America’s Cup Needs to Set Sail for Real

We will spare you the repetitive facts that the 34th America’s Cup is not yet the event we were promised. In fact, this edition is a shocking embarrassment when put aside other prominent events that organizers sought to match. Having now held six races, there are five Did Not Starts and one Did Not Finish.

But if this train ever finds the tracks, there is an infrastructure to support the visitor. Lifestyle editor Divina Infusino provides the details…

The America’s Cup Park has brought to life Piers 27 and 29, a part of San Francisco’s Embarcadero that was all but dormant. Inside the Park, The Sports Bar, the Flute Bar with Mumm’s Champagne tastings, a New Zealand’s Moa beer bar, the Nespresso Café and the Napa Valley Wine bar have set up in different, creative seating indoor/outdoor environments, some with water views. One of Auckland’s top chefs opened on-site a first-rate New Zealand-influenced, six-month pop-up restaurant, the Waiheke Island Yacht Club.

There are areas for kids, performance spaces for the free bands, shops with America’s Cup and Louis Vuitton athletic gear, and the America’s Cup Pavilion, a new 9,000-seat waterside facility with twenty big-name concerts scheduled. Oh yes, and the super yachts are lolling along the pier. Completely cool or ostentatious display of wealth? You choose.

The Marina Green’s America’s Cup Village serves as a casual version of the Park and both areas contain exhibits that explain the America’s Cup and racing.

The entire event, which continues through September 21, happens on one of the most spectacular water-meets-land strips in North America and it is free to enter. Once in, you can hear people complaining about the prices. ($5.50 for a cappuccino?)

Nonetheless, without handing over even a dollar, euro, pound or yen, anyone can stand along the race course edge and watch these state-of-the-art boats sail closer to shore than in any other America’s Cup.

Editor’s note: Shore side viewing is free for now, but don’t get too used to it. Efforts to sell tickets failed for the early challenger races, but organizers are still hoping to get $50-$300 for the best viewing areas during the Challenger Finals and America’s Cup Match. Click here for details.