Where Is It Now?

It was the boat that powered one of the greatest comebacks in sporting history and soon you can visit it at The Mariners’ Museum and Park in Newport News, Virginia.

“USA 17” was Oracle Team USA’s AC72 catamaran that raced in the 2013 America’s Cup in San Francisco. With the defending champion on the ropes, down 1-8 and facing match point, the team turned it around and won eight consecutive races to win the America’s Cup over Team New Zealand 9-8.

“This AC72 represents the pinnacle of America’s Cup – and American – technology and innovation at the time,” says Oracle Team USA skipper Jimmy Spithill. “The 2013 America’s Cup was the first foiling Cup, the first time the boats would lift out of the water on hydrofoils and fly.”

Now the boat the team designed, built and raced in that storied comeback has a new home, at The Mariners’ Museum and Park, as the centerpiece of a new exhibition – Speed and Innovation in the America’s Cup.

“The story behind this boat and the comeback in 2013 is one that deserves to be shared widely, and we’re happy to be in partnership with The Mariners’ Museum to help educate people about the America’s Cup and the technology and human achievement that is the cornerstone of the event,” said Grant Simmer, General Manager and Chief Operating Operator of Oracle Team USA.

The exhibition opens on May 27, the same week that racing gets underway in the 2017 edition in Bermuda where Oracle Team USA sails its first race in the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers on May 26.

In addition to showing the 2017 America’s Cup races from Bermuda, there will be various interactive pieces throughout the exhibition, inviting visitors to learn more about the event and what it takes to be a sailor in the America’s Cup, including:

• An activity table with the various materials used in the construction of the AC72 catamaran;
• A grinding station, and;
• Thirteen videos exploring the history and technological advances of the America’s Cup over the past three centuries, including Oracle Team USA’s comeback win in 2013

The Mariners’ Museum and Park is an educational, non-profit institution accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and preserves and interprets maritime history through an international collection of ship models, figureheads, paintings, and other maritime artifacts.

Source: OTUSA