San Francisco will host the 34th America’s Cup!

Posted by Mary on Feb 11, 2011

The world’s top sailors and yacht designers are set to converge in San Francisco for the 34th America’s Cup, with the final championship races to be held in 2013.

Adding to the local excitement, the defending champions — the Oracle Racing team — are based here in San Francisco at the Golden Gate Yacht Club. This will be the first America’s Cup held in the United States since 1995.

And while guests at the San Francisco Fisherman’s Wharf Hostel have always had an incredible bay view just outside the back door, they’ll be on prime race-watching real estate during this premier yachting event. Guests at the Marin Headlands Hostel won’t do so badly either, since races will be visible from shorelines all around the bay, including in Sausalito. (Stay tuned for more information in the coming months about how to reserve your hostel stay during the America’s Cup.)

A new and improved America’s Cup

According to race organizers, the September 7-22, 2013, championship races will be a "very different America’s Cup Finals." While the 2010 race was held miles offshore in Valencia, Spain, the 2013 event — and local races leading up to it over the next two years — will happen in the natural amphitheater of San Francisco Bay.

America’s Cup yachts — new, wing-sailed catamarans capable of incredible speed — will rip around Alcatraz in the bay’s high winds, and be easily visible from shore. These new boats, along with an updated regatta format, mean races will be tight and tactical, showcasing yachts’ speeds and sailors’ skills.

Bleacher seating is planned for the shoreline in Fort Barry near the Marin Headlands Hostel. Fort Mason (home of the San Francisco Fisherman’s Wharf Hostel) will welcome thousands of spectators, and several piers along the San Francisco waterfront are being developed to host regatta operations and a public Racing Village.

Racing Schedule

In 2011, four to five regattas will be held (venues and dates are still to be announced, and may or may not be in San Francisco).

In 2012, seven regattas are planned. Again, venues and dates have not yet been announced. Additionally, a Youth America’s Cup will be scheduled.

In 2013, in addition to three preliminary regattas, the 30th Louis Vuitton Cup, which selects final challengers for the America’s Cup races, will be held in San Francisco from July 13 - September 1. The nine races of the America’s Cup finals will be held in San Francisco September 7-22.