AMERICA'S CUP 33 - the statistics

TV
39 TV channels acquired the broadcasting rights : Sky (Great Britain), Canal + (France), Teledeporte and Canal 9 (Spain), Eurosport (Europe), Show Time (the Middle East), ESPN (the USA) FOX Live (Australia), TVNZ and Sky (New Zealand).
15 hours of live broadcasting to 216 territories
27 hours of special programs
2,160 million potential viewing audience.

INTERNET (www.americascup.com)
2,800,000 visits
1,200,000 unique visitors
656,000 unique visitors watched the live racing direct through the official web site
(this audience does not include the streaming broadcasting by 350 other Internet sites worldwide)
346,000 was the record number of unique visitors, occurring on the 12 of February 16,000 Facebook fans and 13,000 followers on Twitter in the three official languages of all the communication of the Web (Spanish, English and French)
More than 300 articles published more in three languages on www.americascup.com

PUBLIC AT THE MARINA REAL JUAN CARLOS 1(from the 7th to the 14th of February)
Global number of visitors: 201,000 between the 7th the 14th of February
Record: 7th of February 2007 - 60,000 people at the event inauguration
More than 2,000 children of Valencian schools in organized visits
More than 1,200 hamburgers more served
More 5,000 served plates of paella
More than 800 fondues (150 kg of cheese) served
More than 1,400 kilos of powder in `mascletás'

PRESS CENTRE
965 Requests accreditation requests from 37 countries (Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the United States, Great Britain, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, the Faeroes, Finland, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Israel, Japan, Holland, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Ireland, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Sweden, Turkey, Islands Vírgenes and the Ukraine)
More than 8,000 articles were published
400 daily users connected to the Internet to the Wi-Fi network of 120 Mbs
10 kilometers of optical fiber installed
15 official Vehicles that have realised 13,244 kilometers in more than 700 services
5 official press conferences in the conference hall

PROMOTION
2,000 sq m of canvases
500 banners
180 bus stop advertising panels
1,000 1 minute adverts of the 33rd America's Cup in the trains of the Mediterranean corridor area
Continuous advertising of 35 seconds in 345 buses of Valencia
10,000 official programs distributed.
Presence in airports of Madrid and Barcelona

THE REGATA – 33rd AMERICA'S CUP
2 boats: the catamaran Alinghi 5 and the trimaran the USA
2 regattas: 12th of February and 14th of February 2 formats of racing: Windward/Leeward (12th of February) and triangle (14th of February)
79 nautical miles of racing: 40 in the first and 39 in second
24 sailors in the official crew listing: 14 on Alinghi 5, 10 in the USA
2-0, the score in favor of BMW ORACLE Racing
15 minutes and 25 seconds, the delta of first race, the 12 of February
5 minutes and 29 seconds, the delta of second race, the 14 of February

AMERICA'S CUP
33 editions of America's Cup between 1870 and 2010
4 countries have defended the America's Cup: The United States, Australia, New Zealand and Switzerland
28 editions defended by the United States: 1870 to 1983, 1988, 1992, 1995
1 edition defended by Australia: 1987
2 editions defended by New Zealand: 2000 and 2003
2 editions defended by Switzerland: 2007 and 2010
7 countries have reached the America's Cup Match (England, Italy, Canada, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand and the United States)
6 venues in 159 years: New York (the USA), Newport (the USA), Fremantle (AUS), San Diego (the USA), Auckland (NZL) and Valencia (ESP) 1 trophy: the America's Cup
1 America's Cup

Source - America's Cup Consortium 2007
photo - ©2010 BMW Oracle Racing

America's Cup Race Two – BMW Oracle wins the CUP!!

AC 2010 Race Two – BMW Oracle wins the CUP!!
The wind finally settled (it needs to be within a directional range of 30 degrees for a Cup race) at around 4pm today in Valencia. Alinghi 5 with owner Ernesto Bertarelli at the helm won the right to enter on starboard but were inside the starting area before time and were penalized before the race even started.

