Alinghi's new catamaran, Alinghi 5, is masted

The 33rd America's Cup is getting closer. Less than 48 hours after she was airlifted from the boatyard to her new temporary base on the banks of Lake Geneva, Alinghi 5 was masted on Friday afternoon.

Alinghi 5 is masted. Le Bouveret, 10 July 2009. Photo copyright Alinghi

Golden Gate Yacht Club replies to SNG letter

Related PDF files

- GGYC replies to SNG letter, 8 July 2009

July 8, 2009

Mr Fred Meyer
Vice-Commodore
Chairman, SNG's America's Cup Committee
Société Nautique de Genève
Port Noir
CH-1223 Cologny
SWITZERLAND

Dear Vice-Commodore Meyer,

We write in response to your letter of July 6, 2009

Let us again reiterate, the Deed and the Order and Judgement are clear that you may not select a Northern Hemisphere venue, other than Valencia, without our mutual consent. Justice Kornreich's May 14th order contains nothing that even suggests, let alone "stated", otherwise. To the contrary, Justice Kornreich ordered "SNG to hold the race as per the order of the Court of Appeals and Justice Cahn in February as the order required."

As further proof that our reading of the Deed and the Judgement and order is correct, you agreed with it when light and truth were original to you. In your May 11, 2009, court papers you agreed that "the Deed of Gift unambiguously prohibits sailing a match between November 1 and May 1 in the Northern Hemisphere... There is nothing in the order that suggests that a race should be held in contravention of the terms of the the Deed of Gift."

What is more, during the May 14th hearing when your attorney attempted an about face by asserting that SNG has the right to select a Northern Hemisphere venue other than Valencia without our consent, Justice Kornreich stated that "that's not what the Court of Appeals said".

Your letter also again fails to respond to the inescapable conclusion that the Deed and the Order and Judgement my be read harmoniously, giving force and effect to the terms of each, requiring a February race in Valencia or any other Southern Hemisphere location selected by SNG, unless otherwise consented to by GGYC. There is therefore no basis to conclude that the phrase "any other location" in the Order and Judgement intended to alter the Deed of Gift's Northern Hemisphere restriction; just as there is no basis to conclude that this phrase intended to alter the Deed's requirement to select a location free of headlands or a location that has an ocean water course.

You also misconstrue Justice Kornreich's order and the Deed when you assert that they require GGYC's Custom House Registry to "conform exactly" to GGYC's challenge certificate. To the contrary, the Deed is unambiguous that the dimensions provided on a challenge certificate "shall no be exceeded". Justice Kornreich's order is entirely consist with the Deed and the Order and Judgement; and you are simply wrong in your repeated assertions that Justice Kornreich's order in any way contravened the terms of the Deed or the mandate of the Court of Appeals.

Sincerely,

GOLDEN GATE YACHT CLUB

Marcus Young
Commodore

cc: Ernesto Bertarelli, Team Ainghi
Brad Butterworth, Team Ainghi
Russell Coutts, BMW Oracle Racing
Tom Ehman, BMW Oracle Racing
Larry Ellison, BMW Oracle Racing

Dean Barker wins the Malcesine RC 44 Cup match race ahead of Ray Davies

[Source: RC44] Emirates Team New Zealand’s helmsman Dean Barker (Artemis) and his AC tactician Ray Davies (No Way Back) finish the event on a tie, with five victories and no loss for both. The rules make Barker the winner ahead of Davies. Sébastien Col finishes third on board Ceeref.

With no less than eight flights to complete today, the Race Committee had no time to loose and took the wise decision to schedule the first start at 8:30 AM. The early morning breeze was blowing beautifully (15-18, knots), the sun was shining and the light was absolutely superb, allowing three flights to be completed before the breeze died conveniently at lunch time. The southerly Ora started blowing one hour later, allowing one more flight to be sailed before a thunderstorm put an end to the thermal breeze. The Malcesine Cup match race had to be concluded after seven flights, despite numerous attempts by the Race Committee to launch more races.

On great form, Pieter Heerema and Ray Davies (Team No Way Back) started their day by putting a lot of pressure on Cameron Appleton (Team Aqua) during their pre-start, pushing Aqua out of the line prematurely. The team from the UAE fought hard to come back, but to no avail. No Way Back then easily won their next match against Frank Pong’s Team Jelik, rejoining Artemis on top of the leader board with five victories each and no defeats. The two teams unfortunately didn’t have the opportunity to sail against each other and therefore finish the event on a tie.

