33rd Americas Cup Valencia

Hi Graham,

Are you going to stay for the 'duration' or are you travelling back and forth?

YF needs someone on the ground,or even water, there.

Get some more good shots and gossip for us all please.

Cheers,

Dave

Chuffing Nora,

22 knots on tick-over, this could get angry and messy. Have you seen the weather thats coming in? Things are going to go Bang.

You are not entirely correct there, the conditions are at the discretion of the Race Committee (Alinghi had changed the rules but did so illegally according to the International Jury).

Racing can be seen live on Eurosport in Europe (starts are at 9:06 UTC on Monday, Wednesday and if needed Friday) and for free through the event website: http://www.americascup.com/en/

And the 33rd Cup is, like any 'real' America's Cup, more about the game around it, the design and preparation than the sailing. That is why it has such a large appeal, it is not just another regatta. That is why, when it started to become more like any other regatta, Louis Vuitton and other luxury brands walked away from the event after the 32nd cup having enjoyed a 25 year spell of affilliation with the competition.

Bookies are favouring Alinghi at the moment, most yachting journos seem to think the power of the solid wing rig on the American Challenger will give them the edge.

Anyway, it is only 3 days away and is going to be very special.

btw.: Alinghi completed Monday's course earlier this week in ~7kts of speed doing ~19kts VMG on average meaning their boatspeed would have to have been significantly higher (high 20-ies)

Would you qualify the deed of gift as a modern-up-to-date document taking account the developments since its signing on 1852?

N.Y.C.C. has made additions to the document for class changes but for the 33rd 90ftx90ft rule became the norm. It resulted in millions of francs of R&D costs for Alinghi and BMW as a consequence.

G.G.Y.C did not race in any kind of multi-hull sailing in this magnitude before.

However, the Societe Nautique de Geneve members participate in the Bol D'Or Regatta on Lac Leman (Lake Geneva) in Switzerland with the 'Alinghi' catamaran, which was a 40 ft black multihull that Bertarelli raced and won with.

I actually participated in this race in 2001 and saw this boat up close. They even yelled at us .

It is however impossible imho Pascal to organize a 90ftx90ft boats on Lake Geneva for this event, as they will run out of space if they do not head straight to Montreux from Geneva as in the Bol D'Or race.

Dear Kevin,

I am answering to the question posed on the location grounds, about Alinghi choosing Dubai as the location for the event. Since both teams did not agree on a northern hemisphere coordinates, the race had to be in Valencia.

To Pascal-- This much is clear, but in terms of feasibility, how is it biased (a question from my perspective) to change the location to Dubai, ship the sail inventory, the boat and the crew arrangements there? Alinghi had a base in Valencia which they could have used for the event. It would be more expensive to go to Dubai anyway, am I wrong?

I agree with Graham in his responses; Alinghi could have chosen Valencia for the event and not push for Dubai. Having been there this New Year's, I could think that it would be more difficult in terms of the country's infrastructure and know-how for these events.

Considering the consensus to do the 'Louis Vuitton Regattas (by all teams) in 2006 in Malmo and Marseille (A BMW Oracle sailboat was flying a "Merci Marseille' banner), Alinghi's decision to consider alternative locations could be interpreted advantegous for the sponsors' corporate branding& awareness as more locations meant more attendance levels& media exposure for them.

Although the Deed of Gift is the rule, would not the organizer have to write up a notice of race in accordance to ISAF regulations? The organizer is Societe Nautique de Geneve, and the racing venue has to be appropriate in terms of wind speed and sea state in order for the Race Committee to approve the race on the day. I think Alinghi could have considered Dubai to be more stable in terms of wind velocity and a reduced sea state overall.

Quoting from the AC Website:
The Organising Authority of the 33rd America's Cup Match is Société Nautique de Genève.
The 33rd America's Cup Match will be conducted under the Deed of Gift provisions, the SNG rules, the ISAF Racing Rules of Sailing and ISAF Regulations as required by the Deed of Gift.
Any changes to the ISAF Rules and Regulations not already covered by provisions within the ISAF Rules and Regulations will require sanction from ISAF.
The Principal Race Officer, International Jury members and International Umpires (if Appendix C is used), are be suitably qualified personnel and are be independently appointed by ISAF.