BMW Oracle, with both Larry Ellison and Russell Coutts onboard, steered around Alinghi and headed out to the left side of the course. The Swiss catamaran, slow to get moving, sailed out the right, already 400m behind. After several minutes, it became clear that Alinghi’s performance had been transformed, sailing both higher and faster than in Race One. Within minutes, the Swiss boat had sailed into the lead as the breeze on the right gave a significant advantage. Bertarelli handed the helm to Loick Peyron, the French multihull veteran. At one point, Alinghi 5 was 600 metres ahead and it was noted they had raised a protest flag. As they neared the windward mark, Alinghi tacked over to the left, crossing BMW Oracle who had already tacked for the mark. When Alinghi tacked, her speed dropped dramatically and, as BMW Oracle was already moving fast, it looked as if the Swiss had misjudged the layline to the mark. Sure enough, BMW Oracle was able to squeeze up, rounding the mark 28 seconds ahead.

On the first reach, The US boat again showed her off-wind abilities, swiftly climbing to 30 knots in the 8-knot breeze. Alinghi stayed in touch but could not seem to match the speed of the American boat. By the final turn, BMW Oracle was nearly 2000 metres ahead. Alinghi tried everything to get back into the race, dropping water ballast and changing to a larger headsail. These moves improved her speed but not by enough to close the gap.

Two miles from the finish, BMW Oracle ran into some light airs and was forced to tack, allowing Alinghi to close the lead down to1000 metres. But minutes later the US trimaran crossed the finish line to win the America’s Cup. As Alinghi neared the finish, they sailed into a perfectly executed penalty turn, dropped their protest flag and crossed the line just over 5minutes behind. The prizrgiving is at 8pm, so I’m off!!

Mike O’Neill

America's Cup 33 Valencia - Race One....washup

We won’t call it a post mortem because Team Alinghi is far from dead; however...
What we saw out there on the race course today was proof-positive that Russell Coutts and James Spithill were right to push for a wing mast instead of the ‘soft’ sails they had started with. The wing appears to generate so much lift in anything over 4 knots of breeze that the extra weight is easily compensated.

The only possible weakness, the downwind leg, proved just as strong, with BMW Oracle sailing faster and deeper than Alinghi for much of the time. Spithill later said ‘we seemed to carry the breeze right down to the line’ whereas Ernesto Bertarelli said Alinghi ‘sailed into some lighter conditions’ which forced them to stay high to keep the windward hull clear of the water.

When asked: ‘faced with a clearly faster boat, what are the options?’, Bertarelli replied: ‘ First a nice cold beer, then a good nights sleep, then tomorrow we can examine the data’.

Larry Ellison summed up the days events with: ‘“Today I did say that sailing is a lot harder than running a software company!”

Race 2 is scheduled for Sunday and will be a ‘triangle’ of 39 nautical miles; a windward leg followed by two reaches (wind at right angles to the boats). The forecast is for a moderate northerly but, as we know, that could all change.....
Mike O'Neill
Photos©2010BMW Oracle Racing/Gilles Martin-Raget

QUOTES OF THE DAY
BMW ORACLE Racing Team:
James Spithill (AUS) skipper/helm BMW ORACLE Racing Team (USA):
“Obviously it was quite exciting at the start. We were able to get a piece of them in the entry and that is something we had been thinking about for quite some time, and it started to set up to look like we might be able to get a penalty on them, so I pushed it pretty hard in there. Obviously that left us pretty close to them and we then we had a hard time slowing the boat down. We were in a pretty controlling position then, as time went on through we got ourselves stuck in irons, but also I want to say well done to Alinghi, they did a good job getting out from there.”
“ We still have a lot to learn. It kind of showed today that we aren’t at race level preparation that we are kind of used to in these campaigns. But it was an exciting start with plenty of action.”

Larry Ellison (USA) team founder and afterguard BMW ORACLE Racing Team (USA):
“ I think my emotions started when it looked like we were going to race in three and a half knots of breeze. Russell and I were on the boat and we were told that we might be sailing in 20 minutes then we had the call to get as many people off the boat and as much stuff as possible off the boat to sail as light as possible, because there was a very, very light breeze. I had to get off the boat and so did Russell. And so we sailed with a minimum crew. So I think it is more stressful to watch than to sail.”