Highlights from the second day of the RC44 Macelsine Cup. Malcesine, 9 July 2009. Video copyright RC 44 Class Association

Ray Davies and Dean Barker obviously know each other well. Barker is Emirates Team New-Zealand’s helmsman and Davies is his tactician. The two buddies spend most of the year sailing together; they both consider that it is “a great opportunity” for them to compete against each other on this occasion.

Sébastien Col and Ceeref complete the podium with five victories and one loss against Artemis – hence making the latter the winner of the event. Ceeref sailed one of the closest matches of the week against Team Islas Canarias Puerto Calero in the sixth flight. The Spaniards got a penalty in the prestart whilst Ceeref crossed the line prematurely and spent half the race catching up. The match ended up in a breathtaking run, with the Spaniards crossing the arrival line in Ceeref’s wake after completing their penalty. Probably an appropriate revenge after the point they scored yesterday against Aqua, by one second!

If they hadn’t lost this point, Aqua would have finished the event with five points too, illustrating how tough it is at the top of the leader board. But there are no “ifs” in match racing and Aqua finishes the event in fourth.

The day saw some great matches, including a nice regatta between Frank Pong (Team Jelik) and Team Sea Dubai. The new team from Hong Kong finally lost the race but proved that it has the capacity to fight against the best.

Also interesting to follow, the match between Team Sea Dubai and BMW ORACLE Racing, with Markus Wieser managing to control its (tough) opponent throughout the regatta and win an important point.

Karol Jablonski, on Organika, wasn’t on great form at the beginning of the day, receiving no less than four penalties (including a red flag) during his match against Team Aqua.

The results of the Series clearly show that the level is getting better and better and that more boats are able to win races. Indeed, six out of ten teams are separated by two points after seven flights.

Dean Barker wins the match race event. Malcesine, 9 July 2009. Photo copyright Loris von Siebenthal / RC 44 Class Association

They said:

Ray Davies, helmsman, No Way Back: “It would obviously had been nice to sail against Dean, but we are very happy with our sailing and our result. Dean and I speak a lot between the races and we give each other some bad time. It is very helpful for me to be steering because usually I am the tactician and it is good to be reminded what sort of information the helmsman likes to be told. With Team No Way Back we worked very hard and came to Malcesine three days before the regatta in order to train. The team has clearly improved a lot. Now everyone focuses on their job. We are also all more confident with our time & distance.”

Karol Jablonski, helmsman, Organika: “We had two tough matches today and it didn’t play the way we would have wanted. The level is clearly increasing a lot and there are more and more difficult teams in the Class. You can loose a race by one second and look bad on the ranking even if you had great matches.”

José-Maria Ponce, Islas Canarias Puerto Calero: “We are definitely closer to the top than we were in the past. The crew is getting the philosophy of the match race and it makes my life easier. We can now fight against any team with a good chance to beat them. We are sometimes still too intense and we need to remain calm in intense situations and concentrate on the alternatives.”

Cameron Appleton, helmsman, Team Aqua: “We sailed well but it is sometimes a game of inches. We committed some little mistakes that cost us two points. The field is definitely growing stronger and you can loose against anyone. I guess there might be a different winner at every regatta in the future. Consistency is our target.”

Frank Pong, a beginner in match racing and the RC44 class. Malcesine, 9 July 2009. Photo copyright Loris von Siebenthal / RC 44 Class Association

Match-race, final results after 7 flights:

(Name of team, helmsman, No of victories / defeats, points)

1) Artemis, Dean Barker, 5/0, 5 points
2) No Way Back, Ray Davies, 5/0, 5 points
3) Ceeref, Sébastien Col, 5/1, 5 points
4) Team Aqua, Cameron Appleton 4/2, 4 points
5) Team Sea Dubai, Markus Wieser, 3/3, 3 points
6) Team Organika, Karol Jablonski 3/3 – 1 penalty, 2 points
7) BMW ORACLE Racing, Larry Ellison, 2/4, 2 points
8) Puerto Calero Islas Canarias, José Maria Ponce, 2/4, 2 points
9) Team Jelik, Frank Pong, 0/5, 0 point
10) Team Austria, Christian Binder, 0/6, 0 point

BlackMatch reach career best in latest ISAF World Ranking

Hi all from BlackMatch,

Despite a slight hiccup in our 2009 campaign last week in Sweden, the latest ISAF rankings have seen BlackMatch Skipper Adam Minoprio reach a career best number 3 in the world. The latest World Ranking is great news for BlackMatch Racing, as it is not only our goal to win the World Match Racing Tour, but also to be the World Number 1 ISAF ranked team, by the end of 2009.

