4. ALEPH YACHT CLUB, Aleph-Equipe de France (FRA) challenge received 3 December 2010 and accepted 9 December 2010.
5. MULTIHULL YACHT CLUB QUEENSLAND, TEAM Australia (AUS), challenge received 21 December 2010 and accepted 11 January 2011.
6. YACHT CLUB DE FRANCE, Company ESM (FRA) challenge received 28 January 2011 and accepted 3 February 2011.
7. An unannounced Yacht Club challenge received 10 February 2011 and accepted 15 February 2011.
8. MEI FAN YACHT CLUB, China Team (CHN) challenge received 27February 2011 and accepted 22 March 2011.
9. SAIL KOREA YACHT CLUB, Sail Korea Challenge (KOR) challenge received 20 February 2011 and accepted 23 March 2011.
The President of America’s Cup, Richard Worth, has said that he is “very satisfied” with the choice of Cascais for the start of the World Series, a regular circuit that will end with the main sailing competition in 2013.
During a press conference to present the event in Cascais, on Monday, Richard Worth said: “One just has to look around to understand that this is a spectacular place to receive an America’s Cup World Series competition.”
“It offers what we are most looking for: the possibility for the public to be near the coast and appreciate the races. There aren’t many places in the world that have these characteristics,” he said.
Businessman, Patrick Monteiro de Barros, one of the main people responsible for bringing the trial to Cascais said “this is a great day” for the city. “We have been in this battle for almost 10 years. It is not the American Cup itself (…) but once again we have the possibility to demonstrate that Cascais is one of the best places to host regattas in the world,” he said.
Having made a successful bid for the sailing world championship to be held in Cascais in 2007, Mr. Monteiro de Barros went on to say that this event “has managed to bring to Cascais part of one of the most important sailing competitions in the world,” contested by up to 15 candidates between 6 and 14 August.
Cascais Mayor, Carlos Carreiras, highlighted the importance of the event “during the current difficult economic climate.” He added that the Town Hall’s investment will be around €500,000, which represents “less than 10 percent” of the rewards expected, adding that in the first phase, 22,000 overnight stays are guaranteed.
“All the hotels will be full, and we will have to find accommodation in the neighbouring municipalities and even in Lisbon,” said the Mayor.
The American World Series Cup will be held throughout two seasons (2011/12 and 2012/13), with just two competitions this year aside from Cascais. These will take place in Plymouth in the UK between 10 and 18 September and in San Diego, California on dates yet to be confirmed.
The American Cup, the most important worldwide sailing competition now in its 34th edition, takes place in San Francisco, California in 2013, with the US team Oracle set to defend the title they won in 2010 against Swiss rivals Alinghi.