Every good race needs an avid audience of dedicated fans to spur the competitors along and the 36th America’s Cup, which starts today, is no exception.
But current protocols are a far cry from the event’s rarefied and remote origins in Britain. For most of the cup’s history, the race was sailed on offshore courses away from the viewing public, under the auspices of elite yacht clubs.
Times have changed. Team New Zealand CEO Grant Dalton specifically sited the opportunity of racing in the enclosed waters of Auckland’s Waitematā Harbour as a way to maximise the public’s ability to view the event from land.