Although we have surrended our top position on the World Match Racing Tour to the world number 1 Mathieu Richard, we are still well in contention lying in 2nd place and will be looking to regain the top spot at the St Moritz event in 6 weeks time.

This is the debut for Adam Minoprio in the RC44 class. Malcesine, 8 July 2009. Photo copyright Nico Martinez

Our next regatta is in 3 weeks and is the grade 1 International De France, held in Brittany. We finished 5th here last year and are definitely vying for a top placing here this year in the J-80 boats.

Match racing - Open - Wednesday 8 July 2009

1 RICHARD Mathieu (FRA)
2 WILLIAMS Ian (GBR)
3 MINOPRIO Adam (NZL)
4 MIRSKY Torvar (AUS)
5 COL Sébastien (FRA)
6 IEHL Damien (FRA)
7 GILMOUR Peter (AUS)
8 PRESTI Philippe (FRA)
9 CIAN Paolo (ITA)
10 BERNTSSON Johnie (SWE)

First sea trials of the newly modified BOR 90

[Source: BMW Oracle] BMW ORACLE Racing today started sea trials of their 90-foot by 90-foot high-tech racing machine in the waters off Point Loma in San Diego.

Helmsman James Spithill (AUS) guided the newly modified BOR 90 trimaran off the dock at 11:30am sharp local time. The 16-story mast was installed on Monday and on Tuesday the team conducted a series of engineering tests to ensure the boat was ready to take to the water for the next phase of sea trials.

The team will ease into this next round of testing as structural and other tests continue on the water. “As we gain more confidence with the boat, we'll certainly be out there pushing it and seeing what we can get out of it," Spithill said.

“It's breaking new ground," says the team’s 30-year-old helmsman. "This has never been done before, so it's an incredible opportunity for the sailors on both teams, and all the people involved; designers, builders. These boats have the most amazing power-to-weight ratio. There's nothing else that's ever been done on this sort of scale."

BMW ORACLE Racing is the Challenger for the 33rd America’s Cup. The team will meet the Swiss Defender Alinghi in a best two-of-three head-to-head duel starting February 8. The venue for the competition will be named by the Defender by August 8.

First sea trials of the newly modified BOR 90 trimaran. San Diego, 8 July 2009. Photo copyright Gilles Martin-Raget / BMW Oracle

First sea trials of the newly modified BOR 90 trimaran. San Diego, 8 July 2009. Photo copyright Gilles Martin-Raget / BMW Oracle

First sea trials of the newly modified BOR 90 trimaran. San Diego, 8 July 2009. Photo copyright Gilles Martin-Raget / BMW Oracle

First sea trials of the newly modified BOR 90 trimaran. San Diego, 8 July 2009. Photo copyright Gilles Martin-Raget / BMW Oracle

Dean Barker takes an early lead on day one of the Malcesine RC 44 Cup

[Source: RC44] At the helm of Artemis, the kiwi sailor is unbeaten after three matches. The Swedish boat leads the Series ahead of No Way Back, Ceeref, Organika, Team Aqua and Puerto Calero.

Can anyone stop Dean Barker in Malcesine? The kiwi sailor is unbeaten after three matches sailed against Sébastien Col, Karol Jablonski and Larry Ellison. Four flights got completed today and eight more remain to be sailed tomorrow; needless to say that there’s still a long way to go.

The Series got underway just after lunch, once the Ora (the local thermal breeze) had established itself with enough stability to allow fair matches. There was no time for warming up, or observing the opposition. Dean Barker and Artemis’s first race was scheduled against Sébastien Col’s Ceeref: a strong match. Col was just back from the Grade one match race event in Marstrand, and obviously didn’t lack practice! But nor did Artemis. The team had a good pre-race briefing with their coach Rod Davis and they arrived on the course fully prepared for what was to come. Barker dominated the pre-start, took the best start, controlled the race and won a first point, soon followed by two more.

