We Have What It Takes for Cup Races, Boatyard Operators Say

Local boatyard operators bristle at accusations that San Diego lacks the skills and facilities to accommodate a successful America’s Cup defense.

“We think San Diego ought to be the yachting capital of the world,” said boat builder Jerry Driscoll. “We feel put out, naturally, with all the pussyfooting around (about where to hold the defense). We have the Cup here, and we ought to have the race here.”

Local boatyards “can match facilities with either” Fremantle or Newport, R.I., according to Australian-born Alan Greenway, a San Diego businessman who has traveled to the last six Cup races.

San Diego has “waterfront space, the proximity to the ocean, and obviously . . . the city has a fine tradition of boat building and repair that just needs some marshaling, and that’s obviously being done,” said Greenway, who described himself as a “keen follower” of America’s Cup racing.

Additionally, “San Diego has more world-class sailors than any other city in the world,” argued Driscoll, who added that many past U.S. syndicates trained in San Diego and traveled to Newport for the Cup races.

Racing syndicates are already expressing interest in San Diego’s facilities. John Sawicki, a Coronado boatyard operator, has received inquiries from potential Swiss, Japanese and U.S. syndicates.

“We have a 90% chance of holding (the Cup defense) in San Diego,” said Sawicki, who observed that “There’s not enough tar and feathers in this town if (San Diego Yacht Club) decides not to hold it here.”

If San Diego were to determine that it couldn’t be host to the Cup defense, “We’d be relegated to a second-city status, and San Diego is a top-line city,” Greenway said.