America's Cup to be contested in Bermuda
Logistical obstacles in San Diego force world's oldest yachting competition to test new waters
The America's Cup is going offshore, to a British territory that sits at the northern tip of the Bermuda Triangle.
In a shake-up to the tradition of the oldest trophy in international sports, organisers announced Bermuda beat San Diego for the right to host the next America's Cup in June 2017.
The decision was made two weeks ago by software billionaire Larry Ellison, who owns two-time defending champion Oracle Team USA, after consulting with Russell Coutts, a New Zealander who is the de facto America's Cup czar.
I think this will be the best one yet. We've got to look at it pragmatically, look at the facts and make what we think is the best decision for the Cup going forward
This will be the first time a US defender holds the America's Cup outside the United States. It also will be the first time in the regatta's 163-year history that a defender sails the races in foreign waters by choice rather than necessity.
Bermuda is about 5,000km from the Golden Gate Yacht Club, which holds the America's Cup and staged just one defence on its home waters, when Oracle Team USA staged a thrilling comeback against Emirates Team New Zealand last year. Coutts pulled the regatta from San Francisco after city officials insisted organisers would have to pay for services they had previously received free.
While picking Bermuda has been criticised by traditionalists, Coutts defended the choice of the island nation of 65,000 people over San Diego, which has hosted the America's Cup three times.
"We're tasked in making the best America's Cup we can," Coutts said. "I think this will be the best one yet. We've got to look at it pragmatically, look at the facts and make what we think is the best decision for the Cup going forward."
Details of Bermuda's financial package have not been disclosed. Coutts said the America's Cup Act is scheduled to go before Bermuda's Parliament on December 12.