America's Cup

With the agrement of Groupama, Franck Cammas, the skipper of Groupama 2, has been enlisted by the BMW ORACLE Racing team as consultant for the bulk of the America's Cup campaign in multihulls. Among the pit members enlisted this week in Lorient are Russell Coutts (NZL), John Kostecki (USA) and James Spithill (AUS). Moreover, some familiar members of Franck Cammas' crew will complete the crew, such as Thierry Fouchier (FRA) and Bruno Laurent (FRA). During the second week of training, the team will race against another 60 foot multihull and thus amass experience on these high performance multihulls.

America's Cup

Two new teams have challenged for the next America's Cup, whose scheduled running in 2009 is mired by so much uncertainty.

They are the familiar 'Latin Rascals', the Mascalzone Latino team owned by Naples shipping operator Vincenzo Onorato who participated in Auckland 2003 and Valencia 2007, and a new entity from Spain, the Real Club Nautico de Denia.

Denia are part of the Valencian Communitat, who together with the Spanish government agreed a 75 million GBP hosting-rights deal with Swiss Cup holder Ernesto Bertarelli.

Onorato's entry is the more interesting one. At the start of the summer he was an active supporter of the legal action in the New York Supreme Court, brought by Larry Ellison's Golden Gate YC over the validity of another Valencian yacht club, the CNEV, with whom Bertarelli had created a skewed set of rules for the next Cup.

Yet last Thursday Mascalzone Latino conspicuously did not join three other teams - Britain's Origin, Team New Zealand and South Africa's Shosholoza - whose challenges were already accepted by the Swiss in signing the compromise settlement offered by the Americans, only to be rejected by Bertarelli.

33rd AC in Valencia?

As a consequence of the uncertainty and the delays arising from the Golden Gate Yacht Club Law suit in New York, AC Management (ACM) is concerned that the feasibility of organising the next America's Cup in Valencia in 2009 has been effectively compromised. ACM will in the coming days engage in consultations with the Defender, the Challenger of Record, the Competitors and the Spanish Authorities on this specific matter. ACM is considering all options, including the possibility of postponing the event to a later date. In the meantime, ACM understands that SNG continues to try to find a resolution of the dispute pending with Golden Gate Yacht Club in New York.

America's Cup

With the United Internet AG continuing its commitment in sport sponsoring and the gain of new partners like Audi AG and Porsche Consulting, the whole concept of the campaign is now resting on many pillars. AUDI AG is supporting the rearranged United Internet Team Germany campaign and is therefore enlarging its sportive engagement in the sailing sport. The participation of the premium manufacturer can be noticed at first sight because of the four rings, which will be exclusively printed on the spinnaker and, together with the brand name 1&1, on the main sail. Porsche Consulting takes over the yacht construction and provides coordinator of Technique The Porsche Consulting GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Porsche AG, will be responsible for the concentration of all technological competence. Porsche Consulting is now handed over all responsibilities for the developing process of the boat and the coordination of all involved companies - ranging from designers over contractors to boat builders. The German team was able to purchase 'SUI 91', one of the most recent yachts of Cup winner Alinghi. In the next weeks SUI 91 will change sites from the Swiss to the German base in Valencia. The German team is one of the first challengers to start training for the 33rd America's Cup.

Valencia it Will Be

Just 22 days after the magnificent outcome of the 32nd America's Cup, with Alinghi's victory in Valencia, the Swiss Defender led by Ernesto Bertarelli, together with the Société Nautique de Genève and ACM, have made public most of the details for the 33rd edition of the oldest trophy in the world of sport. Following a new agreement with the Spanish state, the Valencia Regional Government and the Valencia Municipality, the Host City for the 33rd America's Cup will be Valencia. The event will take place in 2009, between May and July, with two pre-regattas to be held in 2008. One of them will be in Valencia in July and the other one in another European country in the autumn. They will be raced on the existing America´s Cup Class (Version 5) boats. Challenges for the 33rd America's Cup have been accepted from four yacht clubs to date, the first one being the Spanish Challenger of Record, Club Náutico Español de Vela, represented by Desafío Español. This was followed last week by another veteran from the 32nd campaign, the South African Team Shosholoza, representing the Royal Cape Yacht Club, and early this week by the British newcomer TEAMORIGIN, flying the flag of the Royal Thames Yacht Club. Today, the latest challenger to be accepted is the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and Team New Zealand. It was also announced that the Class Rule, the technical definition of the boats for the 33rd America's Cup, will be published on October 31st. The Competition Rules, with the precise format of the different racing phases, and the Event Regulations will also be published on October 31st.

