America’s Cup Officials Drop Plans for Final World Series Regatta in N.Y.

Byline: Associated Press/Bernie Wilson SAN DIEGO (AP) — America’s Cup officials have dropped plans for a warm-up regatta on the Hudson River in New York this spring, so teams and organizers can focus on sailing’s marquee race this summer on San Francisco Bay. That decision leaves one final America’s Cup World Series regatta in 45-foot, wing-sailed catamarans, in Naples, Italy, April 16-21. A regatta planned for Venice, Italy, was scrapped due to a contractual dispute that is currently headed for court. A New York regatta would have run from May 28-June 2. It was never publicly announced, but a spot on the racing schedule was held open for those dates. An America’s Cup World Series regatta on the Hudson River would have been the first America’s Cup sailing off New York in 93 years. America’s Cup Event Authority CEO Stephen Barclay said Jan. 8 that besides financial hurdles, a New York regatta would have been too close to the July 4 start of the Louis Vuitton Cup for foreign challengers. The Louis Vuitton Cup winner will face defending champion Oracle Team USA in the 34th America’s Cup beginning Sept. 7. The Louis Vuitton Cup and the America’s Cup match will be sailed in 72-foot catamarans, which...