Australians will get a taste of the spectacular America's Cup sailing competition next month as reigning champions Oracle Team USA train with newly-formed Team Australia on Sydney Harbour.
And there's a slim chance the city could even end up hosting the next America's Cup - with the current venue for 35th edition of the Auld Mug still very much up in the air.
"Anything's possible - I don't think you can rule that out - but I would say it's an outer-edges possibility at this stage," Team Australia CEO Iain Murray told AAP.
It would be a sensational development were Australia to win hosting rights for the world-famous event, which is due to be staged in 2017.
San Diego and Hawaii are the current frontrunners.
Nonetheless, as reigning champions Team Oracle USA has the right to chose where the next America's Cup is staged and the team revealed in January that last year's venue San Francisco is unlikely to be revisited.
The bay city has reportedly refused to offer the same financial terms that secured the event in 2013.
Oracle's visit to Sydney to train with Team Australia in March would certainly showcase the city, its facilities and sailing conditions to the US team's senior management, including its owner, the billionaire software baron Larry Ellison.
Oracle is led by two Australians; skipper Jimmy Spithill and Olympic Laser class champion Tom Slingsby.
Australians feature across a number of the other teams, including Artemis Racing's Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen.
Murray said there are still no formal crew appointments to Team Australia, which as challenger of record has the right to help set the format and venue of the next America's Cup.
The team, backed by Bob Oatley's Hamilton Island Yacht Club, has an experimental crew currently competing at the Extreme Sailing Series in Singapore, skippered by skiff world champion Seve Jarvin.
Oracle has already shipped one of its AC45 catamarans to Australia for next month's training.
"It's a unique situation in the America's Cup cycle having a defender coming to a challenger's country," Murray added.
"But it's a really good moment for us to start our sailing team out there against the best guys in the world."
The slightly larger hydro-foiling AC72 catamarans used at last year's America's Cup attracted some big-name sponsors and huge crowds to a sport that has traditionally struggled to garner big crowds.
Oracle took the 34th Auld Mug with a thrilling 9-8 come-from-behind victory over Emirates Team New Zealand.
But the event was also marred by tragedy, with British Olympian Andrew Simpson killed during one of Artemis Racing's training runs.