Highlights from the opening day of the RC44 Macelsine Cup. Malcesine, 8 July 2009. Video copyright RC 44 Class Association

Sébastien Col got his revenge in the next match, against the tandem Ellison / Coutts. BMW Oracle Racing wasn’t at its best today, winning a single match against Team Austria but loosing two other important points against Artemis and Organika. This last match, sailed in the fourth flight of the day, took place in a dying and very shifty breeze. Organika managed to take the best start but lost the lead at the windward mark before regaining it during the second beat.

Many other great matches took place today, including a fantastic dual between Team Puerto Calero Islas Canarias and Team Aqua. The two teams remained very close throughout the race, and crossed the arrival line separated by one second!

It was also a very special day for Frank Pong and his team on board Jelik, who were sailing for the first time in the RC 44 Championship Tour. There is obviously a lot of work to do for this new team; tomorrow will provide a good opportunity with no less than eight flights on the menu. The racing will start at 8:30 AM, hopefully with the same strong northerly breeze as in the past days.

Dean Barker is unbeaten at the end of the opening day. Malcesine, 8 July 2009. Photo copyright Loris von Siebenthal / RC 44 Class Association

They said:

Dean Barker, helmsman, Artemis: “This was a good day for us and we had three good matches. We knew that the first match against Ceeref would be a tough one but we were ready for it. I am pleased with our day but I am also happy to see that Ray Davies (helmsman onboard No Way Back) is doing very well. We work hard together and it is a great opportunity for us to sail against each other in this Class. It definitely helps us a lot and will be an asset for our America’s Cup sailing.”

Frank Pong, owner and helmsman, Jelik: “This was my first regatta on an RC 44 and only the third match race in my life, so it is clear that I have a lot to learn. I am still in the “doing” stage of my sailing page, so I want to steer the boat. I would recommend to any owner to do the same. It is very intimidating at first but it is great.”

Markus Wieser, helmsman, Team Sea Dubai: “I did a big mistake in our first match against No Way Back and I regret it: we should have one more point tonight! I am not strong enough in the pre-starts, and this is definitely an area that I need to improve. Then once we are ahead we should definitely manage to stay ahead, but it wasn’t the case against the Dutch. Other than this our crew work was excellent and we have a good margin to improve.”

This is the debut of Frank Pong and Adam Minoprio in the RC44 class. Malcesine, 8 July 2009. Photo copyright Nico Martinez

Match-race, provisional results after 4 flights:
(Name of team, helmsman, No of victories / defeats, points)

1) Artemis, Dean Barker, 3/0, 3 points
2) No Way Back, Ray Davies, 2/1, 2 points
2) Team Aqua, Cameron Appleton 2/1, 2 points
2) Team Organika, Karol Jablonski 2/1, 2 points
2) Ceeref, Sébastien Col, 2/1, 2 points
2) Puerto Calero Islas Canarias, José Maria Ponce, 2/2, 2 points
7) Team Sea Dubai, Markus Wieser, 1/2, 1 point
7) BMW ORACLE Racing, Larry Ellison, 1/3, 1 point
9) Team Jelik, Frank Pong, 0/2, 0 point
9) Team Austria, Christian Binder, 0/3, 0 point

Video: Launch of Alinghi 5

Here is the long version of the official Alinghi footage from today's launch of Alinghi 5, the catamaran Alinghi will race in order to defend its America's Cup title. It is really worth watching, especially the footage from the construction of the yacht.

Launch of Alinghi 5, brand new catamaran of the Defender of the 33rd America's Cup. Villeneuve, 8 July 2009. Video copyright Alinghi

Russell Coutts comments on Alinghi 5

Russell Coutts, CEO and skipper of BMW Oracle, is currently in Malcesine, Italy, racing with Larry Ellison on his team's RC44 yacht. After the day's races he made a VERY brief comment on Alinghi's new catamaran, Alinghi 5. He didn't really say much, but here is the video, just for the record.

Russell Coutts comments on Alinghi's new catamaran, Alinghi 5. Malcesine, 8 July 2009. Video copyright RC44 Championship Tour

Alinghi launches its giant catamaran on Lake Geneva by helicopter

[Source: Alinghi] Alinghi, the Defender of the 33rd America's Cup, launched its new 90ft catamaran today on Lake Geneva, Switzerland, by helicopter.

At 16:00 this afternoon, Alinghi 5, the Swiss America's Cup Defender's new catamaran, was lifted out of the tent where it was built in Villeneuve, Switzerland, and into the air by a Mil Mi-26 helicopter, the biggest and most powerful in the world, to be launched on Lake Geneva.

