AP Source: Ellison, Coutts to launch SailGP using catamarans
A person familiar with the situation says former America's Cup holders Larry Ellison and Russell Coutts are set to announce a new sailing league called SailGP that will be contested in an enhanced class of foiling 50-foot catamarans
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A person familiar with the situation says former America's Cup holders Larry Ellison and Russell Coutts are set to announce a new sailing league called SailGP that will be contested in an enhanced class of foiling 50-foot catamarans.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Friday because details won't be announced until Wednesday night in London.
Plans call for SailGP to have five regattas in 2019, beginning in mid-February in Sydney, Australia. Reports have indicated there will be teams from the United States, Great Britain and Australia, and entries are also expected from France, Japan and China.
Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle Corp., and Coutts, a New Zealander, headed the Oracle Team USA syndicate that won the America's Cup in 2010 and 2013 before losing it to Emirates Team New Zealand in 2017.