The vision all along was to have dozens of superyachts anchored just outside the perimeter of the newly designed America’s Cup race course.

Sleek, shiny yachts were supposed to mark the course boundaries while giving yacht owners, guests and crew a front-row view of the action of the speedy AC Class 45-foot catamarans zipping around at up to 25 knots. 

At least, that was the way it was presented by the new management team at the America’s Cup Event Authority at a superyacht forum in Ft. Lauderdale last spring.

The ACEA is the San Francisco-based marketing arm for the America’s Cup organization.

When the America’s Cup World Series (ACWS) racing action started in Cascais, Portugal, in early August, the catamarans knew exactly where the course boundaries were, thanks to electronics that warned them as they got close to the computer-generated boundaries. A new blend of GPS transponders and race committee-managed chart plotters monitored each racer’s position. 

It’s a good thing, because the scores of megayachts needed to line the race course failed to appear in November in San Diego.

“The program is in test mode, prepping for San Francisco,” said Kate Pearson, president of the San Diego Superyacht Association (SDSA) and vice president of business development at Knight & Carver shipyard. “This was not the main event for the America’s Cup.” 

The 183-foot Perini Navi ketch S/Y Zenji and the 106-foot Horizon M/Y Maximus II were consistent spectators, and a couple of other megayachts came out on individual race days, but that was all.

This seemed to follow the pattern of low participation in earlier ACWS events in Europe, where photos and videos showed only a handful of large yachts in the spectator fleets.

The absence of superyachts was due to a breakdown in the ACEA’s planned Superyacht Program. The program was billed as a major element of the overall America’s Cup plan.

However, it suffered from a mid-stream change in program managers, with the new manager coming onboard right before the San Diego event in early November. Apparently, there was also a superyacht responsibility transfer from the ACEA to the America’s Cup Race Management, the on-the-water event management team, adding to the organizational confusion.

Perhaps the organizational and staffing changes contributed to a “frustrating” lack of communications and directions from the ACEA/ACRM organizers that plagued the San Diego planning process, according to one San Diego superyacht industry participant.

For example, AC managers distributed their “Course Marshal Instructions – Flagged Vessels” two days before racing started. These instructions were directed toward the cadre of team chase boats, team VIP boats, TV and photo chase boats and participating superyachts, all of which were issued specially designated flags indicating their status on and near the race course.

The original concept, as presented in May, was for the AC Superyacht Program to offer yacht owners, guests and crew “unprecedented access and involvement” in the America’s Cup racing and festivities. Initial plans included “establishment of an America’s Cup Yacht Club, and new, integrated superyacht involvement on and off the water.”

The program also called for inclusion of a steering committee to “insure compliance of superyachts” for AC certification and a captains advisory committee to act as ambassadors to promote the America’s Cup events. No information could be located about either of these committees having been created. 

San Diego was the third and final stop on the 2011 introductory tour for the America’s Cup World Series. The California regatta was held from Nov. 12-20. Nine teams representing seven countries competed.

Unlike previous America’s Cup regattas, which were held 4-5 miles offshore, the new AC series features “stadium sailing” with a race course set up in an inshore area, usually within the venue’s harbor, providing easy viewing by shore-side spectators. 

Several in the local superyacht community were disappointed in the ACEA’s lack of effort to turn out stronger numbers of large yachts. While the SDSA sent out a save-the-date notice and other ACWS-related e-mails to local superyacht captains and industry members, participation was minimal. The sense was that the ACEA was not focused on the superyachts.

Capt. Rick Litchfield of M/Y Mercedes, a 98-foot Versilcraft Super Challenger, took the owners out on Nov. 16, a warm and sunny day with about 12-knot winds – perfect, he said, for a high performance sailboat race. 

Litchfield, a sailor himself on his family’s C&C 38 Ambush, said he had been looking forward to the fast-paced speed of the race boats and the close proximity of the racing. He said his owners, who are non-sailors, found the event exhilarating and entertaining.

Despite his enthusiasm, Litchfield echoed other comments about streamlining future communications with the ACWS organizers. He said he looks forward to improvements regarding furnishing schedules, charter availability, social events and any other potential involvement in the ACWS’s week-long program for large yachts. 

The radical changes taking place across the entire America’s Cup scene are also creating confusion and a trial-and-error learning experience for everyone involved. Fortunately, most of the impact of the learn-as-you-go approach is on people behind the scenes.

The spectators saw, simply, high-tech racing machines – the sailing counterparts of Formula 1 race cars. They saw exhilarating speeds they’re not used to seeing from sailboats. They saw real athletes – not just laid-back sailors – bouncing from side to side in 10m sprints with each tack and jibe.

Then there was the close-mark roundings at up to 25 knots and the windward hulls flying so high that you think a capsize is imminent. 

The new-format America’s Cup is definitely not your father’s America Cup. The racing is lively. Shore-side crowds are involved. And the world’s superyachts have – potentially – a significant role to play in 2012-2013 ACWS events scheduled for Naples and Venice, Italy; Newport, R.I.; and San Francisco.

However, as San Diego showed, there’s much work to do on the AC Superyacht Program to make the vision come true.