Rita Barberá, Mayoress of Valencia, said: "As the President of the Consortium that has worked with ACM to make the 32nd America's Cup the best ever, I would like to invite Larry Ellison and his team to withdraw his legal action and come back to Valencia and join us. We would welcome him with open arms to join all the other challengers in the 33rd America's Cup."

America's Cup News

Russell Coutts was appointed yesterday (Tuesday 24 July) by Larry Ellison to be CEO and skipper of the BMW Oracle Racing team for the next America's Cup. Coutts, who parted from Alinghi with animosity, will be delighted to race his old team. "We will build on what this team had last time to produce a winner," he predicted.

But where and when that will take place is something of a mystery as Ellison's club, the Golden Gate YC of San Francisco, has an outstanding court action against the Cup's holder, the Societe Nautique de Geneve that questions the validity of a challenge lodged by a Spanish club. GGYC holds that the Spanish club that the Swiss has appointed as Challenger of Record is improperly constituted and does not meet the requirements of the Deed of Gift, the 1887 trust document under which the America's Cup is raced. In addition, it objects to the draconian Protocol that the Swiss has imposed in which it can dismiss any challenger at any time without reason or warning.

We Have a Challenger

Another immaculate start from James Spithill in todays race, that started after a short delay due to lack of wind. From the dialup in the pre-start, Dean Barker bear away but Spithill managed to get a better position off the committee boat in the windward position of the line. The boats remained close for most of the time of the upwind leg, when eventually both went outside the layline. But it was the ETNZ boat that passed the weathermark 20 seconds ahead, the same delta that retained in the second mark and again in the third. In the final leg the Italians tried to fight back, reducing the difference to just 30 meters, but Barker was cool enough to cross the line first, with a 22 seconds delta. For the first time the Newzealnders looked happy and cheered each other. Prada Luna Rossa challenge did an excellent match and a great appearance throughout the Louis Vuitton Cup.

Team New Zealand Wins 4th Match

The Italian challenger began the day down 3-0 to Emirates Team New Zealand in the Louis Vuitton Cup Final and couldn’t afford another loss. But, the Emirates Team New Zealand squad won its fourth consecutive race of the Louis Vuitton Cup Final and now sits one win away from a trip to the America’s Cup Match. The Kiwis trailed early in Tuesday’s race, but soon recovered to lead at every turning mark of the race course. Luna Rossa Challenge won the first cross in today’s race after the teams took opposite sides of the starting line and split early on the first leg. The Italians were on the right hand side and made a nice gain in the first few minutes after the starting gun. When the boats converged for the first cross, Luna Rossa skipper Francesco de Angelis tacked on Kiwi Dean Barker with nearly 100 metres on the bow to bow advantage line. After NZL 92 tacked back out to the left, each team tacked again, setting up a second cross. The Kiwis had clearly made a gain and Italian tactician Torben Grael called for an early tack to leeward of the New Zealand boat. Within minutes, the Emirates squad had lifted inside ITA 94 and regained the advantage line. The Kiwis sailed the Italians out past the starboard tack layline, consolidating their lead, and rounded the first mark 19 seconds ahead. From their, Emirates Team New Zealand was never threatened, and the Kiwis won the race by 52 seconds.

