Wow, I don't know how so many east coast bloggers missed the news yesterday, but it's almost a cinch now that the next America's Cup will be held in an American city that's actually known for having some decent wind.
The Ellison camp and the Golden Gate Yacht Club, which, if you'll recall, currently hold the cup and thus get to choose the site for the next competition, announced that San Francisco is the sole American city still in the running to host AC 34.
Eliminated were Long Beach, San Diego, and some town in Rhode Island whose name I forget, but which is mainly known for fickle winds, a winter frostbite Laser fleet, and a bunch of old summer cottages with high-maintenance lawns.
The only thing puzzling about the announcement is the actual location in San Francisco that will host the AC teams, their boats and support facilities, the crush of international media expected for the high-profile event, and the hordes of jet setters and glitterati that always seem to congregate at the AC festivities.
Yesterday's press release mentioned only a location "south of the Bay Bridge", but if you have a look around there, the only thing you'll find is Red's Java House. And, while Red's burgers are justifiably famous, this may not be the cool place to hang that the glitterati were expecting.
Red's Java House, hospitality center for America's Cup 34
As the sole eating establishment onsite - in fact, as the only establishment of any kind onsite - Red's will probably need to extend their back patio to accommodate the expected rush of humanity. And they will have to get busy improving their dock facilities, which are currently non-existent.
Oh well, we still have a few years to get ready, and SF is the city that knows how, right?
At least the wind machine is already installed.
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I'm always amused by fried piles of stuff.
ReplyDeleteWould the cultural NJ food be tomato pie? I hope so.
I say SF is a great choice.
I thought someone from Tiverton would have something to say about this?
ReplyDeleteDo they have indoor seating, or is it al fresco, only?
ReplyDeleteI think Al Fresco only works weekends.
ReplyDeleteBaydog, I think we must be sensitive to others' feelings at times like this.
ReplyDeleteImagine the roller coaster of emotions one must be feeling after praising Larry Ellison's judgement for buying a local crash pad and then having Larry pull the rug out from under like this.
One wonders if Larry wasn't planning this all along and just bought the crash pad to tweak the noses of those blue bloods in blue blazers.
Red's is great, however my favorite dive on the Embarcadero is Pier 23...do you remember the name of the restaurant that was at the South Beach Harbor? It was an old ship that got torn down. Man oh man, was that place klassy!
ReplyDeleteIf that was the place in the middle of the parking lot, I never got to go there - and can't remember the name, either. Why do they always pave paradise to put up a parking lot?
ReplyDeleteWhat I'm really bummed about is that pretty soon, you probably won't be able to get a guest slip at South Beach - even when the Giants are out of town. And fees there will probably quadruple - not that they're exactly cheap now.
Before long, only Larry Ellison and guys from that town in Rhode Island will be able to afford this place.
Actually, the Bay Area seems to have some pretty cheap slips compared to places like San Diego. I would expect Cup effects to be local and relatively transient.
ReplyDeleteAnd maybe the RI ocean staters will get the consolation of having some Acts or prelims or other such events off Newport.
I think all US sailors should just be glad to have the Cup here and not being run by Big Ernesto.
And maybe the Tucson Yacht Club, which I do believe has an annual regatta in the northern Gulf of California, ought to be challenging for the Cup one of these days.
In all fairness, Pat, SF isn't a slam-dunk yet. A number of European towns are supposedly still in the running.
ReplyDeleteI know it's hard to believe, but choosing the AC venue isn't all about sailing - like the battle to host the Olympics, there's just a wee bit of politics involved.
Large parts of what used to be the commercial waterfront in SF have been neglected since Oakland became the major port with the switch to containerization. SF Civic fathers are drooling over the chance to revitalize the area with a shot of outside money.
The South Beach marina has already benefited from a major gentrification effort (when they built A T & T Park next door), but who knows what would happen to the demand for space (and slip fees) after the rest of the waterfront is fixed up.
I guess it's possible we might end up with some new marinas when the dust settles, but I worry that Larry might be the only one who could afford to park his boat there.
But would re-vitalization of South Beach how any significant impact on someplace like Richmond? It would seem to take a lot more than that to change the whole dynamic of the Bay Area marinas.
ReplyDeleteThe SF south bay sounds good to me. It's on the Pacific rim facing, well... New Zealand! (at an angle)... and I do hope the Kiwis win the trophee back. I was in NZ in 1999 and the whole country stopped breathing when the races were on. No one in the streets, traffic stopped and all! Talk about a nation of sailors!
ReplyDeleteI think the Kiwis win the cup just about every time, Frankie.
ReplyDeleteBut they've figured out how to do it and have someone else pay the bills.
The last time I ate at Red's was about 10 years ago...while enjoying a $2 burger and beer, I noticed that they had hired a homeless guy to restock the napkin container. I noticed this by smell not sight at first.
ReplyDeleteWell, that got me worrying about the sanitary conditions in the kitchen and how exactly they were able to afford to offer $2 burger and beers.
Yeah, but the America's Cup would be cool, huh?
Homeless guy? I don't think so. Didn't you recognize Larry Ellison? I've heard other stories about how he likes to goof on people this way.
ReplyDeleteSo, if people have said,
ReplyDelete"In wine, truth" and you say,
"Wisdom in a six-pack of Newcastle Brown", then what comes with tequila?
So, if people have said,
ReplyDelete"In wine, truth" and you say,
"Wisdom in a six-pack of Newcastle Brown", then what comes with tequila?
I think tequila makes you lose track of how many times you post a comment to someone's blog.
ReplyDelete