America’s Cup: Unique Test of Patience

The Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series New York races on May 7 and 8 will present a much different venue that the previous event in Oman last February. Won by British challenger Land Rover BAR, the only team to have won two ACWS events, they will be looking for another top finish to step up from their overall third place ranking after four events.

But sorting out the snakes and ladders on the Hudson River course will prove to be a unique test of patience for all six teams.

“We got the win in Oman, but this is a very different place, a very different venue and expected conditions, so it’s a different challenge for all of the teams,” notes Ben Ainslie, Land Rover BAR Skipper. “We’ve had to think about the right approach to this event as a team.”

The weather looks suitable for racing, with 6 to 10 knots forecast on Saturday, and upwards of 10-16 knots on Sunday. But if the wind is much lighter, forward progress in the current could be at risk.

“They call it the river that flows both ways, by which they mean that it’s a tidal river, so that will be a big thing to take into account for us,” notes British crew David ‘Freddie’ Carr. “We sail in tidal current at home, but we will need to key into the eddies along the shore, particularly on the Manhattan side. And of course there are all these 500m skyscrapers in the way of the wind as well; on these urban race courses the breeze can touch down at any point. So we have to keep our heads out of the boat, there won’t be a single lap or manoeuvre that’s the same, it will change every time.”

The Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series New York races on May 7 and 8 will be carried live on television and on mobile devices internationally via the AC app. In the U.S., Saturday’s races will be streamed online via NBC Sports Live Extra, and Sunday’s races will be telecast on NBCSN and streamed on NBC Sports Live Extra at 2 p.m. ET. For a full list of viewing options in various territories around the world, see link below.

Daily schedule – Broadcast information – Spectator information

Three races are scheduled for both days beginning at 2:00 pm ET, with double-point scoring on Sunday, May 8.

Viewers in the United States can watch on NBC:
May 7 – 2:00pm ET on NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA
May 8 – 2:00pm ET live on NBCSN and NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA
May 21 – 2:00pm ET highlights on NBCSN and NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA

ACWS 2015
July 25-26: Portsmouth, UK
August 29-30: Gothenberg, Sweden
October 17-18: Bermuda

ACWS 2016
February 27-28: Muscat, Oman
May 7-8: New York, USA
June 11-12: Chicago, USA
July 23-24: Portsmouth, UK
September 10-11: Toulon, France
November: Fukuoka, Japan (not confirmed)

ACWS 2017 – One event expected
TBA

Using a format of fleet racing in foiling, wing-sailed 45ft catamarans, the America’s Cup World Series (ACWS) winner will be the team with the most points accumulated from all the ACWS events.

In 2017, the six teams (5 challengers and 1 defender) will compete in the new 15-meter AC Class, beginning with the America’s Cup Qualifiers, a double round robin match racing series which will reduce the five challengers to the top four teams. In this series, the winner of the America’s Cup World Series starts the America’s Cup Qualifiers with a 2 point advantage (runner-up in ACWS begins with 1 point advantage).

At the conclusion of the America’s Cup Qualifiers, only the four challengers with the most points (each match win earns 1 point) advance to the final stage to determine the challenger which will face the defender in the 35th America’s Cup. Complete schedule.