Russell Coutts (NZL) CEO and afterguard BMW ORACLE Racing Team (USA):
“ I think it is early days. I said before the series that you wont be able to draw conclusions from the first few minutes of these races….but how about that win….??

Alinghi (SUI):
Brad Butterworth (NZL) skipper/tactician Alinghi (SUI):
“We tried to keep the boats apart with having the bottom pin offset but it was not actually set up that well, and we thought we had just done enough but obviously not. But that really did not have any reflection on who won the race. It made some interesting stop and start, in irons and going backwards, something we’d never done on multihulls.”

Ernesto Bertarelli (SUI), helmsman and team president Alinghi (SUI):
"For sure at the start after the penalty it felt good they were stopped we could gybe and start. The wind changed quite rapidly. We had six or seven knots during the pre start and right off the start we were surprised with the wind coming in so strong, so quickly, 12 knots, but we thought we were doing good. But they caught up. We had to make a sail change which slowed us, but they were fast today and the wing seems to be quite a weapon. "
"I tell you, when you are in my position with the ten years that are behind and the team I have and the opportunity to race one more, or maybe two more races in the America’s Cup, you can’t call any day a hard day in the America’s Cup. They are all good days. Today it just happened they were faster, they sailed a good race.”
“We lost and I learned over the years that losing is part of enjoying sailing and going racing.”

America's Cup 33 Race One....what drama!

It may have been a long wait but what a race! BMW Oracle's skipper James Spithill came into the start area gunning for Alinghi, who failed to tack in time to avoid a penalty. The two craft continued their duel until, one minute before the start, both were over the start line and it became clear that BMW Oracle were stalled. Alinghi bore away, picked up speed and crossed the start line 87 seconds ahead of the US boat.

BMW Oracle started 660 metres behind Alinghi, who were tearing away at 16 to 17 knots in a 5.5 knot southerly breeze. The US boat began to pick up speed and was soon pointing higher and moving just as fast as the Swiss defender. After 20 minutes of racing, BMW Oracle had reduced the lead to zero and, in a surprising move dropped their headsail, showing that their revolutionary wing mast was capable of generating enough power alone.

By the windward mark, BMW Oracle was ahead by over 1,300 metres. Alinghi was expected to be faster off the wind and the only question was, would the penalty turn she had to take slow her enough for the US boat to hold onto her lead. It soon became clear that, although much heavier, BMW Oracle generated enough power to increase her lead until the finish, where she crossed 3,500 meters and 6 minutes ahead of Alinghi, who still had to complete their penalty turn.

What was especially interesting was that both Larry Ellison and Russell Coutts, who were jointly responsible for putting the whole challenge together, chose not to be aboard BMW Oracle today. Their opponents Ernesto Bertarelli and Brad Butterworth performed their helmsman/tactician roles as usual.
Mike O’Neill

America's Cup 33 Valencia - Race One........ Third Time Lucky?

AC 2010 Race One........ Third Time Lucky?

As I write this, it looks very much as though Race One is going to happen today..... The committee boat is in position about 26 nautical miles east of Valencia and seems to be setting a course to allow for a wind shift which is due to reach the race area soon. Both Alinghi 5 and BMW Oracle are testing the conditions and making final adjustments to get the most out of their craft. If you are in Valencia and can bear watching without sound, then Punt 2 is showing the race and you can stream live information from www.americascup.com or from www.bmworacle.com. If you have one of those amazing ‘digiboxes’, there is a dedicated Americas Cup channel close to the Aprende Ingles channel. We will up-date you as more details become available but latest info is that racing will begin ‘soon’, which could be in as little as 15 minutes time.....

photo courtesy of bmworacleracingblog.blogspot.com

Mike O’Neill
12.00 Friday

AMERICA's CUP 33 - What's it like on the ground in Valencia?

