Oracle’s Jimmy Spithill, © Abner Kingman / ACEA/americascup.com
5 reasons AC should be in San Diego:
1. San Diego’s the best venue for “arena sailing” – viewer areas and AC villages can easily be constructed; it’s close to shore along Embarcadero, waterfront piers, Coronado and Harbor Island.
2. Shoreline facilities to house the teams and media are already in place at the Broadway and B St. piers.
3. San Diego already has strong connections with the defending Oracle USA organization, which trained there in 2010.
4. It has been involved in AC racing since 1967, hosting defenses in 1988, 1992 and 1995; Dennis Conner & team won the Cup for San Diego Yacht Club in 1987. Staff is already in place as SD hosts many major races every year.
5. Sailing conditions in San Diego in June and July of 2017 would meet normal conditions with breezes of 8-12 knots.
5 reasons AC should be in Bermuda:
1. Bermuda’s Great Sound is a natural amphitheater for viewers from Dockyard all along the South Shore and then back around to Spanish Point with stunning background views for TV viewers.
2. Shoreline facilities can be built out any way the AC Event Authority wants on Morgan’s Point, giving teams the luxury of space.
3. Bermuda is connected with Russell Coutts and James Spithill who each won the Bermuda Gold Cup in 2004 and 2005 respectively and know the conditions in Bermuda – to their advantage.
4. Since Bermuda is a short 90 min. flight from major US East Coast cities – a plus for the 36% of Americans living on the East Coast – plus the time zone lends it to greater TV audiences for Europeans, who would have a shorter flight to get to Bermuda rather than California.
5. Local government supports the event and money is already in the coffers to finance it.
Summarized from a story by Bill Center and Don Burgess in the San Diego Union Tribune, 7/16/14.
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