First time winner?

John Greenland looks at the ins and outs of Ernesto Bertarelli's Swiss America's Cup team...

Two boat training in Auckland

The team started training with Be Happy, purchased from the 2000 Swiss Challenge, working on boat handling and trialling new crew members. As training progressed the boat was modified to test design ideas on the open sea rather relying purely on tank testing.

Originally the boat was fitted out with a twin keel configuration, however amidst some rule book tapping from the other syndicates the boat was changed to a more conventional single keel design. "SUI59 has been substantially modified. During November and December we tested both SUI59 and SUI64," explained the legendary Grant Simmer, head of the design team and a man who has been involved with America's Cup ever since taking it off the Americans on board Australia II in 1983. "We are currently testing new modifications on 59 which were done during the first two weeks of January this year - in particular a new bow section is being tested."

Though Bertrand Cardis, one of the owners of the Decision Boatyard where the two new boats have been built, claims nothing spectacular was done to the hull of 59 during the months it was behind closed doors. So why choose to buy a boat requiring so many alterations before she can even be sailed? "We liked the overall shape of the boat. Though we have removed the twin keel set up we think the boat had a good design to start us off with," explained Simmer. "We've made only small improvements, innovations that have already exploited Team Alinghi's know-how." No doubt a substantial initial input came from Coutts, formally Mr Team New Zealand.

Aside from Simmer Alinghi's design team includes many Europeans, most of whom have worked on America's Cup campaigns in the past. They include Rolf Vrolijk of the Judel/Vrolijk design group who worked on Bravo Espana in 2000. The 18 strong research and design team also includes hydro-dynamicists, computer analysists, engineers such as Dirk Kramers who worked on Bill Koch's America3 in 1992 and materials specialists. The team also includes Whitbread and America's Cup navigator Andrew Cape, who is also a qualified naval architect.

Initially team training was done from Sete, France. Sete was chosen as the European base for the landlocked team because it has similar conditions to Auckland. Not only this, but also on average it has 22 days of thermal wind - just what's needed to fulfil a hectic training schedule. During that period the team more than doubled in size. "We now have have 31 sailors, 14 designers, and 21 boat builders," explained Alinghi's Bernard Schopfer. It is therefore no surpise the campaign budget is rumoured to be in excess of $50 million. Though not the largest it certainly puts the team up in the big boy's league.

At the end of November, after having taken five months to be built, Team Alinghi’s first boat, SUI 64, left the yard in Fenil sur Corsier (Switzerland). It was loaded on to an Antonov plane - the largest cargo plane in the world - and taken down to Auckland were it was transported via lorry to the Viaduct Basin. The second has been issued with the sail number 75, making it the most recent boat to be given a number. It is expect in Auckland ready for training during the Auckland Autumn and Winter.

So how are the team doing? The team have focused heavily on two boat testing. When sighted training out in the Hauraki Gulf the two boats initially appeared similar in speed, however 64 was clearly faster round the course when I was watching the training during January - whether this was because Coutts himself was on board the new boat is hard to judge.

No one would deny the fact both new boats are likely to be fast, but you need a good crew to drive them to their optimum speed. So who are the main players in the team? Brad Butterworth, Murray Jones, Simon Daubney, and Dean Phipps, who all played crucial roles in the Kiwi's successful defence in 2000, were Coutts' disciples. Butterworth has competed in four AC events - in particular he has been on the winning boat for the last two Cups. Jones, who has been Coutts' tactician on the International Match Racing circuit, is a renowned America's Cup tactician and will no doubt be one of the most important members of the racing crew come October and the start of the Louis Vuitton Cup.

Both Daubney and Phipps have also sailed in four America's Cup events. While Phipps has stuck to the bow, most notably for the 1995 victory in San Diego, Daubney has settled into the role of trimmer. Winner of the 1993 and 1996 World Match Racing Championships he will be an important member of the Alinghi team. Josh Belsky, was not a past member of Team New Zealand, but is likely to be a handy member of the crew having been part of the America3 America's Cup winning team in 1992. Unlike some of the other key sailors Belsky has also successfully competed in the Whitbread as a part of Paul Cayard's EF Language team.

The Alinghi America's Cup Syndicate has certainly entered the scene with a bang. Never before has a new challenger entered and immediately won the Cup, but that is not to say it's impossible. Coutts and his sidekicks from Team New Zealand are veterans when it comes to the battle for the Auld Mug. They may not have the extra four years of development and training Prada has, and they may not have as much money as Oracle Racing, but they certainly have the knowledge and determination that makes it very likely we will see them in the finals of the Louis Vuitton Cup.