The Stars and Stripes at BMW Oracle

The Multihull and its amazing wing, longer than a jumbo jet wing.


Let's face it - it is turning out to be the biggest non-event of the year.
Battle of the Giants? Giants these boats may be but they seem just a little too delicate for the job in hand - my sailing friends tell me - assure - me that a normal America's Cup yacht would have loved the conditions on Valencia's waters these past few days.
The Press room has been teaming with press from over 37 countries - over 900 of them all waiting with bated breath for what has been billed as the race to beat all races - and there is some urgency for many of them as they will have to leave for Canada to report on the winter Olympics which start this weekend. Who is going to care (apart from the protagonists and their yacht clubs) once the Winter Olympics get under way?
For those spectators who have made the effort to make it to Valencia for this AC33 will also be deeply disappointed that they won't even be able to see the BMW Oracle boat in the flesh, the construction of the 'wing' means that it is too dangerous to bring the boat into the Marina, so it is moored out in the commercial port and, unless you are invited as friends and family or press there is just no way to see it up close. (if the visibility is good and there is no crane in the way, you can just see the huge wing in the far distance) I have been lucky enough to see it in the flesh - a very early start to see the docking out ceremony - (more of which later) and it is stunning- huge and stunning.
Which brings us on to the racing - that too will take place (if it ever happens) miles out to sea. 20 miles or so - that is a very long way from shore (think Dover to Calais) and too far away to see with the naked eye, so you can really only watch the races on television or on the internet. There is a giant screen at the AC Park with a few scattered loungers around to watch from - but there are fewer and fewer spectators each day and so any atmosphere there was is less and less tangible. The highlight so far has been the incredible Mascletà at the opening ceremony. But if you are not a fan of noise and daytime fireworks and just want to watch good sailng, you won't have been impressed.
The AC Park has been spruced a bit but they were still fixing broken decking on the Veles e Vents building on the Monday, when racing should have already started. Though there is a bar open there are empty shops. There are a few stalls acting as tapas, burger, fondue and paella bars, and they are not bad value. The general consensus on the souvenir shops is that they are far too expensive, much more so than the previous America's Cup Merchandise.
It is fascinating to watch the press conferences (you can watch them online on the teams websites) and here them talking about how great the races will be - the question is - when.
Timothy Birch
Photos ©2010 Thisisvalencia.com/Timothy Birch/Mike Adams

America's Cup 33 News- Race One...nearly (again)!

Racing was postponed for two hours and then a further one hour today in an effort to allow the swell from yesterday’s high winds to subside. At around midday, race director Harold Bennett took the decision to abandon racing until Friday.

There were some interesting comments surrounding the decision. James Spithill, helmsman of USA said at the BMW Oracle press meeting: “we think probably at 10 am there was a window but having that said that, it is very easy to look from the outside. I think Harold Bennett is the right man for the job. I have full trust in Harold”. A member of the press asked “maybe you are not as well informed as Alinghi, they were saying last night there would not be a race today”. Spithill said “I can’t comment on that” but clearly was disappointed not to have been able to put the trimaran to the test.

Loick Peyron, co-helmsman of Alinghi 5 said: “The conditions were possibly boat breaking. These boats are for Formula 1 racing and you do not take them off to do the Paris-Dakar.”

There was a sense of disappointment among the crowds who had flocked to the America’s Cup port and the lack of accurate information was partly to blame. Since all the main action takes place far from the Velas y Vents building, it is essential that interest is maintained with regular broadcast up-dates.

Sadly, the programme does not allow for racing tomorrow but we will be there to assess the conditions ahead of the planned 10am start on Friday.
Mike O’Neill

NOTABLE QUOTES OF THE DAY
Harold Bennett (NZL) Principal Race Officer explained:

“We have issued an amendment that there will be no signal before midday tomorrow Wednesday). We will make a further assessment at 0830hrs in the morning. So we will have a look at what it is like early in the morning. We will take a check then. There are a lot of strong winds forecast overnight and offshore and that is going to throw up a swell. So it is more the sea-state that is going to be of concern. Until we see what the sea state is we are not going to guess. I don’t want to put the boats out there if they are not going to sail. I do not want to put them all the way out there and bring them back without a race. Talking with the weather guys from both teams they agree that this is what we are going to get, so it is a fairly easy decision to make.”

