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Sam Hollis & Bill Hanbury On The America’s Cup Bermuda 2017
If you’re a superyacht owner or charterer considering making the trip to Bermuda for next year’s America’s Cup finals, there’s every reason to be excited.
With berths overlooking the finish line, the event offers a unique opportunity to watch the yacht racing action at ultra-close quarters while enjoying the lavish environs of your yacht.
If you need any more convincing, just listen to Sam Hollis, Chief Operating Officer for the America’s Cup Event Authority, and Bill Hanbury, CEO of the Bermuda Tourism Authority, who spoke to us at the recent Superyachts.com Top 100 event in London.
“Superyachts are a really important part of our event,” Mr Hollis told us. “We have the America’s Cup Family, some key stakeholders as we take this event around the world, and the superyachts are right up there, from the owners through the rest of the superyacht community.
“So for us it’s really about contriving really special experiences for those stakeholders and that can come in the form of berthing packages right in the heart of the America’s Cup venue. So we offer berths that will literally overlook the finish line, we offer VIP flags for premium locations, dedicated locations, for those yachts or their tenders right on the edge of the race course in special locations. We’re offering experiences and insights and access to press conferences, to hospitality, to some of the parties, so for us it’s really about those special packages.
“And we’re also doing a couple of other things. You’ll have heard of the J-Class coming and running their own regatta, bridging the first weekend of the America’s Cup Finals. So their first race will be on the Friday before the opening Saturday and they’ll continue on the Monday, Tuesday afterwards. We think and believe that we’ll have the biggest fleet of J-Class that’s ever raced when they come to Bermuda in 2017.
“And alongside the J-Class regatta, of course, we’ll have the America’s Cup superyacht regatta, which we staged in San Francisco too, and that will be an opportunity for some of the biggest sailing superyachts in the world to come race on the America’s Cup race course right in front of the venue.”
You can watch the full video interview with Sam Hollis and Bill Hanbury above this article.