ETNZ-Luna Rossa 3-0

3-0 is now the score of the third match between Emirates Team New Zealand and Prada Luna Rossa Challenge. The key moment of the match took place in the last minute before the start. This was a great job from James Spithill, who used the starboard entry to control Dean Barker in a long dial up on port tack in 10 knots of sea breeze. Spithill matched every change in Emirates Team New Zealand pushing the situation to its limit until the last minute before the gun. Then, Luna Rossa built speed to come back below the starting line at the moment as Dean Barker engineered his escape by tacking onto starboard. While Luna Rossa had the advantage, should tack in front ETNZ, but the Italians preferred to continue to the left. But the NZ boat had better speed and more pressure on their sails so soon after the start passed the Italian boat, pushing them out of the left layline. The Italians perfermed a perfect gybe set after the first weather mark and chose not to follow the track of the Newzealand boat. The delta kept on increasing and finally ETNZ finished 1:38 ahead. Apart from that, there are also two points I have to make: Fisrt, the ETNZ boat speed may be comming from the very different mainsail trim - traveller positioned upwind, the sheet fully trimmed and the halyard loose. Second, after taking down the spinakker, the ETNZ was approaching the mark with the Genoa trimmed in, while the Italian boat had the Genoa trimmed for downwind. Thus needing more time to take in and point closer to the weather mark.

ETNZ-Luna Rossa: 2-0

It was a beautiful day for racing on the waters off Valencia, with bright sunshine and warm Mediterranean temperatures generating a 12 to 14 knot sea breeze. A spectator fleet of over 250 boats lined the borders of the race area to enjoy the spectacle of two top America's Cup teams battling for supremacy.

Having conceded the right-hand side of the start line yesterday, James Spithill took some risk in getting across the bow of Emirates Team New Zealand while Luna Rossa was on port tack. Despite a Y-flag protest by the Kiwis, the Umpires green-flagged the situation and the Italian gamble had paid off; Spithill was now controlling the right-hand side of the start box.

As the start gun fired however, it was the New Zealand boat that was fully up to speed, with the Italians close to windward but forced into an early tack to the right. That extra momentum off the start gave Dean Barker an early boatlength's advantage, which he used to tack over and shadow Spithill's progress to the right.

Like yesterday, the boats looked absolutely matched for speed in these moderate, steady breezes, which made that early advantage to the Kiwis all the more crucial. When the Italians eventually tacked back to face the enemy, the New Zealanders were able to respond to every assault and put added distance on their rivals as a tacking duel ensued.

The Emirates Team New Zealand squad sailed what appeared to be a perfect race on Saturday, winning the start, taking an early advantage and extending the rest of the way to a convincing victory. The Kiwi team is now up 2-0 in the 'first to five' Final of the Louis Vuitton Cup.

ETNZ Win 1st Final Match

In their first match for the finals of the Louis Vuitton Cup that started today, Friday 1^st of June, Emirates Team New Zealand took its first win over Prada Luna Rossa. Both boats started immaculately but in the first weathermark, ETNZ had an 11 seconds lead. In the next weathermark pass the difference was just 2 seconds, leaving Luna Rossa second with a final delta of 8 seconds. Emirates Team New Zealand won an incredibly close match over Luna Rossa Challenge on Friday to take a 1-0 lead in the Final of the Louis Vuitton Cup. The Kiwis never led by more than 12-seconds around the race course. Most observers were expecting some close racing in this contest and the two finalists didn’t disappoint. The final run to the finish saw Luna Rossa make a small gain on the left hand side of the race course. With the boats just a few hundreds metres from the finishing line, ITA 94 helmsman James Spithill threw in a final gybe that put his team charging at the line. But Kiwi squad held its nerve, executing a precision gybe just moments before crossing the line, with Luna Rossa nearly overlapped behind them. Emirates Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker and his team draw first blood, leading the series 1-0. Conditions were ideal for racing, with a Southeasterly sea breeze of between 10 and 14 knots. Racing was postponed for a short time to allow the Race Committee to re-set the starting line after a 10 degree wind shift. An enormous spectator fleet was on hand to enjoy the close racing.

Ready for Battle!

The Final of the Louis Vuitton Cup begins on Friday, with Emirates Team New Zealand pitched against Italy's Luna Rossa Challenge. The winner of the 'first to five' Final will win the Louis Vuitton Cup and advance to the America's Cup Match against Alinghi. On Thursday, the teams had a final day of preparation and afterguard members Terry Hutchinson (ETNZ) and Andy Horton (Luna Rossa Challenge) met the media at the opening press conference. Luna Rossa Challenge won the coin toss, and will start Friday's race as the 'yellow' boat with starboard tack entry to the start box. The teams will alternate starboard entry each successive race. Both teams will compete with the same boats they used in the Semi Finals. Luna Rossa Challenge will race ITA 94, and Emirates Team New Zealand will sail NZL 92. The teams are expecting close racing. The weather forecast is calling for sea breeze condition over the next few days, with winds from nine to 14 knots. Racing is scheduled to start at 15:00, with the first warning signal at 14:50.