America's Cup News - Day Two and still no race!

The only racingthat took place today at the AC Park was with these BMW Oracle Radio controlled model yachts.


The New Aston Martin Rapide on display in AC Park today.
Another day without a race in Valencia today, waves in excess of 1.3 metres forced organisers to cancel the races for the second time this week. More later in detail from Mike O'Neill.

America's Cup 33 News - Day One, Race One........ almost!

At 0700 this morning, the two giant multihulls prepared to leave their berths; Alinghi 5 from the Puerto America’s Cup, BMW Oracle (or USA, as the boat is named) from their berth in the commercial port, the only place where they could find sufficient room to store their 68m (223 foot) wing mast.

It had already been announced that owner Larry Ellison would not be aboard USA because of critical weight restrictions but it came as quite a shock to learn that Russell Coutts, winner of three America’s Cups and still considered by many to be the best match race sailor in the world, would not be on board either! Alinghi 5 carried a crew of 14, while USA had only 10, a clear indication that they expected a light-weather race, where weight-reduction is considered more important than the skills of those crewmen left behind.

The two boats reached the course area 26 NM off the coast in good time for the 10.06 start; then spent the next four hours waiting whilst race director Harold Bennett tried to lay a fair course. Trouble was, as the morning went by the southerly breeze in the start area was countered by a westerly breeze at the planned windward mark, just 2 miles off El Saler beach.

At two o’clock, Bennett decided to abandon the start, reasoning that, if the wind died during the race, the 7 hour time limit could have the 2 huge multihulls racing in the dark; not a comfortable scenario...... The race will now be started on Wednesday, when the weather looks like clearing.
Mike O’Neill

America's Cup 33 - It all Starts today!

Yesterday the AC Park at Port America's Cup was buzzing for the Official Opening Cermony of the America's Cup accompanied by one of the most spectacular Mascletàs (daytime firework displays) the city has ever seen. Today sees the first race with BMW Oracle Racing winning the toss to start the race from the starboard tack - Follow the races live on americascup.com and follow our tweets twitter.com/gooruvlc for latest through the day.

America's Cup 33 - OWNERS PRESS CONFERENCE SATURDAY 06 FEB- ELLISON IS A NO-SHOW

Ernesto Bertarelli, the President of the Swiss syndicate Alinghi yesterday stated that he was saddened by the fact that his rival Larry Ellison of BMWOracle Racing had failed to show up for a joint owners press conference organised by the Americas Cup Consortium, he went on to say that he was very surprised by the absence of Mr Ellison, who had previously stated that he would not attend as his executive director Russell Coutts had not been invited to attend.
Communications Director for the Consortium, Francisco Tormo, said that it had been made very plain by the AC33 organisers that the event was a press conference of the owners and that no one else amongst the teams had been invited, or would be qualified to attend, and not that Mr Coutts would not be welcomed, but he is not the owner of the team. Mr Bertarelli, When asked why his relationship with Mr Ellison had deteriorated so much, stated that 'what happened today says it all.'
Alinghi founder Ernesto Bertarelli highlight that safety and reliability need to be key issues to be borne in mind during what promises to be an enthralling 33rd America’s Cup, scheduled to start on Monday. He asked that anyone trying to watch the matches from their own craft take special care as these are immense craft capable of huge speeds...

Two days to the start.......

A ‘Battle of the Titans between the giant catamaran of Team Alinghi and the huge BMW Oracle trimaran is due to start at 10 am on Monday morning.

