San Francisco
the old days of likening watching the America’s Cup to watching grass grow or paint dry, are gone, at least whilst the current regime is in charge.
Sailing boats that will do 30 knots in
such a confi ned space has to produce some spectacular sights. You only have to look at some of the great photographs taken of mono-hulls during their famous Big Boat Series, or any of the world championships held there to imagine how exciting 72ft catamarans are going to be. San Francisco’s fi rst bid to capture the
Cup was at the ’86/7 Cup in Fremantle, when the legendary Tom Blackaller skippered a challenge by the St. Francis Yacht Club, incidentally one of the great yacht clubs of the world. Blackaller had as his tactician a very young Paul Cayard, and I remember chatting to him at the time about how great the Cup would be in his back yard. Cayard never gave up that dream, skippering a challenge by the St. Francis Yacht Club in Auckland in 1999/2000, and although he wasn’t part of the Oracle team that eventually brought the Cup to the Bay, he can fi nally do the Cup living in his own home. Strangely he will be a challenger when the sailing is on his home waters, working with Sweden’s Artemis Challenge. While the sailing for the 34th
America’s
Cup offers to be the most spectacular ever, in a scenic and challenging venue, it is
32 cywinter 2011
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