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Flash of Light in Burmuda as SoftBank Team Japan Unveils America’s Cup Class Boat
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Flash of Light in Burmuda as SoftBank Team Japan Unveils America’s Cup Class Boat

Americas Cup

Flash of Light in Burmuda as SoftBank Team Japan Unveils America’s Cup Class Boat

430 names were submitted ,by SoftBank Team Japan’s fans and Hikari, meaning Flash of Light, won the contest to name the yacht.

A ceremonial “masu” (traditional measuring cup) of Hakkaisan Sake was poured over the bow of the new yacht as the name was announced. Shinto Priest Kai Guji, who traveled from Kagoshima, Japan for the naming, performed a Japanese Oharai purification ceremony for the new boat using special talismans collected from several different Shinto shrines to bless the sailors, the yacht, and the weather.

Hikari is a 15-meter long carbon fiber foiling catamaran evolved from the same test design the team has been training on and developing for the past year in Bermuda. Capable of reaching speeds of over 50 knots, it’s wing sail – similar in design to the wing of an airplane – stands over 25-meters high. (americascup.com)

The boat was conceived over a year and a half ago when this challenger team was born and over 187,000 man hours were spent honing the new technology in the design of this yacht. SoftBank Team Japan has been testing the design on the actual race course for the America’s Cup in Bermuda. Will this have worked to their advantage in May 2017? Stay tuned for the 2017 Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers.

By Mary Lou Thiercof|2017-03-03T11:30:40-08:00February 26th, 2017|Tags: America's Cup, Hikari, SoftBank team Japan|0 Comments

Sept. 9-11 – Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series Set to Foil Over the Mediterranean Sea
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Sept. 9-11 – Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series Set to Foil Over the Mediterranean Sea

Americas Cup

Sept. 9-11 – Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series Set to Foil Over the Mediterranean Sea

Groupama Team France is revved up. Toulon is the only port in France to ever host an America’s Cup World Series regatta. Toulon and the urban community Toulon Provence Méditerranée, along with partnering communities, want to make this sporting event a spectacular and memorable event for everyone. Starting with a parade of sails off Mourillon Beach on Fri., Sept. 9, the practice racing starts with both one-on-one racing in the America’s Cup format and fleet racing between the six competing teams. These warm-up race results will only will only be counted if racing cannot be completed on one of the following days due to meteorological conditions.

Photo/ACEA – Giles Martin Paget

Spectators can view from shore along the Mourillon beaches or from the water once registered online. Those of us nine hours behind will have to view the races on the America’s Cup App.

Just announced: Coverage Available on NBCSN, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports App on Sun. Sept. 11 at 7pm PDT

Toulon is located in South East France between Nice and Marseillee. Toulon Provence Méditerranée is a wonderful destination for the Epicures with their daily Farmers Markets, delectable Provençal cooking, wines of Bandol and Côtes de Provence, olive oil, honey, nougat, fig, goat cheese and more!

Photo/ACEA

Groupama Team France will have the rare privilege of performing in front of their fellow countrymen. Let’s hope they have more wins like they had in Portsmouth in July 2016.

The schedule follows:

FRIDAY 9th SEPTEMBER 2016 – PRACTICE DAY

11:00 Village and Corporate Hospitality opens
13.30 AC45 Race Yachts Fly-by in front of the Mourillon beaches
14.00 Practice Races . Fly-by after Practice Races
16.30 Poster signing at Science and Sea City
19.00 Village and Hospitality closes
19.00 Opening Ceremony Main stage at Mourillon beaches

SATURDAY 10th SEPTEMBER 2016 – RACE DAY 1

11:00 Event Village and Corporate Hospitality Opens
13:00 Dock-out show (main stage)
14:00 Fly-by in front of Mourillon beaches
14:30 Race 1/2/3
16:00 Racing Ends
16:00 Fly-by along the beach at the end of racing
16:30 Posters signing / Stage Q&A
19:00 Event Village and Hospitality closes
21.00 “As the World Tipped” on main stage (free to the public)
22.30 The Avener DJ concert on main stage (free to the public)

SUNDAY 11th SEPTEMBER 2016 – RACE DAY 2

11:00 Event Village and Corporate Hospitality opens
13.00 Dock-out show (main stage)
14:00 Fly-by in front of Mourillon beaches
14:30 Race 4/5/6
16.00 Racing Ends
16.00 Boats on presentation moorings in front of Mourillon’s beaches
16.45 Prize Giving Ceremony on the main stage
18:00 Event Village and Hospitality closes