Rumours were circulating last night that the ‘grudge’ match between these two monsters will be decided by wind strength; the reason being that Alinghi was designed to perform best in winds up to 15 knots ( around 27km/h), whilst BMW Oracle is at her best in 10 to 25 knots (18 to 46 km/h). Mondays forecast of up to 12km winds would seem to favour Alinghi. But the nature of match racing is that many other factors come into play, such as who wins the start, who chooses the ‘right’ side of the course and which team performs best on the day. Nothing is certain until the leading boat crosses the line without incurring penalties.

One thing is certain: since each of these multihulls is capable of speeds up to 3 times that of the wind (technology has advanced that fast), we are certain to see some very exciting racing over the next few days.

In what will surely set the seal on the manner in which these races will be contested, Larry Ellison (owner of BMW Oracle) was asked if he will be going to the Owners Press Conference, due to take place at 4pm today (Saturday 6 February). He replied that Team Alinghi had requested that Russell Coutts, BMW Oracle’s CEO (and helmsman of Alinghi when they first won the America’s Cup in 2003) should not be there. “As a result of them asking Russell not to go, I am not going...” The ‘grudge’ match element was further underlined by Mr Ellison, who likened the contest to that: “....between two heavyweights who don’t much like each other”.

The opening ceremony will start at the America’s Cup port on Sunday morning and is rumoured to include some spectacular displays. More as the story unfolds....

Mike O’Neill

America's Cup 33 News - Here is the Full Agenda

Saturday 6 February
10 am-6 pm AC Park open each day from today(America’s Cup Port next to Veles i Vents building)
Food and drink outlets specialising in Swiss, American, Spanish and Valencian items. Official merchandise
outlets. Information points. Giant screen. Chill-out zone.
Sunday 7 February
10 am-6 pm AC Park open (America’s Cup Port next to Veles i Vents building)
Programme of children’s activities in the children’s playground. Selection of shows for all ages. Special team show with fans for the audience.
1 pm
Opening Ceremony for the 33rd America’s Cup (America’s Cup Port)
Including a spectacular Mascletá firecracker display.
2 pm
“A Grain for Haiti” (America’s Cup Port)
Sales of Valencian paella, Swiss raclette and American hamburgers,
with the proceeds going to help earthquake victims in Haiti.
Monday 8 February
FIRST RACE
9 am-8 pm
AC Park open (America’s Cup Port next to Veles i Vents building)
Food and drink outlets specialising in Swiss, American, Spanish and Valencian items. Official merchandise
outlets. Information points. Programme of children’s activities in the children’s playground. Giant screen. Chill-out zone.
Selection of shows for all ages. Special team show with fans for the audience.
9:30 am-12:30 pm
Children’s Day (School visits)
Neptune’s Welcome, learning about the regatta, training games and drinking chocolate.
9:45 am
Race shown live (AC Park Giant screen)
10 am
Starting pistol for Race 1 (Regatta Course)
7 pm
Free Concert (AC Park Stage)
Sedajazz (Soul and Jazz)
Tuesday 9 February
10 am-6 pm
AC Park open (America’s Cup Port next to Veles i Vents building)
Food and drink outlets specialising in Swiss, American, Spanish and Valencian items. Official merchandise
outlets. Information points. Giant screen showing the 33rd America’s Cup. Chill-out zone. Programme of children’s activities in the children’s playground. Selection
of shows for all ages.
Wednesday 10 February
SECOND RACE
9 am-8 pm
AC Park open (America’s Cup Port next to Veles i Vents building)
9:45am
Race shown live (AC Park Giant screen)
10 am
Starting pistol for Race 2 (Regatta Course)
7 pm
Free Concert (AC Park Stage)
Zenttric (Spanish/Valencian pop)
Thursday 11 February
10 am-6 pm
AC Park open (America’s Cup Port next to Veles i Vents building)
Friday 12 February
THIRD RACE (if necessary)
9 am-8 pm
AC Park open (America’s Cup Port next to Veles i Vents building)
9:45am
Race shown live (AC Park Giant screen)
10 am
Race 3 (Regatta Course)
7 pm
Free Concert (AC Park Stage)
Polock (Spanish/Valencian pop & rock)
Saturday 13 and Sunday
14 February
10 am-6 pm
AC Park open (America’s Cup Port next to Veles i Vents building)

America's Cup 33 - it all started today with the press conferences.