Alinghi 5 represents a first step in the development process towards the 33rd America's Cup and the team will now focus on preparing it to sail over the coming weeks.

Ernesto Bertarelli, Alinghi team president, who was present to congratulate the team and for the boat christening by his wife Kirsty, commented: “As a passionate multihull sailor I am extremely excited to see Alinghi 5 launched and for the next stage of this campaign to begin: over the coming weeks and months the team will work towards defending the 33rd America's Cup next year. The team has done an excellent job to make this happen; we are all looking forward to going sailing now.”

Watching as the helicopter lifted Alinghi 5 out of the tent and on to the water, Grant Simmer who, working alongside a team of designers, boat builders and sailors, has coordinated the project said: “I feel very proud of what we have achieved; there have been so many people involved who have worked really hard. They have done a fantastic job and this is the product of their hard work.”

Alinghi's new catamaran, Alinghi 5, is on the water

Judging from our website traffic and number of hits as well as the record number of photos on other websites and forums, this must be the equivalent of Michael Jackson's funeral in the sports of sailing; history's most followed boat launch.

Alinghi's brand new catamaran, Alinghi 5, is now safe on the waters of Lake Geneva.

Alinghi's brand new catamaran, Alinghi 5, is launched on lake Geneva. Le Bouveret, 8 July 2009. Photo copyright Stefano Gattini / Alinghi

Alinghi's brand new catamaran, Alinghi 5, is launched on lake Geneva. Le Bouveret, 8 July 2009. Photo copyright Stefano Gattini / Alinghi

Alinghi's new catamaran, Alinghi 5, is flying

Alinghi's new catamaran, Alinghi 5, started her helicopter trip from the boatyard to the team's base on the banks of Lake Geneva.

Stay updated on http://twitter.com/alinghiteam and for the complete back story throughout the day join Friends - it's free: http://www.alinghi.com/en/friends-33rd/index.php

Alinghi's new catamaran, Alinghi 5, airlifted. Villeneuve, 8 July 2009. Photo copyright Alinghi

Alinghi catamaran heli-launch delayed due to weather - mast flown this morning

[Source: Alinghi] The heli-launch planned for this morning has been delayed due to weather and will hopefully happen this afternoon.

The heli-launch planned for this morning has been delayed due to weather on Lake Geneva, but the mast operation went ahead and a KAMOV KA32 helicopter arrived at 09:15 to lift the 17-story high mast from Villeneuve to the Alinghi base in Le Bouveret...

There is hope for a weather window this afternoon to launch Alinghi 5, the catamaran...

Stay updated on http://twitter.com/alinghiteam and for the complete back story throughout the day join Friends - it's free: http://www.alinghi.com/en/friends-33rd/index.php

The mast of Alinghi 5 being airlifted. Villeneuve, 8 July 2009. Photo copyright Stefano Gattini / Alinghi

The mast of Alinghi 5 being airlifted. Villeneuve, 8 July 2009. Photo copyright Stefano Gattini / Alinghi

What is this?

Check all the photos here.

SNG sends GGYC another letter

Related PDF files

- SNG writes to GGYC on 6 July 2009 correcting erroneous letter of 19 June 2009

Mr. Marcus Young Commodore
The Golden Gate Yacht Club
#1 Yacht Road
San Francisco
California 94123
USA

6 July 2009

33rd America’s Cup

Dear Commodore,

We write to correct your erroneous letter of June 19, 2009 and to address news reports of a recent interview with Russell Coutts.

In the June 19 letter, you curiously claimed that naming a Northern Hemisphere venue other than Valencia without your “express agreement” would “flaunt the Deed of Gift and/or the Court’s Judgment and Orders.” This statement is baseless.

To be perfectly clear: the last court orders of Justices Kornreich and Cahn stated that SNG is entitled to select Valencia “or any other location” for the next Cup, without qualification or limitation. “Any other location”, of course, includes any Northern or Southern Hemisphere venue. The orders also make clear that SNG has until 6 months prior to the race of the next Cup to announce a location. SNG will specify Valencia or any other venue in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere in due course.

We also take issue with a report of an interview of Russell Coutts that appears in the August, 2009 issue of Seahorse Magazine. When asked, “[D]o you feel bound by the 90ft x 90ft dimension of the challenge document?” Mr. Coutts stated, “We won’t exceed the dimensions as stipulated. The Deed is clear that you are not allowed to exceed the dimensions.”

