We enjoyed last summer’s exhibition races and we are anxiously awaiting this summer, when we will see two months of competition—both the Vuitton Cup qualifying races and the grand finale, the America’s Cup championship.

Luckily, however, we don’t have to wait till August to get at least glimpses of the racing yachts. Every several days, we get something of a preview of the big event: just enough to whet our appetites for the actual races. We periodically see a couple America’s Cup Yachts (in this case, Oracle and Artemis), usually followed by their flotillas, passing in front of Alcatraz.

What am I doing staring at the Bay while I should be writing my book? That’s an entirely different issue.

For now, five months and counting for the big events.