Both Alinghi and BMWOracle held their Press conferences tonight - Bertorelli and Ellison - It's a head to head! More her soon!

A view at sunset of Marina Juan Carlos 1 in Valencia, setting for the 33rd America's Cup

photo ©2010 Diana Birch/thisisvalencia.com

America's Cup 33 News - Official Timetable and Opening events

33rd America's Cup Official Program
Sunday 7 February from 10 am: Opening Event
Monday 8 February from 10 am: First Race
Wednesday 10 February from 10 am: Second Race
Friday 12 February: Third Race (if required)
14 - 25 February: Reserve days

05 February
Estrella Dam AC 33 Opening Party
doors open 1900h
Tinglado 2, Marina Juan Carlos I. Entry is free
Los Planetas
Nacho Vegas
La Habitiacion Roja

Photos
Alinghi
©2010 George Johns/Alinghi
BMWOracle
©2010 Gilles Martin-Raget

the 33rd America's Cup - Let me try to explain.........

The 33rd America’s Cup match has been delayed so many times, it is hard for the serious players, let alone the spectator to understand the latest reasons. So let me try to explain:

A. Alinghi 5 has sails which were produced on a mould in America, then shipped to Switzerland to be glued together and finished.

B. GGYC says the whole boat, including sails, must be ‘constructed’ in the country of origin, eg Switzerland, and has taken the matter to court.

C. SNG say that, if Alinghi 5’s sails are banned, Alinghi will forfeit the series rather than race and then find they are disqualified.

"We have been clear: If BMW Oracle succeeds in disqualifying the Defender's sails then there will be no Match," Meyer said. "Russell Coutts [BMW Oracle skipper] will have won the America's Cup for Larry Ellison without sailing."

D. Everything else is just ‘smoke and mirrors’. No other legal issues are involved.

So why have BMW Oracle raised the question of sails when they know that American-made sails were used by almost all teams in the 32nd AC event without any complaint or protest. Why has it become such an issue now?

Tom Ehman of GGYC says: ....... the 33rd Match is not a normal regatta. It is not even a normal America’s Cup. It is a “Deed of Gift match” in which the clear wording of the Cup’s ruling document must be adhered to by both teams.

This statement suggests that, in previous Cup events, the use of American sails was a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ between all the teams involved. Given the bad blood that exists between these two teams, it is clear that agreement or compromise is simply not possible at this late stage. It is also nearly certain that the Supreme Court will not rule on this case until after the series has begun.

Unless someone ‘blinks first’, racing will go ahead on February 8th, weather permitting. What happens after the ‘grudge match’ has been settled, and one team has ‘won’ the America’s Cup? It seems quite likely that the whole show will end up back in court. Why?, because the two teams have failed to reach agreement on so many points up to now, it seems very probable that one or the other will find a reason (genuine or spurious, depending upon your viewpoint) to protest the whole event. The fact is, they have to go racing on February 8th just to satisfy the New York Supreme Court that they were acting in accordance with the Court’s ruling; that is: if you are going to race, the race must start no later than 10 months after the Court ruled that you should!

It will still be a thrilling spectacle and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness a true ‘Battle of the Giants’. We will be there on Monday, February 8 (not the12th as previously reported) and we hope to see you there.
Mike O’Neill

America's Cup 33 News - It is going to be broadcast live - and free on the web!

photo©2010 David Inwood
The Société Nautique du Genève (SNG), trustee of the America’s Cup, has delegated the responsibility for organising the media and event activities for the 33rd America’s Cup to Consorcio Valencia 2007. The 33rd America’s Cup promises to be a regatta unlike everything which has been seen so far.

