America's Cup racing might be coming to a harbour near you. Or a body of water near your harbour. Or, heaven forbid, it might not be coming anywhere near us at all.
Given the doomsday scenario of Oracle pulling off eight straight wins to break Kiwi hearts seems most unlikely, it's probably fair enough to speculate how a regatta in Auckland might look in four or five years.
Perhaps the biggest question is where the boats might race. With its in-shore stadium racing and grandstand finishes, San Francisco has changed the game in terms of spectator accessibility. It's a model Auckland would love to replicate.
Auckland's constantly shifting winds are the biggest issue. Yacht races mainly take place on upwind beats and downwind runs, over courses about 5km long. In San Francisco, where the wind blows the same way every day, it's simply a matter of chucking the buoys out and watching the boats zoom up and down the bay.
Auckland doesn't blow like that. While a cross-shore breeze in either direction would work for inshore racing in the Waitemata Harbour, on or offshore winds would be problematic in such a narrow waterway.