This is, of course, a blatant misreading of the requirements of the orders and the Deed of Gift. The Deed, as Justice Kornreich reiterated at the May 14, 2009 hearing, expressly requires GGYC to challenge in, and provide a Custom House Registry for, a challenge vessel that conforms exactly to the measurements contained in the boat certificate that accompanied GGYC’s notice of challenge. As Justice Kornreich said at the hearing, and as we noted in our letter of May 26: “I am stating right now that … the Deed does require that the vessel conform to the challenge dimensions. If the [Custom House Registry] does not conform to the challenge dimensions, it is this Court’s belief, and my direction, that Golden Gate will be disqualified, and I am directing Golden Gate, in good faith, to abide by the Deed, to make application for the CHR as soon as possible and providing it as soon as possible”.

That’s the order of the Court. Should you challenge in a vessel that does not conform to the challenge dimensions, we will seek your GGYC’s immediate disqualification. We look forward to the immediate receipt of the Custom House Registry.

Your letter and Mr. Coutts’ interview make clear that your favored means to compete for the Cup is through litigation. We encourage you to stop these tactics and agree to meet us on the water in a boat that conforms exactly to those dimensions listed in the Challenge.

In the same interview Mr. Coutts said that the challenge received by SNG from Circolo Vela di Gargnano (CVG) was “unrealistic”. As far as we know you have not responded to the latest letter of CVG dated June 12, 2009. Please advise as soon as possible if GGYC is going to give the opportunity to other challengers to compete in the 33rd America’s Cup or will continue to exclude challengers from competition.

Yours sincerely.

Fred Meyer
Vice-Commodore and Chairman of America’s Cup Committee

Alec Tournier
General Secretary

Alinghi vs Emirates Team NZ court case

We thought the case was settled but we just received the following notifiaction from the NY Supreme Court. It appears a hearing is scheduled for July 30th.

Court: New York Civil Supreme
Index Number: 600662/2008
Case Name: TEAM NEW ZEALAND LIMITED, vs. SOCIETE NAUTIQUE DE
Case Title: Contract
Track: Standard
Upstate RJI Number:
Disposition Date:
Date NOI Due:
NOI Filed:
Disposition Deadline:
Calendar Number:
RJI Filed: 03/06/2008
Jury Status:
Justice Name: KORNREICH, SHIRLEY WERNER

Attorney/Firm for Plaintiff:
BOIES SCHILLER & FLEXNER LLP
575 LEXINGTON AVENUE - 7TH FLR
NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10022
Attorney Type: Attorney Of Record
Status: Active

Last Appearance:
Appearance Date: 02/02/2008
Appearance Time:
On For: Motion
Appearance Outcome: Motion Decided-Open Appearance
Justice: CAHN, HERMAN
Part: ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE PART
Comments:

Future Appearances: --- Information updated
Appearance Date: 07/30/2009 --- Information updated
Appearance Time: --- Information updated
On For: Supreme Initial (first time on) --- Information updated
Appearance Outcome: --- Information updated
Justice: KORNREICH, SHIRLEY WERNER --- Information updated
Part: IAS PRELIMINARY CONFERENCE 54 --- Information updated
Comments: 11:30P.CARD --- Information updated

Helicopter launch of Alinghi 5 delayed

You don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out that with conditions like the ones on the photo below Alinghi's shore crew would postpone the helicopter launch of their brand new catamaran, Alinghi 5.

Initially scheduled to take place on Wednesday morning, it will be delayed due to the unfavorable weather forecast and could take place later in the afternoon, if of course conditions get better.

Regardless of what opinion one might have about Alinghi, it is extraordinary how they have embraced the latest communication tools. This photo, and many many more, can be found on the Alinghi Friends twitpic. It's definitely worth taking a look.

Adverse weather conditions on Lake Geneva. Villeneuve, 7 July 2009. Photo copyright Alinghi

Malcesine RC 44 Cup starts tomorrow

[Source: RC44] The fourth regatta of the RC 44 Championship Tour 2009 starts tomorrow on Lake Garda. The RC 44 fleet welcomes Frank Pong and his new Team Jelik, from Hong Kong. DHL, the Class’ logistics partner, announces that around 16 tons of CO2 have been compensated thanks to their innovative GoGreen campaign.