The rules have to be followed as stated, and this includes the appropriate wind velocity for safety of the crew? My argument is based on the D.O.D document leaving less room in order to accomodate modern ISAF racing rules for drawing up the Notice of Race. This could have been Alinghi's base thought to choose Dubai (with some sponsor pressure).

While the Deed of Gift stipulates that racing for the America’s Cup between 1 November and 1 May must take place in the Southern Hemisphere, Justice Cahn’s 12 May 2008 New York Supreme Court Order ‘that the location of the match be in Valencia or any other location selected by the SNG’ led the America’s Cup defending yacht club, Société Nautique de Genève, to select Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates.
But the Supreme Court’s decision that Ras Al Khaimah (UAE) did not comply with the Deed of Gift for the 33rd America’s Cup.

SNG's Southern Hemisphere venues: Proserpine/Airlie Beach and Townsville in Australia, where the weather conditions are suitable in February.

GGYC wanted Valencia all along.

both teams have a very good base in Valencia its a shame Consorcio valencia did not have more time to get ready for the event.

and when will the race be over as The New York Supreme Court has now set a date of February 25 to hear the “constructed in country” case over the American made sails to be used by Alinghi 5. i can see this will go on for some time after the race!!!!!

Bring back the old AC!!!!!

To Watch The 33rd America's Cup

Getting on the water to really watch the America's Cup is a challenge. Other than absorbing the excitement from the crowd, spectators are typically herded too far from the action. Either you get on a fast RIB to skirt the Marshalls, or on a monster power boat with good food and satellite television to watch the races. Neither is quite the 50 yard ine at the Super Bowl.

While the race schedule is wholly dependent on the weather, the basic scoop is that the Match will be won by the yacht to first win two races. Race warning signal is at10:00 am, with race to start at 10:06 am. Races will be attempted every other day beginning Monday February 8th. If a race is not started on a given day, or is abandoned for whatever reason, racing will continue on the next scheduled race date, (Wednesday the 10th, Friday the 12th, Sunday the 14th, etc.).

The time, of course, is local time (CET) in Valencia, Spain (UTC/GMT +1 hour). Here is a website to confirm the time:
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=325


ONLINE VIEWING OPTIONS
For the North American audience, viewing the 33rd America's Cup is limited to several online options. These are being compiled here:
http://tinyurl.com/ya6g5el

Here are some of the online options:

The event website for the 33rd America's Cup will provide live online coverage with Peter Montgomery, Andy Green, and Cam Lewis commentating for the official Host Broadcaster. - http://www.americascup.com

ESPN360.com (USA only) will carry the live coverage from the Host Broadcaster with Gary Jobson and Randy Smyth commentating. All races will also be available for replay. - http://www.ESPN360.com

Boatson.tv has secured the Host Broadcaster live pictures from the course in Valencia and other general Americas Cup programme which can be watched live on their special Americas Cup TV video players. - http://www.boatson.tv

BMW Oracle Racing has gotten involved in a big way, and will be hosting the official live feed of the racing from the Host Broadcaster in addition to producing additional online coverage. Here is their plan:

The first live streaming event on the website is scheduled for Friday, February 5 at 19:30 CET (13:30 EST, 10:30 PST) when team founder Larry Ellison (USA), CEO Russell Coutts (NZL) and skipper James Spithill (AUS), meet the media at the BMW ORACLE Racing team base in Valencia, Spain.

"Race Day" programming kicks off on Monday, February 8, the first scheduled race day of the Match.

"Race Day" consists of several blocks of live programming, bringing an unprecedented, live, behind-the-scenes look at the team to sailing fans worldwide:

The Dock-Out Show - watch the team prepare for battle as they leave for the race course.

The Morning Show - an insider's look at the history of the America's Cup, the 33rd edition of the oldest trophy in sports, and BMW ORACLE Racing, live from the Oracle Cinema at the Team Base.

The Pre-Race Show - news and analysis ahead of the racing.

The 33rd America's Cup Match - we will then carry the official live feed from the Host Broadcaster, bringing you all of the action from the race course. Racing is scheduled to start with a 10:00 warning signal ahead of the 10:06 start gun.

The Post-Race Show - analysis of what happened on the race course, featuring expert commentary.

The Dock-In Show - cheer on the American challenger as the team returns to shore following the race.

View here:
http://www.livestream.com/bmworacleracing
http://bmworacleracing.com/en/news/livestream

....courtesy of Scuttlebutt