Americas Cup Delayed Again

The future of the America’s Cup once more rests with the lawyers following the failure of Team Alinghi to provide the documents requested by BMW Oracle.

In notifying Société Nautique de Genève (SNG) of the decision, Marcus Young, Commodore of Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) said: “Over the past 17 months, we have made a number of constructive suggestions to resolve the dispute outside of court and get the America’s Cup back on track. Yet SNG and your defense apparatus have consistently refused to negotiate with us in good faith.”

Alinghi’s response was: “Yesterday's announcement by BMW Oracle and Golden Gate Yacht Club is not a surprise as they have never shown any interest in joining the competition alongside the 14 teams, currently officially entered. Instead, at every turn, they have chosen to insist on pursuing their selfish legal strategy.”

The next, and final, court hearing commences on 10 February 2009 in the New York Supreme Court of Appeal. Meanwhile, Ernesto Bertarelli’s attempts to stage a pre-America’s Cup regatta here in Valencia next June are looking decidedly shaky.

The Louis Vuitton Pacific Series, which starts in Auckland on 31 January, will put a serious dent in the budgets of those teams who have already entered. Other, newer teams will struggle for sponsorship money until a court decision is handed down; probably sometime in April. This will leave little time to get their teams up to speed and many will prefer to conserve their resources for the main event, whenever and wherever that might be.

It is impossible to predict which way the final Appeal Court decision will go but it seems probable that the delay will make a 2010 America’s Cup series look very doubtful. The best we can hope for, if BMW Oracle win their appeal, is for a spectacular ‘Deed of Gift’ series in 90ft catamarans. But it will be nothing compared to what we witnessed here in Valencia last year during the 32nd ACC Series.

Mike O’Neill

Day three without a breath of wind! And still no racing!

A perfect day for a balloon ride....photo©2007Mike Adams

Yep, a third day without wind here in Valencia for the Louis Vuitton races at Port America's Cup. So what do you do if you can't watch the racing, try our selection of hand-picked suggestions by clicking the headline above.
A perfect day for a balloon ride....

Another day without a race at America's cup

Waiting at the Louis Vuitton Cup: German sailor Jan Schoepe is posting the weather condition under his feet. Photo: Heinrich Hecht / United Internet Team Germany


The Picture says it all!
No racing today in Valencia.
Tomorrow's forecast looks hopeful - Beautiful 21º with variable clouds. Winds from the E at 16 km/h.
Let's hope they're right!

Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher and Chloe Sevigny In Valencia

Ashton Kutcher 18th man on Luna Rossa

Chloe Sevigny Arrives at the Prada Party

Demi arrives with Ashton at the Prada Party at the Mercado Central in Valencia

Helen Clark, New Zealand Premiere as 18th man on the Emirates New Zealand Boat in Port America's Cup

David Bustemante and friends wait for the wind at America's Cup

Well, the rumour that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were among the guests expected at the Prada bash at the Mercado Central proved to be just that, but among the mostly European stars that did turn up were Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher and Chloe Sevigny. Non Hollywood was Helen Clark, the New Zealand Prime Minister

It was a rainy night (again) in Valencia but the stars arrived in their droves for this private party at the beautiful Mercado Central with onlookers kept at a distance in the hope of seeing someone. The building was a mass of red lights and there was chill-out music. Limo after limo came up the street and discharged its precious cargo onto the steps in front of the building.

Among the Spanish stars who were there were Agatha Ruiz de la Prada, wearing a typical Agatha Ruiz de la Prada outfit, who left on foot, looking none too happy, shortly after the arrival of Demi and Ashton.

Those that did stay, danced and ate until the early hours. The Stallholders had been reportedly paid 350 euros each to stay open throughout the event.

Next day both Ashton Kutcher and Helen Clark were 18th men on the Prada and Emirates New Zealand boats.

David Bustemante and his wife sat around with friends on one of the Hospitality boats waiting, in vain as it turns out, for the racing to begin. No wind stopped play but hopefully today there will be enough wind to start the round robin Luis Vuitton Matches.

The Louis Vuitton Act 13. Alinghi are the Victors

Prizegiving Alinghi: Brad Butterworth, skipper, receives the trophy from Christine Belanger, Louis Vuitton Cup Director.
ACM 2007/Photo: Carlo Borlengh

The weather gods smiled on Valencia yesterday afternoon. The rain stopped, the clouds parted and the sun appeared, bringing with it a gentle, if variable breeze.

Race 6 got under way after 75 minutes when the wind settled to a steady 7 knots. Desafío Español (the name means Spanish Challenge), steered by Karol Jablonski of Poland rounded the windward mark ahead of Alinghi, with Ed Baird of USA steering. They were followed by Emirates Team NZ steered by Ben Ainslie of Britain and these three boats held their positions to the finish.

Race 7 started at 17.30, a time when most sailors are thinking of heading for port with the prospect of a hot shower and a few beers – but hey, this is professional yacht racing and there are still places to be gained (or lost) on the leader board! Once again, Alinghi start at the back of the fleet – they really have nothing to lose at this stage and this is the last opportunity they will have to pit themselves against the real opposition until the Cup match itself in June. By the windward mark, they had climbed to 4th, with BMW Oracle leading Desafío Español and Luna Rossa. Desafío Español suffered two penalties in quick succession and the resulting turns they had to accomplish pushed them down the fleet. Alinghi sailed a faultless race to claim their 4th victory of the series. BMW Oracle was second, followed by Mascalzone Latino in third.

The final scores for the series:

1 Alinghi 78
2 Emirates Team NZ 64
3 Mascalzone Latino 63
4 Luna Rossa 60
5 BMW Oracle 57
6 Desafío Español 55
7 Shosholoza 43
8 Victory Challenge 35
9 Areva 31
10 United Internet Ger 29
11 +39 17
12 China Challenge 15

Alinghi have truly stamped their authority upon fleet but now they have to go and play on their own for the next two months! The rest of the fleet will be busy analysing their results and competing vigorously with one another in a series of ‘to the death’ contests to find the challenger capable of taking on Alinghi for the America’s Cup.
Moke O'Neill

And so, the sailing begins in earnest, The Louis Vuitton Regattas

Alinghi the current holder of the America's Cup

The Louis Vuitton Regattas take place in Valencia from the 3rd to the 07th of April, It will be the only opportunity to see Alinghi and all the 11 Challengers Race together. From then on in it is the Louis Vuitton Round Robins, which take place from the 16th April through to the 07th June, when the teams will be knocked out until there is only one challenger left to battle it out on the waves for the Prestigious America's Cup. This huge international event takes place in Europe for the first time in over one hundred years. The full timetable can be found by clicking on the headline