The two fastest boats in history will fight for the America’s Cup over race courses that are up to six times bigger than the ones used in the 32nd America’s Cup. For this reason, the TV coverage of the racing will be key. For the first time in history, the races will be broadcast live and free of charge through www.americascup.com to reach the biggest, widest possible audience, including all the fans who will not be able to be in Valencia to witness live this historic competition

The on-shore action will be concentrated at the Veles e Vents, the landmark building central to Port America’s Cup. A giant screen will be installed for fans and spectators to follow the races live as well as enjoying a host of complementary activities around the Port area. The International media centre with capacity for 150 journalists will be in close proximity to the Veles e Vents.

Jorge Gisbert, General Director of Consorcio Valencia 2007: « We are very grateful to have the event back at Port America’s Cup, in the short term we have available we will do our utmost to set the stage for an unforgettable event here in Valencia. »

To organise this event in a short time Gisbert has surrounded himself with an international team involved in the execution of the 32nd America’s Cup. This team led by Michel Hodara (SUI, 48) consists of seasoned professionals in the field of television, media, public entertainment and hospitality.

Alinghi's Marquee flies on Valencia's High winds!

David Inwood is our man on the spot at the port in the lead up to the 33rd America's Cup here in Valencia. David and his wife are overwintering on their yacht in the Marina Juan Carlos 1 and have already experienced more extreme weather conditions in their few months here than most of us have seen in ten years!
Today was no exception ...
We've had a wild and wonderful morning in winds gusting up to 59kts. Apart from minor damage to boats around us, the main event was seeing the new Alinghi marquee at the end of the marina blown to smithereerns!

read Mike O'Neill's excellent columns on the recent events leading up to this latest America's Cup

IS FEBRUARY GOOD FOR YOU?

Is February good for you? I sincerely hope so because I want as many of you as possible to get down to the America’s Cup port and cheer on BMW Oracle as they (hopefully) kick the stuffing out of Ernesto Bertarelli and his Team Alinghi.

Bertarelli who, five years ago showed vision and determination by selecting Valencia as the first European venue for an America’s Cup series in 2007and who went on to win the Cup for a second time. Bertarelli who, in his misplaced arrogance, dictated new terms for the next Cup series that many teams found unacceptable, leading to a series of court cases that have dragged on for two and a half years.

The event was scheduled to start on February 8th but has now been put back to Feb 12th to give both teams the chance to get their craft here (Alinghi from Ras Al Khaimah in the Arabian Gulf, BMW Oracle from San Diego,USA) and ‘up to speed’.

At this point, the main focus should be on how to stage the event in such a way as to create a new sense of excitement for the America’s Cup, a trophy which has been the subject of controversy ever since it was first awarded in 1851.

The two contending giant multihulls built for this one-off series are capable of speeds in excess of 80kph (50mph). Anyone who wants to view the event from the water will either need a very fast boat or some extremely powerful binoculars. Even then, things will happen so fast (by yachting standards, at least) that spectators will be left wondering what happened. The best bet may well be to watch the event on television. Even assuming this is an option, much of the excitement of the live action will still be lost.

A possible solution would be to mount television cameras in the tethered balloon, a feature of the 32nd Cup series, but with a racecourse 10 miles long and at least one mile from shore, the camera will need to be especially good. A better solution would be to use an airship, capable of following the action without the turbulence caused by helicopters (although these will certainly be in evidence).

On land, the America’s Cup port houses a giant screen, allowing visitors to get the atmosphere of the event. This needs to be able to accommodate a larger audience than before, since it should be the prime area for visitors keen to get a good ‘feel’ for what is going on at sea. The port might also consider building viewing platforms so that members of the public can get a closer look at these two monstrous craft as they prepare to do battle.

The spectator event itself should be organzised by Jorge Martinez Aspar of Valmor Sports as, heaven knows, he probably needs the cash after the poor turnout at Formula One Valencia. With one proviso, it must be affordable. No-one is going to pay huge sums of money for what could turn out to be a one-sided match. But they willl turn up if the price is right and they are promised the chance to hiss and boo Mr Bertarelli as he hands over the America’s Cup to the winners.

Mike O’Neill
21 Dec 2009
NB This article does not necessarily reflect the views of thisisvalencia.com or its management.