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The many folks that put in countless hours (counting them is too depressing) to organize races for us local folk have been asking this question since Larry's gang won the cup a couple of years ago. The question is still unanswered.
Based on announcements today the Louis Vuitton challenger races are under way with the two of the three boats that are in one piece. They (Luna Rossa and ETNZ) are scheduled for a race this Saturday, first race that actually has two boats and the first race on a weekend.
Last fall Ahi went out for a couple of the days of AC World Series with the small cats. The scene was reminiscent of recent fleet weeks with a similar smaller box and relatively organized chaos in the spectator fleet on the edges. Outside of the spectator fleet looked like an average summer day with boats going every which way doing a reasonable job of avoiding each other.
For the big cats we have a bigger box:
http://www.americascup.com/en/sanfra...where-to-watch
OYRA has our Jr Waterhouse race this Saturday with a roughly 10am start at Little Harding, out the gate to points as yet undecided, finish at Richmond YC. There was very brief discussion of making Little Harding and Angel Island marks of the course for the return trip (leaving both to the south, forcing the fleet into Raccoon Strait) but we decided we would leave the course unchanged giving racers the option on how they get to Richmond (Raccoon or Pt Blunt). Our fleet is probably going to be about 20 boats and we should be spread out by over an hour by the time we are coming back in so we expect little or no impact to or from the spectator fleet. We could be wrong.
The folks responsible for the PC Second Half Opener (usually TI, out to Pt Bonita, down the Estuary) have decided to err on the side of caution and keep the fleet out of the main part of the bay and instead spend the whole weekend south of YBI. Many alternatives were considered including swapping races with CYC which does a later PC weekend (CYC had a conflict), just staying north of Alcatraz (which was a problem since the space between TI and SF is also partially restricted), and others that were even less practical. This PC race is different than OYRA since it is likely about 100 boats much more tightly packed, and it was decided that the risks of running 100 boats right on the edge of the restricted area were too great. They could be wrong too.
The woodies (WBRA) who are mostly in the SF marina are worried they won't be able to get in and out of the harbor to get to and from their races no matter where they are held. They really like sailing on the city front but are doing their best to adapt.
The AC Event Authority has been less than helpful. They are after all in the business of running races (or is it running a TV show?) and their calendar basically has every day between now and the end on 9/22 set up as either a race day or a reserve day regardless of whether they have boats to sail on that day. They have effectively reserved the city front 'box' for the summer.
The reason for this post is not to ask your opinion since I'm sure you will give it anyway, but to try and collect data on what the hell the main bay looks like while the circus is in town. Please share your observations either coming, going or during a race; from a spectator spot on the beach; even from a red power boat looking through the camera lens.
Based on announcements today the Louis Vuitton challenger races are under way with the two of the three boats that are in one piece. They (Luna Rossa and ETNZ) are scheduled for a race this Saturday, first race that actually has two boats and the first race on a weekend.
Last fall Ahi went out for a couple of the days of AC World Series with the small cats. The scene was reminiscent of recent fleet weeks with a similar smaller box and relatively organized chaos in the spectator fleet on the edges. Outside of the spectator fleet looked like an average summer day with boats going every which way doing a reasonable job of avoiding each other.
For the big cats we have a bigger box:
http://www.americascup.com/en/sanfra...where-to-watch
OYRA has our Jr Waterhouse race this Saturday with a roughly 10am start at Little Harding, out the gate to points as yet undecided, finish at Richmond YC. There was very brief discussion of making Little Harding and Angel Island marks of the course for the return trip (leaving both to the south, forcing the fleet into Raccoon Strait) but we decided we would leave the course unchanged giving racers the option on how they get to Richmond (Raccoon or Pt Blunt). Our fleet is probably going to be about 20 boats and we should be spread out by over an hour by the time we are coming back in so we expect little or no impact to or from the spectator fleet. We could be wrong.
The folks responsible for the PC Second Half Opener (usually TI, out to Pt Bonita, down the Estuary) have decided to err on the side of caution and keep the fleet out of the main part of the bay and instead spend the whole weekend south of YBI. Many alternatives were considered including swapping races with CYC which does a later PC weekend (CYC had a conflict), just staying north of Alcatraz (which was a problem since the space between TI and SF is also partially restricted), and others that were even less practical. This PC race is different than OYRA since it is likely about 100 boats much more tightly packed, and it was decided that the risks of running 100 boats right on the edge of the restricted area were too great. They could be wrong too.
The woodies (WBRA) who are mostly in the SF marina are worried they won't be able to get in and out of the harbor to get to and from their races no matter where they are held. They really like sailing on the city front but are doing their best to adapt.
The AC Event Authority has been less than helpful. They are after all in the business of running races (or is it running a TV show?) and their calendar basically has every day between now and the end on 9/22 set up as either a race day or a reserve day regardless of whether they have boats to sail on that day. They have effectively reserved the city front 'box' for the summer.
The reason for this post is not to ask your opinion since I'm sure you will give it anyway, but to try and collect data on what the hell the main bay looks like while the circus is in town. Please share your observations either coming, going or during a race; from a spectator spot on the beach; even from a red power boat looking through the camera lens.
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