Americas Cup 2013
07 December 2014 | SF Bay
Dale Bagnell
Americas Cup- Patrolling the Line
By now the 34th Americas Cup has come and gone and everyone is still wondering how Oracle Team USA fought their way back from a 1-8 deficit to win the Cup 9-8 over Emirates Team NZ. So now that the drama has quieted down a bit and we have 4 years to wait for 35th AC , I wanted to give you a little glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes as hundreds of people worked to bring this event to life. Some of you may remember that Bill Wood and I were Course Marshalls at last year's AC 45 races. This year we were fortunate enough to be invited back to work the AC 72 finals. We needed to commit to a minimum of 12 days on the water plus some training as a part of our volunteer agreement. We had no idea that this commitment would stretch to nearly 20 days by the time we were done.
Daily Schedule
Working the AC race is a full time job. Typically we would leave early each morning to beat the traffic and be on-site by 9:30 at Pier 23. After prepping the Marshall Boat for the day and getting a cup of coffee we would assemble with all of the teams for our morning briefing. These talks would cover everything from anticipated course conditions (i.e. wind and currents) to special considerations for other activities that were going on in the harbor (i.e. Cruise Ships coming and going and other races and events that could interfere with the race). The on-water volunteers consisted of several press boats, medical teams, security, race committee, course marshalls, photography and graphics , etc. All of the skills necessary to keep the racing on track were represented.
The Race Committee Boats docked in the center of Pier 23. Other boats found docking space in the nearby SF Bay marinas
There were about 20 Marshalls selected to patrol the outlines of the course and keep the spectator boats from coming unto the course.
Typically our briefing would finish about 10:30 and then it was time to gather up our equipment and head down to the boats. After a quick stop at the fuel dock we would head out unto the course to begin patrolling our assigned sectors. Our task was to patrol a line between 2 stake boats that marked the perimiter of the course. The course had been expanded this year for the 72's to give them a bit more room to maneuver and showcase their capabilities up wind and down wind. The course covered most of downtown waterfront from the GG Bridge to the east of Alcatraz. It required approximately 10 Stake Boats and 20 Marshall Boats to secure the boundary of the new course. Our assignments changed each day but in general we worked the western most boundary of the course under the bridge so we had a great view of the 72's as they rounded the upwind mark at the end of leg 3.
We would lock down the course by 12:15 and the big boats would start their practice runs. By 1:15 the race would begin, if the conditions were within the guidelines. If there was too much wind there was danger of a capsize. Too little wind and the race boats couldn't complete the course in the maximum of 40 minutes allowed. Most days we had too much wind and it could take quite a while to find a window where the conditions were within limits.
After the races were completed for the day, we gathered up our equipment from the stake boats and headed back to home base. Once our equipment was stowed away and the radios charging, then we could watch the highlights of the days racing. Although we were able to monitor the action on VHF 20 during the race it was nice to see the team interview and the racing highlights on the big screen before we went home for the day. In the evening we would get our Shift Schedules for the next day and whole process would start all over again.
Built for Speed
It's hard to appreciate just how fast these race boats move. Some of the AC Protector chase boats with 4- 200hp outboards were having trouble keeping up with the 72's when the wind reaches 20+ knots and the seas are 4-6 feet. These big monsters just climb up onto their foils and they are gone . I thought that the majority of our time would be spent holding the spectators back from the race course but we quickly discovered that we also had to keep looking over our shoulder in case one of the 72's was bearing down on us. Several times we had to take evasive maneuvers to keep out of their path.
Generally the spectator boats were well behaved and would stay outside the course boundaries. Typically these sailors were out there with their families and just trying to get a good view of the race. We would patrol the line and let them know where the boundaries were. We did have a few repeat offenders that would wander unto the course again and again until we had to call the Coast Guard over to have a little talk to them. Some days we had close to 1000 boats on the Bay watching the action. On other days during the week when the weather was blustery only a few hundred spectator boats appeared.
Occasionally we would have a big cruiser break through the course boundary and motor at full speed down the bay ignoring all directions to stay off the course. The first time this happened we gave chase but quickly realized that now there were two boats in the middle of the course obstructing the race and I wasn't looking forward to being featured on the TV evening news! So the next time it happened we called ahead and had a reception committee waiting for them on the other side of the course when they arrived. Radio waves are definitely faster than our boat!
Volunteer Appreciation
As we neared the end of the racing series, the organizing committee held a special thank you dinner to recognize all of the volunteers that had helped make the 34th AC event a success . There were over 750 Volunteers in total that participated, They did everything from driving dignataries around in golf carts to crewing on various VIP Boats, answering questions at the AC Park and of course working the races. Each volunteer was presented a special momento of appreciation for their service.
Bringing Home the Cup
All too soon the series was over and as we closed down the race course for the last time we were instructed to form a protective ring around AC Park so that the officials could present the Cup to the winning team.
The Americas Cup being delivered to AC Park for the Official presentation
The sailing teams arrived in their support vessels. The AC Officials asembled and the trophy was presented to the winning team. We were exhausted but happy to have seen our commitment through to the end and watch AC 34 go into the history books. If you would like to view some of the highlights of the Americas Cup racing, please go to www.americascup.com. If you watch some of the videos you may even see a liitle blue boat cruising around in the background patrolling the line.