Larry Ellison Takes America’s Cup Outside Of U.s. To Get His Way

Monumental hype, epic races and crashes on San Francisco Bay, and controversy on top of controversy. At the end of the day, the 2013 Cup had sunny weather, big crowds and a remarkable comeback win by Larry Ellison’s Oracle team. In San Francisco, he changed the boats from stodgy, slow monohulls to 72-foot catamarans that could jet over the waves at nearly 60 mph. [...] to be perfectly honest, San Francisco officials were hardly heartbroken to be out of the running for the 2017 Cup. [...] Ellison had just about enough of media like The Chronicle pointing out inconsistencies, demands and entitled behavior. [...] step into The Chronicle time machine and travel back to the giddy days when the Cup was going to be on the bay. The big, fast boats, the up-close spectators and the convenient West Coast location were going to democratize the sport. An optimist would say the weather was utterly awesome, the TV pictures amazing and crowds of sailing neophytes lining the bay were amazed. Lovely weather, an amphitheater harbor and a time zone favorable to European TV. The location virtually guarantees the spectators will be the traditional, wealthy sailing crowd. Bermuda wanted the event so badly that, according to Minister of Economic Development Grant Gibbons, it put together a $77 million package for Ellison’s Cup. The final event shortfall was $5 million after sales and endorsement money came in.