Next Day in Oracle

CEO and skipper Chris Dickson has resigned from the BMW ORACLE Racing team four days after his team fell to Luna Rossa in the Semi Finals of the Louis Vuitton Cup. The resignation is effective immediately. Team owner Larry Ellison has announced his intention to participate in the 33rd America’s Cup. The question is now who is going to lead Oracle's next campaign: Gavin Brady or Russell Coutts?

The Semi Finals of the Louis Vuitton Cup were a study in contrasts. The calm, cool, conservative New Zealanders were stretched in dispatching a stubbornly effective Spanish team. Meanwhile, the fiery Luna Rossa Challenge, on the basis of start-line terror James Spithill’s pre-starts and tactician Torben Grael’s bold calls, easily eliminated BMW ORACLE Racing. Now these two – the Kiwis and the Italians – will meet in the ‘first to five’ Final.

Team New Zealand to the Final

Emirates Team New Zealand has qualified for the Final of the Louis Vuitton Cup. The Kiwis defeated Desafío Español 2007 on Wednesday afternoon to win their Semi Final series 5-2. The Emirates squad will face Luna Rossa Challenge in the Final beginning on 1 June. Today's race took place in the most testing conditions seen to date at the Louis Vuitton Cup. Winds approaching 20 knots whipped up a swell of just over one metre, and the short, sharp waves tested both man and machine. Emirates Team New Zealand led Desafío Español over the starting line and extended the rest of the way around the race course to claim the win and finish the series. Desafío Español played a typically aggressive game in the pre-start against Emirates Team New Zealand, even in the big waves that were rolling across the course. However, Dean Barker got into a controlling position and forced Karol Jablonski out beyond the right-hand end of the start box. Eventually Barker tacked back towards the Race Committee boat and aimed for the line. NZL 92 crossed 17 seconds late but this didn't matter because ESP 97 crossed more than 10 seconds later, directly in the wake of the Kiwis. There was a moment of worry for New Zealand fans when the foredeck crew failed to get the spinnaker pole attached before bearing away at the top mark, and one crewman was washed back down the boat and sustained an injury to his hand. However, the Kiwis rounded 38 seconds ahead and took out chunks of distance downwind. The New Zealand crew were pumping the mainsail aggressively on the waves, surfing at every possible moment and rounding 50 seconds ahead at the leeward gate. The breeze dropped to 14 knots up the final windward leg but the Kiwis continued to pull away, leading by just over a minute at the top mark and going on to win by 1 minute 18 seconds.

ETNZ-Desafio Match Postponed

Strong Northeasterly winds on the waters off Valencia have forced the Race Committee to postpone racing for the day. The wind has been between 20 and 25 knots all day, and the Race Committee considered the sea state off Port America's Cup (with waves up to two meters) such that it could cause damage to the racing yachts. Racing is scheduled to resume on Wednesday, when Emirates Team New Zealand will try to finish off its Semi Final series against Desafío Español 2007. The score is currently 4-2 in favor of the Kiwis, who need one more win to advance. Desafío Español must win the next three races if the Spanish are to upset the top challenger and advance to the Final of the Louis Vuitton Cup. The forecast for Wednesday is for more moderate Northeasterly winds, although sea state could remain an issue. Luna Rossa Challenge is waiting to meet the winner. The Italian challenger won its Semi Final series over BMW ORACLE Racing 5-1, earning its fifth and final win on Sunday afternoon. The Final of the Louis Vuitton Cup will begin on 1 June.

Good Bye to BMW-Oracle

BMW ORACLE Racing and Desafio Espanol faced 'must win' races on Sunday at the Louis Vuitton Cup. The Spanish won and live to race another day. The Americans lost and have been eliminated from the Louis Vuitton Cup.

