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I didn’t know it existed – but  many people did know it existed, and apparently it’s popular enough to be streamed live by YouTubeYouTube!

I’m talking about the 33rd America’s Cup for boating. The cup, established in 1851, is the oldest active international trophy event in sports. The event itself was actually called the America’sAmerica reviews not because of the continent, rather because the first winning boat of this challenge was named America. Jamie Dolling, who is Community Manager for YouTube in the UK says that “For the first time ever the entire event will be shown live online and you can access the stream via the America’s Cup channel here on YouTube.”

Just some background on this year’s event from the YouTube blog:

Both 90-foot boats are something to behold: the Alinghi 5 catamaran boasting a mast as tall as a 17-story building; the trimaran BMW Oracle USA 17 sporting a rigid wing sail based on aerospace technology. To date, the competition has been overwhelmed by legal issues, the teams apparently having spent more time in closed courtrooms than on the open water, but now the talking is over and the racing can commence.

The America’s Cup is decided over three races, the first and third being 40 nautical miles and the second 39. Once the wind starts to blow, the sight of both contenders under full sail should be stunning, so stay tuned YouTube to catch the action in real time.

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