(BMW Oracle Racing photograph by Gilles Martin-Raget)
The America's Cup trophy, the oldest active trophy in international sports, is coming to Anacortes for a one-night stand Saturday night. BMW-Oracle Racing's 90-foot trimaran, which won the America's Cup, was built here and a news release indicated the team wants to say thank you for the support and contributions.
Core Builders, the team’s custom composite boatbuilding facility, built the Cup-winning, space-age 90-foot carbon fiber trimaran, along with its massive wingsail. Operating out of Anacortes since 2004, Core Builders have been building boats and components for BMW ORACLE Racing for the past two editions of the America's Cup.
"Mark Turner, Tim Smyth and the team at Core Builders have been absolutely critical to our team’s success," said Russell Coutts, CEO of BMW ORACLE Racing. "I can't begin to describe the hours of work the boatbuilders put in to make our trimaran, USA, as good as it could be. This boat, and the wing that powered it, was on a scale that nobody had ever imagined before, let alone attempted to build, and the crew at Core Builders made it a reality."
The America's Cup will be in Anacortes on Saturday April 10, at the Pier One Warehouse, also called the Transit Shed, beginning at 7:30 pm. This event is open to the public and will include video and slide shows of the boat racing in Valencia, Spain (the 33rd America's Cup venue), a Q+A session with team members, poster signings and tee shirts (for kids). The Governor of Washington State, Christine Gregoire as well as the Mayor of Anacortes, Dean Maxwell, will be part of the ceremony.
On Sunday, the Cup will travel to the Seattle Yacht Club, where all area junior sailors -- from age 8 through to the collegiate level -- are invited to a special Q+A session from 3:30 to 4:30 pm, before a team presentation to a sold-out audience at the SYC where there will be an auction of team items to raise money for junior sailing.
The America's Cup, which was first contested in 1851, currently resides at the home yacht club of the team, the Golden Gate Yacht Club in San Francisco. In February, BMW ORACLE Racing became the first American team to win the Cup since 1992. The trophy has been held by New Zealand and Swiss clubs since Team New Zealand won the event in San Diego in 1995, the last time the America's Cup was held in the United States. The America’s Cup events in Anacortes and Seattle follow recent USA Tour events in California following the team’s victory on February 14 in Valencia, Spain. The Tour is presented by Oracle and BMW EfficientDynamics.