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Ken Read conduce noua provocare americană pentru Cupa America 2027
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Ken Read, fost președinte al North Sails, a renunțat la funcția sa pentru a conduce echipa de provocare americană în Cupa America 2027. Noul acord de parteneriat al Cupei America a permis întreprinzătorilor și investitorilor să vadă evenimentul ca o oportunitate comercială viabilă, nu doar ca o cheltuială din partea miliardari. Echipa sa, condusă de co-fondatorul Karel Komárek, se angajează să transforme modelul tradiționalist al competiției în schimbările care vor salva vela din declin.
Conținut original (extras automat)
Ken Read, who has been President of North Sails since 2013, resigned to lead the USA challenge for the 2027 America’s Cup. As CEO of the American Racing Challenger Team USA, Read provides this exclusive update for Scuttlebutt:
Explain how this team came to be.
This all goes back to the new America’s Cup Partnership agreement. Our campaign doesn't happen without it. Our Co-Founder and Chairman Karel Komárek would not have been interested without the partnership agreement. I know there's been grumbling about the agreement in what it does to the event, but I wonder if those same people have read it. It’s 700 pages.
What the agreement has done is provide smart, wealthy entrepreneurs a way to consider the America's Cup as something other than a black hole to dump money. The event now brings about the opportunity to create a franchise, to create some sort of commercial growth and success. The America’s Cup now isn't considered just a billionaire's playground. It's considered a playground of success for sailing.
Is it changing the model of what America's Cups have been in the past? Absolutely. But the event was dying. We were literally less than a day away from a Deed of Gift match a little over a year ago. And if that had happened, everybody would've gone away, and it would have been over until it escaped from the ashes. So, the partnership agreement has allowed these entrepreneurs - investors, let's call them - to think differently about the America's Cup.
I've gotten to know Karel quite well. He owns the 100-footer V that I've been sailing on, and we spent a bunch of time in Barcelona during the 2024 America’s Cup as there was also a maxi boat regatta. We had the wonderful opportunity to tour all the bases, and while it was pretty fun, it was very clear to him that he didn't want to play in that arena where whoever spends the most money wins.
So that was that, but then this partnership agreement gets put together, and a couple of the principals of other teams reached out to him and asked him to take a look. He agreed, had his team review it, got intrigued, and called me just over two months ago and we talked for about an hour. At the end of our conversation, I agreed to poke around and do my due diligence. - Read on
Explain how this team came to be.
This all goes back to the new America’s Cup Partnership agreement. Our campaign doesn't happen without it. Our Co-Founder and Chairman Karel Komárek would not have been interested without the partnership agreement. I know there's been grumbling about the agreement in what it does to the event, but I wonder if those same people have read it. It’s 700 pages.
What the agreement has done is provide smart, wealthy entrepreneurs a way to consider the America's Cup as something other than a black hole to dump money. The event now brings about the opportunity to create a franchise, to create some sort of commercial growth and success. The America’s Cup now isn't considered just a billionaire's playground. It's considered a playground of success for sailing.
Is it changing the model of what America's Cups have been in the past? Absolutely. But the event was dying. We were literally less than a day away from a Deed of Gift match a little over a year ago. And if that had happened, everybody would've gone away, and it would have been over until it escaped from the ashes. So, the partnership agreement has allowed these entrepreneurs - investors, let's call them - to think differently about the America's Cup.
I've gotten to know Karel quite well. He owns the 100-footer V that I've been sailing on, and we spent a bunch of time in Barcelona during the 2024 America’s Cup as there was also a maxi boat regatta. We had the wonderful opportunity to tour all the bases, and while it was pretty fun, it was very clear to him that he didn't want to play in that arena where whoever spends the most money wins.
So that was that, but then this partnership agreement gets put together, and a couple of the principals of other teams reached out to him and asked him to take a look. He agreed, had his team review it, got intrigued, and called me just over two months ago and we talked for about an hour. At the end of our conversation, I agreed to poke around and do my due diligence. - Read on
Scuttlebutt Sailing
Publicat 13 aprilie 2026, 12:35