Event organizers today confirmed the receipt of the fifth entry for the 34th America’s Cup in 2013. The official announcement by the team is expected in the coming weeks.

“On the heels of our first major partnership in Louis Vuitton, we’re extremely pleased to make another significant announcement today in the confirmation of our fifth team,” said Iain Murray, Regatta Director for the 34th America’s Cup and CEO of America’s Cup Race Management (ACRM).

The news counts the current Cup holders BMW Oracle Racing and the Golden Gate YC as one team and the Challenger of Record, who sparked off the next cycle of the Cup as another, leaving three additional confirmed entries so far. Interestingly, the announcement doesn’t indicate whether the entry is for a challenger or a defender, although we hear that it is another challenger.

Over recent weeks the speculation as to the mystery entry focussed on the Russian Synergy team but the recent chatter has been that in fact it was Team New Zealand who entered the second and anonymous challenge at around the same time as Artemis.

So who are the teams so far and which are the ones that have declared publicly? James Boyd helped us put together the list of current entries, maybes and wild guesses.

WHO’S UP FOR THE CUP?

Already in:

BMW Oracle Racing – Defender
Mascalzone Latino Audi Team – Challenger of Record
Artemis – CEO Paul Cayard, helmsman Terry Hutchinson
Anonymous entry – thought to be Team New Zealand
Second anonymous entry – ???

The maybe and wild guess list:

Synergy – Russian campaign backed by three Moscow-based businessmen, the most high profile being Russian diplomat Valentin Zavadnikov.

All4One – Stephane Kandler and Jochen Schuemann Franco-German team. The union of Kandler’s K-Challenge and Schuemann’s German campaign for the 33rd America’s Cup.

Korea – Korea Match Cup organiser Dong Young Kim was at the meeting and is said to have backing for a team. This seems to be a serious proposition.

Aleph Team France – spearheaded by Bertrand Pace, managed by sports marketeer Philippe Ligot

Offshore Challenges – Charles Derbyshire was at the Dubai meeting

Argo Challenge – Lars Grael’s disabled team based in Italy

Herbert Dercksen – Dutch Tornado Olympic sailor, Extreme 40 co-creator and businessman

China Team – represented in Dubai by Thierry Barot (who skippered the China Team Extreme 40 earlier this year)

Canadian team – Royal Canadian Yacht Club, represented by Kevin Reed, a Toronto investment banker and RCYC member who is chair of Red Maple Racing, the bid’s name if and when it takes off.

Greek Challenge – competed in the Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland in 2009.

Luna Rossa -Despite having no interest in a catamaran America’s Cup, Luna Rossa is believed to be entering the Extreme Sailing Series next year with a team led by Paul Campbell-James. What could this mean?

Baron Benjamin de Rothschild – behind the Gitana team and for more than a decade a top exponent of multihull racing in France.

Bruno and Loick Peyron – the French multihull kings. Loick has previously attempted to mount a French campaign with Bertrand Pace

Alain Gautier – was at the America’s Cup meeting in Paris

Olivier de Kersauson – French round the world and offshore veteran was also at the meeting in Paris.

Australian campaign

Victory Challenge – Sam Murch was in Dubai, presumably representing Hugo Stenbeck

Talk of a second US defender with several names being bandied about, the strongest being former Alinghi helmsman Ed Baird and multihull skipper Cam Lewis, who raced on Dennis Conner’s America’s Cup catamaran in 1988.

KEY DATES
End Dec 2010 – venues announced
Early Jan 2011 – racing format announced
Mid Jan 2011 – launch first AC45
Feb 2011 – Boat avail for testing by teams
April 2011 – Progress sea trials test race course, systems etc.
June 2011 – First AC World series regatta Europe

Beyond this there are few confirmed dates and no venues but, the AC34 Host and Venue Agreement that has been drawn up by San Francisco who are preparing their bid for the event throws some light on what the schedule could be.

Challenger selection series
Round Robin – 1-13 July-4 August 2013
Quarter finals – 8-11 August 2013
Semi finals – 16-19 August 2013
Finals – 23 August-1 September 2013

America’s Cup (best of nine)
Over 7-22 September 2013