By Mary Lou Thiercof|2016-09-08T12:55:12-07:00August 31st, 2016|Tags: America's Cup, France, Louis Vuitton, Toulon, World Series|0 Comments

AC45s Foiling It Out in Portsmouth, UK – July 22-24
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AC45s Foiling It Out in Portsmouth, UK – July 22-24

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AC45s Foiling It Out in Portsmouth, UK – July 22-24

The races are back in Portsmouth, UK, home of Ben Ainslie Racing (Land Rover BAR) after one year of globetrotting to Sweden, Bermuda, Oman and two stops in the U.S.A. Portsmouth is hosting the July 22-24 Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series regatta. Check out the Events Guide and don’t miss the BMW Blokarts. Schedule:

Fri., July 22 – Opening Ceremonies & Practice Racing
Sat., July 23 – Race Day 1 – Racing begins at 1:30pm (1330 hrs)
Sun., July 24 – Race Day 2 – Racing begins at 1:30pm (1330 hrs); Awards Ceremony 4pm (1600 hrs)
Land Rover BAR – Photo/Ricardo Pinto – ACEA 2016

Skipper and team principal Ben Ainslie has his eye on winning the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series this weekend, not to mention bringing the trophy home for the first time in the America’s Cup 165 year history in 2017. However, both BAR and Emirates Team New Zealand (in first place overall) lost crew to the Olympics in Rio. Yet, it did not seem to make any difference today as BAR took first place by one minute in practice Race 1 , as seen in this brief video by Portsmouth Locals. They took a first in Race 2 and two thirds in practice Race 3 and 4. Conditions were tricky today with light winds and negligible opportunities for foiling most races.

Race 4 is the practice race that will be substituted should conditions prevent racing on Saturday. Race 4 results: Emirates Team New Zealand took first and SoftBank Team Japan beat out BAR for a second place.

Skipper Dean Barker, SoftBank Team Japan – Photo/Shawn Roster/Team Origin 2016

Prior to the weekend, skipper & CEO Dean Barker with Softbank Team Japan reflected on this past year and the progress made by his new team. “It’s been massive changes since we were here last year. The whole team is assembled, we’ve grown to have over 40 people in Bermuda, feels like we’ve been making some real progress in how we’re competing in the World Series (americascup.com).” In the Chicago World Series in June 2016,

Photo/Ricardo Pinto – ACEA 2016

Softbank took an exciting first place in Race 4 and came in 3^rd overall, placing them at the podium for the first time.

Overall results after Chicago’s regatta for the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series:

Emirates Team New Zealand 295
Land Rover BAR 285
ORACLE TEAM USA 285
Artemis Racing 262
SoftBank team Japan 259
Groupama Team France 234

The races gear up tomorrow at 1:30pm.

Photo/Ricardo Pinto

By Mary Lou Thiercof|2016-07-22T14:37:30-07:00July 22nd, 2016|Tags: America's Cup, BAR. SoftBank, Emirates Team New Zealand, Portsmouth, World Series|0 Comments

Artemis Racing Prevail in World Series Regatta in Chicago
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Artemis Racing Prevail in World Series Regatta in Chicago

Americas Cup

Artemis Racing Prevail in World Series Regatta in Chicago

Crowds fill Navy Pier in Chicago/Photo – Ricardo Pinto/ACEA 2016

After an exciting Super Sunday of racing, Artemis Racing win the regatta with 61 points, followed by Land Rover BAR with 58 and SoftBank Team Japan with 56 points. It’s the first time SoftBank is at the podium (in the top three) in the 2015-16 Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series. Skipper Nathan Outteridge led the Swedes in this well-deserved victory.

Photo – Ricardo Pinto/ACEA

They seemed to sail perfectly in the seven leg races, despite near collisions, penalties and what looked like drag racing all around them. Artemis Racing steered clear of the crowds most of the time and maintained a steady course.

The Sperry Play of the Day on Super Sunday is Artemis Racing’s spectacular win in Race 3 of the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series Chicago. They had strong placement in the other three races – two 2nd place wins and one 4th place, which helped secure the weekend win. This is Artemis Racing’s first event win since the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series Bermuda in 2015.

