ORGANISERS of the Hampshire leg of the warm-up tour for the next America’s Cup have revealed the best places to watch the action from.

America’s Cup World Series bosses say spectators will get the best views of the Portsmouth event from Southsea Common, although boat owners can also watch from on the water.

The event will see the best sailors in the world, including Lymington’s Ben Ainslie and Southampton’s Iain Percy, compete in state-of-the-art boats which use hydrofoils to hit speeds of up to 40mph.

A spokesman for the event said: “Naturally, given the racing will take place in such a popular area as the Solent, plenty of keen fans have been asking if they will be able to watch the racing from the water.

“The simple answer is yes, this will be possible, although the best viewing areas will be from the main race village onshore on Southsea Common.

“The area of water racing will take place in is amazingly close to shore but is within a commercial shipping channel and an area managed Queen’s Harbour Master Portsmouth.

“An exclusion zone will be created around the race course to ensure perfect racing conditions are delivered to the world class sailing teams, but also to ensure the safety of both the racing teams and the spectators.

“Given the high speed of the racing catamarans, the arrangements for this event will be extensive, and are primarily focused on ensuring the safety of competitors, other personnel involved in the racing, spectators and other water users.”

The event takes place from July 23 to 26.