The American team took to the water with a new skipper in Gavin Brady and new helmsman in Sten Mohr as previous skipper/helmsman Chris Dickson stepped off the boat. But it didn't change the result - Luna Rossa Challenge led around the race track again, sealing the series win.

The Spanish, in contrast, made no crew changes, apart from regular crew rotations. Helmsman Karol Jablonski started the boat to the right of the NZL 92 and eked forward by just a few metres with a tiny right shift. They managed to lead into the top mark by just 12 seconds and protected that tiny margin the rest of the way around the track.

Racing started in a building 10 knot Northeasterly breeze. By the top mark, the wind had increased, topping out near 15 knots. An enormous spectator fleet, numbering in the hundreds took in the action, supporting the home side, Desaf?o Espa?ol, who earned a terrific victory.

Racing will resume at the Louis Vuitton Cup on Tuesday, with Emirates Team New Zealand against Desafio Espanol 2007.

No Surprise

Luna Rossa Challenge has jumped out to a 3-1 series lead over BMW ORACLE Racing at the Louis Vuitton Cup. In these Semi Finals, the first team to win five races advances to the Final, and following today’s victory, the Italian team is one step closer to its goal.

Luna Rossa Challenge led all the way around the race track, after starting to the left of the American team. After one lap of the course ITA 94 was ahead by just 12-seconds, but helmsman James Spithill and his crew extended that lead to nearly half a minute at the second windward mark and held on to win by 24-seconds.

In the other pairing, Emirates Team New Zealand started ahead of Desafío Español 2007 and extended the rest of the way around the race track. The Spanish made up five-seconds on the final run, but it wasn’t enough; the Kiwis won by 42-seconds. The Emirates team has a 3-1 series lead.

An enormous spectator fleet enjoyed a sunny Friday afternoon with good sea breeze conditions for racing.

Outsiders?

Desafío Español 2007, thw Spanish local team, beat Emirates Team New Zealand today, Wednesday 16 May, for the first time in 10 tries at the 32nd America’s Cup. The Spanish team needed the victory – the result closes up the score in their best of nine Semi Final match to 2-1 with the Kiwis leading. It was a convincing win, as helmsman Karol Jablonski put a penalty on the Emirates squad in the pre-start, before leading the Kiwi boat around the track, extending away on the second lap of the course for a tremendous win.

In the other match, Luna Rossa Challenge led of the starting line and sailed a tactically conservative match to beat BMW ORACLE Racing. The Italians led for the entire contest. Dickson tried to shorten the gap by sailing by the laylines but it was the Italians that finished first.

BMW - Oracle Fights Back

BMW ORACLE Racing earned one of the great comebacks in America’s Cup lore, beating Luna Rossa Challenge after trailing by as much as 58 seconds at the first windward mark. The American team was 14 seconds behind at the beginning of the final run, but made a great pass down the left hand side of the race course, streaking past what appeared to be a slower Italian boat.

In the other pairing, Emirates Team New Zealand won the start off Desafío Español 2007 and extended away on the first upwind leg. The Spanish slowly gained the rest of the way, but never threatened the Kiwi lead.

There were ideal sea breeze conditions on the waters off Valencia on Tuesday, with Easterly winds from 10 to 14 knots. A large spectator fleet enjoyed the action on a sunny afternoon.

New Zealand vs Desafio Espanol

Skipper Dean Barker, representing the Round Robin leading Emirates Team New Zealand, has elected to race against Desafío Español 2007 in the Semi Finals of the Louis Vuitton Cup. That means BMW ORACLE Racing will face Luna Rossa Challenge in the other pairing.

"It's always tough when you have the opportunity to choose," said Kiwi skipper Dean Barker, commenting on the difficulty of choosing an opponent. As the top-ranked team after Round Robin Two, Emirates earned the right to select who they would face. "We looked at the different teams. We've had good racing with the Spanish, they're a fast team, sailing well and we're looking forward to racing them in the Semi Finals."

"We just had over 20 days of very tight and close racing against teams that didn't even make it to the stage here tonight," BMW ORACLE Racing skipper Chris Dickson said, assessing the challenge ahead. "The challenger group as a whole is very strong. We're all stronger today than we were three weeks ago at the beginning of Round Robin One. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and we're all stronger today."