Fifteen knots of wind, great sunshine and flat water: those are the conditions that the ten teams involved in the Malcesine RC 44 Cup hope to get this week. Lake Garda is situated about 65 metres above sea level between the Alps and the Po plain; it is the largest lake in Italy. The northern part of the lake is surrounded by mountainous peaks that create a funnel effect and generate the local winds – the Ora between midday and the early hours of the evening and the Vento between midnight and mid-morning.

Frank Pong’s Team Jelik sailing for the first time in the RC44 championship Tour, with Adam Minoprio calling tactics. Malcesine, 7 July 2009. Photo copyright Nico Martinez

Organised by Fraglia Vela di Malcesine, the regatta begins tomorrow with the match racing event. Winner of the last regatta and leader of the Championship Tour, Chris Bake’s Team Aqua with Cameron Appleton at the helm is one of the favourites of the series, alongside Torbjorn Tornqvist / Dean Baker’s Artemis and Larry Ellison / Russell Coutts’ BMW ORACLE Racing, who won the match race event in Malcesine last year. Also to be reckoned with, Maciej Nawrocki and Karol Jablonski’s team Organika, second of the match race event in Austria last month and Igor Lah / Sébastien Col’s Ceeref.

The fleet regatta will take place from Friday 10 till Sunday 12. The long distance regatta - the DHL Trophy - will count for double; it will most probably take place on Saturday.

The ten RC 44’s have been training hard over the past days. This morning, Frank Pong’s Team Jelik, who join the Class for the first time, had a first “lake trial” with 20+ knots of wind. “Now I understand why everybody says that Lake Garda is such a fantastic place for sailing”, said Pong. “It was absolutely awesome.”

The teams involved:
(Name of team, owner, pro sailor)

Team Aqua, Chris Bake / Cameron Appleton
Team Ceeref, Igor Lah / Sébastien Col
Sea Dubai, Yousef Lahej, DIMC / Markus Wieser
BMW ORACLE Racing, Larry Ellison / Russell Coutts
Team Organika, Maciej Nawrocki / Karol Jablonski
Puerto Calero Islas Canarias, Daniel Calero / Jose Maria Ponce
Artemis, Torbjorn Tornqvist / Dean Barker
No Way Back, Pieter Heerema / Ray Davies
Team Austria, René Mangold / Christian Binder
Team Jelik, Frank Pong / Adam Minoprio

Press report: Alinghi rules out Valencia for the America's Cup

According to an article that appeared in today's edition of Las Provincias, Valencia's main newspaper, Alinghi might have definitely ruled out Valencia as a venue for the 33rd America's Cup. As we have stated quite often here, Las Provincias enjoys very good relations with the current local and regional governments of Valencia and it is most probable that some source within these two official bodies passed on the information. Nevertheless, the article's author doesn't unveil his sources.

According to the same article, although Valencia offers unquestionable advantages, such as the existence of the bases and the infrastructure used in the previous edition of the event, the Defender has based its choice solely on weather conditions. According to Las Provincias, Alinghi will choose a venue in the Northern hemisphere that can guarantee, as much as possible, light and stable conditions, not more than 8 to 9 knots of wind. Valencia cannot guarantee such conditions because weather conditions in winter are very unstable.

It appears that, always according to the article, BMW Oracle are aware that Valencia is to be ruled out and "fear" that an Arab country will be the venue of the 33rd America's Cup match, because of the light wind conditions and flat seas that prevail during the month of February. Nevertheless, other options closer to Valencia are also under consideration by Alinghi, such as Turkey.

Valencia Sailing contacted Alinghi asking for a comment on the article and the reply was that "the venue will be announced six months before the America's Cup Match". Nevertheless, the announcement of a venue other than Valencia might lead to even further legal action, since BMW Oracle have stated that, in their view, the court decision is clear in stating that if Alinghi opts for a venue in the Northern hemisphere it can't be other than Valencia. We shall see...

Alinghi carries out first two-catamaran training session under VERY light conditions in February 2008. Valencia, 23 February 2008. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Alinghi resumes catamaran sailing under VERY light wind conditions in February 2008. Valencia, 22 February 2008. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

United Internet Team Germany and +39 Challenge training under VERY light conditions in February 2006. Valencia, 7 February 2006. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Video: James Spithill comments further on Alinghi's new catamaran, Alinghi 5

James Spithill comments on Alinghi's new catamaran, Alinghi 5. Hyères, 5 July 2009. Video copyright iShares Cup

BMW ORACLE Racing back on the water in San Diego

[Source: BMW Oracle] BMW ORACLE Racing today launched their trimaran in San Diego as the team prepares to sea trial the 90-foot by 90-foot high-tech racing machine. The mast will be installed dockside and the boat will be load-tested before the huge multihull is tested by the crew in the waters off Point Loma.

