SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — America’s Cup organizers are putting together a youth race to help sailors gain the necessary experience to perhaps one day compete for sailing’s biggest prize.
The Red Bull Youth America’s Cup will be sailed on San Francisco Bay in August and September 2013, during the 34th America’s Cup. The competition will include up to 10 national teams consisting of six sailors, aged 19 to 23. There also will be a team representing the San Francisco Bay Area, as host city.
Racing will take place in the same high-performance, wing-sailed AC45 catamarans currently being used in the America’s Cup World Series. By then, the America’s Cup crews will be sailing 72-foot catamarans.
Jimmy Spithill, skipper of defending America’s Cup champion Oracle Racing, says the program is one of the most exciting developments in the America’s Cup in a long time.