Photo- Ricardo Pinto/ACEA 2016

SoftBank Team Japan, the newest team to join the America’s Cup competition, really started to shine on Lake Michigan with ceo/skipper Dean Barker and crew taking first place in the practice/substitute race on Fri. (their first win). This race did count on Saturday, as racing was abandoned due to lack of wind in the windiest city. On Sunday, Mother Nature looked favorably upon the regatta with perfect weather for sailing and SoftBank took another first place in the third race of the day.

Barker commented, “We took away a lot of self confidence. I’m really happy with the progress…starting with winning the substitute race. ” SoftBank Team Japan will be one to watch as we go forward.

Unfortunately, in that same substitute race on Fri., the home team capsized, recovered

Photo- Ricardo Pinto/ACEA 2016d, recovered

quickly, but still landed in 6th place. On Sat., ORACLE fans who turned out in throngs, hung in there though there was no wind. When the winds finally did come up, it was after the official Race 3 start time, but they raced anyway and it was classified as a substitute race. In that race, ORACLE TEAM USA took a strong 2nd place and the crowds roared.

Next Stop: England. Back to Portsmouth, HQ to Land Rover BAR, Jul. 21-24, with race days Jul. 23-24.

Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series Overall Standings:

Emirates Team New Zealand – 295
Land Rover BAR – 285
ORACLE TEAM USA (tied for 2^nd) – 285
Artemis Racing – 262
SoftBank Team Japan – 259
Groupama Team France – 234

By Mary Lou Thiercof|2016-06-14T07:38:00-07:00June 13th, 2016|Tags: America's Cup, World Series|0 Comments

Kiwis Win AC World Series Regatta in NYC!
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Kiwis Win AC World Series Regatta in NYC!

Americas Cup

Kiwis Win AC World Series Regatta in NYC!

What unbelievable races today! A continually changing case of who’s in first (check out the first leg of Race 1). Big wind shifts, changing currents and then a lucky puff of wind propelled Emirates Team New Zealand to the finish line in Race 3 to win the NYC Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series regatta. ETNZ now maintains its lead in the LVACWS with 52 points and an overall of 244. ORACLE Team USA placed second with 50 points and an overall of 236, followed by Groupama Team France (44), Softbank Japan (42), Land Rover BAR (42) and Artemis Racing (40).

ORACLE Team USA/photo Rob Tringali

Overall ETNZ is in 1st place, followed by ORACLE in 2nd and BAR in 3rd. An exciting day on the Hudson River waterfront in NYC.

Due to the elements, the Hudson was an unpredictable, challenging racecourse venue, and at the same time beautifully situated against the Manhattan skyline. Over a hundred thousand spectators showed up over two days to witness the return of the America’s Cup racing to NYC after 96 years.

Fun highlights:

Dramatically shifting winds and unpredictable conditions mirrored by Artemis Racing winning 1st and Groupama Team France finishing 6th in Race 1 and then in Race 2 Groupama finishes 1st and Artemis came in 6th.
Key to success in Race 1 win for Artemis Racing may have been communication – seating the tactician (Ian Percy) next to the skipper according to Nathan Outteridge, “We were yelling at each other. Rather than shouting back and forth, we can sit next to each other and chat.”
Race committee expected 20 knot winds and designed a nine leg course. Day 1 of racing and the winds did not even reach 5 knots. Day 1 of racing was canceled. Day 2 the winds were confused and just puffed up whenever and wherever they wanted. Race 1 on Day 2 took so long that the race committee cut the course almost in half – from 9 legs to 5 legs and then had to skew the whole race course around.

The day went on and the Kiwis still lead the LVACWS which will grace the shores of Lake Michigan in Chicago – another USA non-traditional venue – June 11 and 12. Stay tuned!

Groupama Team France wins Race 2 as the Statue looks on/Photo Rob Tringali

I rooted for France today as they had a major win that they have not seen in a very long time (Watch leg 1 of Race 2). Of course they were pumped – according to their tweet #FranckIsDriving #TeamSpirit. Franck Cammas, Skipper of Groupama Team France, returned to his team after a long rehabilitation from an accident that almost required his foot to be amputated. He steered his team into a first place win. Vive la France! More photos.

NYC – thousands turned out to watch the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series/Photo- Ricardo Pinto

By Mary Lou Thiercof|2016-05-10T16:06:02-07:00May 8th, 2016|Tags: America's Cup, ETNZ, NYC, Oracle|0 Comments