Americas Cup Portsmouth

Americas Cup Portsmouth 2015

The America’s Cup comes to Portsmouth Harbour this weekend.  Here are some inside details for visiting.  Firstly the dates.  The Americas Cup Portsmouth runs from Thursday 23rd July until Sunday 26th July 2015.

The official website is a little complicated to navigate, it looks good, but it’s not easy to find information.  The racing will take place on the waters alongside Southsea Common.  The Waterside Festival Arena is located here and spectators will have a good view of the racing from here.  Entry into the Arena is ticketed but FREE.  Tickets can be booked on the TicketMaster website.  The Arena is open from 10:00 until 17:00.  Tickets can also be purchased for the Fanzone Arena.  This area is open from 10:00 until 19:00 and has features on the teams, boats and other America’s Cup technology.  Grandstand seating has sold out at this point (Wednesday 22nd July 17:09) and also I’m struggling to find any free tickets for entry to the Waterside Festival Arena on Saturday so be warned!  Racing is scheduled to take place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday between 13:30 and 15:00 depending on the tides and wind.

How to get to the Americas Cup Portsmouth

By Car – Probably the easiest way is to take the Park and Ride.  Portsmouth is very busy at the best of times and especially around this area due to the Gunwharf Quays Shopping Centre being not too far away.  The cost of a day ticket for the park and ride is £4.

By Train – The nearest station for The Waterside Festival Arena is Portsmouth Harbour.  There is also a free shuttle bus from the station to the arena.  To walk to the Arena is just over a mile so around a 20-25 minute walk depending on your legs,

By Boat – It will be possible to watch the Americas Cup Portsmouth from the water.   The Queen’s Harbour Master Portsmouth has issued a Local Notice to Mariners (LNTM No. 60/15) regarding the Amercias Cup Portsmouth.

Portsmouth is a wonderful city to visit so if you have time be sure to take a trip up The Spinnaker Tower, and visit the Historic Dockyard.  The Dockyard houses HMS Victory, Nelson’s flagship, HMS Warrior, one of the largest and faster warships of her time and also the remains of the Tudor Warship Mary Rose now in a new purpose-built museum.  Also as official supporters of the Americas cup, the dockyard is playing host to the technical area and team base, effectively the pit lanes of this premier racing event.