"We are really excited to get out on the water," said helmsman James Spithill (AUS). "We still have plenty to do to complete sea trials and be ready for the America’s Cup in February so every day counts. It is only seven months until the America’s Cup so we are now in the home stretch."

BMW ORACLE Racing is the Challenger for the 33rd America’s Cup. The team will meet the Swiss Defender Alinghi in a best two-of-three head-to-head duel starting February 8. The venue for the competition will be named by the Defender by August 8.

The team will test the trimaran in San Diego this summer.

"This is cutting-edge technology and sailing. We look forward to testing how fast is fast," said Spithill.

The newly modified BOR90 is back on the water. San Diego, 6 July 2009. Photo copyright Gilles Martin-Raget / BMW Oracle

The newly modified BOR90 is back on the water. San Diego, 6 July 2009. Photo copyright Gilles Martin-Raget / BMW Oracle

The newly modified BOR90 is back on the water. San Diego, 6 July 2009. Photo copyright Gilles Martin-Raget / BMW Oracle

The newly modified BOR90 is back on the water. San Diego, 6 July 2009. Photo copyright Gilles Martin-Raget / BMW Oracle

The newly modified BOR90 is back on the water. San Diego, 6 July 2009. Photo copyright Gilles Martin-Raget / BMW Oracle

The newly modified BOR90 is back on the water. San Diego, 6 July 2009. Photo copyright Gilles Martin-Raget / BMW Oracle

The newly modified BOR90 is back on the water. San Diego, 6 July 2009. Photo copyright Gilles Martin-Raget / BMW Oracle

Alinghi's new catamaran, Alignhi 5, completely unveiled

No more hiding. The Defender of the 33rd America's Cup has entirely removed the tent that covered its brand new Alinghi 5.

Alinghi 5, Alinghi's brand new giant catamaran. Villeneuve, 6 July 2009. Photo copyright Bruno Cocozza/Alinghi

Alinghi 5, Alinghi's brand new giant catamaran. Villeneuve, 6 July 2009. Photo copyright Bruno Cocozza/Alinghi

Alinghi 5, Alinghi's brand new giant catamaran. Villeneuve, 6 July 2009. Photo copyright Alinghi

Video: Loïck Peyron talks about Alinghi's new catamaran (French)

Given the fact 15% of our readers are from French-speaking countries, we publish Loïck Peyron's comments on Alignhi 5, Alingh's new catamaran, in French. They, obviously, don't differ much from the previous ones in English but in his native language, Peyron is more eloquent and better describes how impressed he was. In his closing remark, Peyron think the first test sails will be "crazy" and "fascinating" for the crew.

Loïck Peyron talks about Alinghi's new catamaran. Hyères, 5 July 2009. Video copyright iShares Cup

Since Loïck Peyron makes reference to Le Black, Alinghi's 41ft catamaran, we publish a photo of her during some tests Alinghi's designers carried out in Valencia last year.

Alinghi Designers test Le Black 41". Valencia, 13 May 2008. Photo copyright Jose Delgado / Alinghi

Members of the Alinghi design team pose in front of the new giant catamaran. Villeneuve, 3 July 2009. Photo copyright KEYSTONE/Laurent Gillieron

Video: Loïck Peyron talks about Alinghi's new catamaran

When even the legendary French sailor Loïck Peyron states that he is "impressed" (although not surprised) by Alinghi's new catamaran, there is very little we can add. Peyron is eager to go to Switzerland just to witness how the Defender of the 33rd America's Cup launch their giant catamaran and when comparing her to BMW Oracle's BOR90 he admits that even for an unconventional match like the one we'll watch in February, Alinghi 5 is much less "traditional", something "brand new". For the French sailor, BOR90 is probably a scaled-up version of the 60ft French trimarans.

So, we guess we'll have to wait for the launch of the alleged second multihull BMW Oracle is building somewhere on the US west coast, in order to see whether the Americans will also race an impressive yacht.

Loïck Peyron talks about Alinghi's new catamaran. Hyères, 5 July 2009. Video copyright iShares Cup