday begins with two more Speed Trial runs, followed by the winner takes all 40 minute fleet race for the San Diego Fleet Racing Championship.

The live streaming on the America’s Cup YouTube channel will begin at 12:30 pm PST on Wednesday through Sunday

America’s Cup YouTube channel (watch from your smart phone too)

http://www.youtube.com/user/AmericasCup

Emirates Team New Zealand Wins Port Cites Challenge

November 14, 2011

KIWIS CLAIM PORT CITIES CHALLENGE

Chula Vista is the Fastest City!

Ideal racing conditions returned to San Diego on Sunday, with 6-10 knot westerlies and bright sunny skies. Crowds poured into the America’s Cup Village to watch the racing which at time brought the boats just a few yards from the viewing points along Broadway and Navy Piers.

Emirates Team New Zealand may have been the last crew to arrive in town on Friday and skipper Dean Barker had never sailed in San Diego ahead of Saturday’s first race,. But his team didn’t miss a beat, winning the Port Cities Challenge on this opening, preliminary weekend of the America’s Cup World Series.

On Saturday, China Team won a race for the first time at AC World Series, and on Sunday it was the turn of the French teams. First it was Aleph with new skipper Pierre Pennec at the helm, who took a win in race four. But not to be outdone, Energy Team sailed a flawless race six with skipper Yann Guichard to claim their first win. Read more about the Port Cities Challenge.

View Daily Photos

Results http://www.americascup.com/en/Results/

Video from Sunday, Nov. 13th

Video from Saturday, Nov. 12th

Port of San Diego Receives Trophy To Be Presented During Weekend Sailing Competition

November 12, 2011

A British artist and welder has fashioned a sleek, stainless steel trophy that will be presented to the winner of this weekend’s Port Cities Challenge sailing races.

The races are being held as part of the America’s Cup World Series competition that begins Saturday, Nov. 12 on San Diego Bay.

Richard Vasey, who lives near Cornwall, England, created the trophy that resembles an AC45 catamaran sail boat. He fashioned the art piece by combining his welding skills, honed in the oil industry, with his artistic talents.

He has his wife, Tina, to thank for pushing him to make contact with America’s Cup representatives when they were in Plymouth, England, the site where the AC45 wing-sailed catamarans recently competed.

It took Vasey about four days to create the art piece. Midway through the project, he and his wife went sailing in Plymouth Sound and saw some AC45s practicing. It caused him to change course in shaping his creation.

“After that I went home, my wife, my biggest critic, pointed out the genoa jib shape was wrong, so I changed it,” Vasey said of his sculpture.

Tina Vasey insisted that her husband take the sculpture to the America’s Cup Village in Plymouth.

“I was a little embarrassed,” he said from his home in the United Kingdom. “She’s (his wife) my inspiration.”

At the America’s Cup Village, he struck up a conversation with JJ Fetter, who heads operations at Sailing Events Association San Diego, which promotes major sailing events in San Diego. There were e-mail exchanges and discussions about the purchase of the work before the artist decided to make the donation.

Representatives of Sailing Events Association San Diego, Mary Brigden, and Fetter, a two-time Olympic medalist in sailing, presented the trophy to the Port of San Diego and the Board of Port Commissioners during a regular monthly meeting of the Port Commission on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011.

Soon, Vasey heads for another welding job. This one in Aberdeen, England. Afterward, he’s hoping to retire and devote full time to his artistic endeavors.

You can learn more about the artist and his work by visiting RichardVasey.co.uk.

The Port of San Diego was created by the state Legislature in 1962. Since then, it has invested $1.7 billion in public improvements in its five member cities: Imperial Beach, San Diego, Coronado, Chula Vista and National City.

The Port oversees two maritime cargo terminals, two cruise ship terminals, 17 public parks, the Harbor Police Department and the leases of more than 600 tenant and sub tenant businesses around San Diego Bay.

News

Sustainability efforts and commitment to promote ocean health key to week long activities

Read about the Green Docks Project

ORACLE Racing Spithill to meet Energy Team in Final of San Diego Match Racing Championship at America’s Cup World Series

Perfect Conditions Greet The Large Crowd of Spectators

The live streaming on the America’s Cup YouTube channel will begin at 12:30 pm PST on Wednesday through Sunday