125 days to go until the Louis Vuitton Cup

We take an overview of what is happening in the America's Cup

2007 dates for the diary:

1 April (appropriately): Unveiling day. At present Cup boats are allowed to be skirted. On this date the skirts will be removed.
3-6 April: Act 13 fleet racing for everyone, even Alinghi
16-22 April (23 April reserve): Louis Vuitton Cup challenger selection series Round Robin 1 - challengers all get to race each other once, two races per day
26 April-6 May (7 May reserve): Louis Vuitton Cup challenger selection series Round Robin 2 (as above), one race per day
14-24 May (17 May off, 21 and 25 May reserve days) Louis Vuitton Cup semi-finals. Top four from the round robins, first to five wins.
1-12 June (4 June off, 7 and 12 June reserve days) Louis Vuitton Cup finals, first to five wins
23 June-7 July (25 and 28 June, 2 July off, 5-7 July reserve) America's Cup - between the chosen defender (winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup final) and Alinghi. First to five wins.

The Port America's Cup in Valencia's Darsena is on the quiet side at present with several teams decamped to warmer, windier parts of the world and others on holiday be it voluntarily or enforced. At present the defenders are busy launching new boats. The sail number tally at present is as follows:

100? - allocated but not claimed
ITA 99 - Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia Team (second v5 boat)
98 - allocated but not claimed
ESP 97 - due for launch January 2007
SWE 96 - first Victory Challenge boat, due for delivery late January
CHN 95 - soon to arrive in Valencia from China
94 - allocated but not claimed
FRA 93 - recently arrived in Valencia
NZL 92 - second Emirates Team NZ boat
SUI 91 - Alinghi's first V5 boat
ITA 90 - Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia Team's first v5 boat
GER 89 - launched earlier this year, now sailing in Valencia
ESP 88 - first Spanish v5 boat
USA 87 - first BMW Oracle Racing v5 boat
ITA 86 - first Luna Rossa v5 boat
ITA 85 - +39 only new v5 boat
NZL 84 - first Emirates Team NZ boat
RSA 83 - Team Shosholoza only new v5 boat.

Given that they will almost certainly be last to launch it seems likely that 100 will go to Alinghi for their second boat. This leaves BMW Oracle Racing and Luna Rossa with either 98 or 94. Team Shosholoza have chosen not to go for a second boat, as originally planned.

Thus the two boat teams are:
Alinghi, BMW Oracle Racing, Luna Rossa, Emirates Team NZ, Mascalzone Latino, Desafío Español 2007

The single boat teams are:
Victory Challenge, Areva Challenge, Team Shosholoza, +39, United Internet Team Germany, China Team

The timing of new boat launches is critical for the teams. A later launch means more R&D time and possibly a larger sniff of what avenues of development other teams have been investigating, but this means less time on the water. An earlier launch means more time getting the best out of the boat, making it reliable, developing sails, etc. As of today there are roughly four months to go until the first race of the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger selection series and among the challengers there are still seven boats yet to be launched.

When contemplating launch dates it is worth bearing in mind the position of Alinghi, the defender. They have two months longer to develop their boats. In R&D terms they also have the significant advantage of only needing to tailor their boat for the conditions over the two week stretch America's Cup itself lasts, straddling June-July, while all the challenger's craft must be optimised for a larger weather window to take in the longer April-July duration of both the Louis Vuitton and America's Cups.

Teams update

Alinghi have headed for the warmer waters of Dubai where they will remain until February. According to Brad Butterworth (see our interview with him here) the conditions in Dubai over the northern hemisphere winter months are more akin to Valencia in summer. Over the winter in Valencia the breeze is more offshore, stronger and more shifty, although during our visit recently there seemed to be little breeze at all.

Aside from the logistical hassle of decamping to the UAE, the prospect of training there on their own (or so they thought...) away from prying eyes must have been attractive. Their second new boat, SUI100 possibly, is due to be delivered from builders Decision in Switzerland in March.

Given their track record to date in this Cup cycle, most believe the Swiss defenders to be favourite to demolish which ever team turns out to be the top challenger next year. About the only question mark hanging over the team - aside from what their new boat will be like - is who will helm their race boat in 2007? Will it be Ed Baird or Peter Holmberg or Jochen Schuemann?

As if to answer this question Alinghi yesterday announced that they will be wrapping up the first period of their winter training camp at the Dubai International Marine Club with the first of three so-called Defender Trials Series. These will span the period in Dubai and will continue on later in Valencia with the aim of deciding crew (and helm) selection and ultimately racing yacht selection. In the first series this week Peter Holmberg will line up against Ed Baird. The two further rounds will take place in Valencia culminating on 16 February.

After finishing up in Valencia at the end of October, a 38 strong posse from BMW Oracle Racing have decamped for the winter to the more clement waters of Auckland, where ironically they are now operating out of Team New Zealand's old base. Here they are carrying out 'crew work development and race training' and have had USA 71, their modified V4 boat shipped over. They have been out training on this on the Hauraki Gulf including an appearance in the local Wednesday night races run by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron! The team are being very shy in saying anything about their second Version 5 boat but there is a chance it will be flown out from Seattle to Auckland early in the new year. The team are also looking into the possibility of carrying out some sort of training or a match race competition with Emirates Team New Zealand while they are out there.

While Chris Dickson continues to run the show a face that has quietly returned to the American team's afterguard is Gavin Brady. Originally helmsman, Brady resigned from the team in August last year after being ousted from the wheel by Dickson. Earlier this autumn Brady was back sailing on board and he recently skippered one of two boats BMW Oracle entered in the recent New Zealand Match Racing Championship, finishing second behind Dean Barker's Emirates Team New Zealand crew.



Emirates Team New Zealand have also decamped back home, resuming operations out of the old OneWorld base at the end of the Viaduct Basin. Grant Dalton's team came out top of the pile at the end of the 2006 Louis Vuitton ACC Championship and compared to the other top challengers, ETNZ have been the first to get their second Version 5 boat launched. NZL 92 (above) was christened by New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark on 19 October and the team have been busy working their new boat up ever since, in winds ranging from 5 to 30 knots, with Ben Ainslie acting as Dean Barker's sparing partner.

It is interesting that most of the two boat teams in the last America's Cup ended up racing their first boat, no doubt partly for reasons of reliability and a feeling of confidence, something the Kiwis seemed to be seriously lacking during their unsuccessful defence in 2003. Launching that extra three months earlier than their principle rivals will give ETNZ more time to prepare so that they can make a genuine choice over which boat to put on the start line come April.

Of the 'big four' America's Cup teams, Italy's Luna Rossa is the only one to have remained in Valencia over the winter. While winter in Valencia may not be representative of the weather they will experience in the spring-summer months, at least the Italian team have not wasted valuable weeks in transit and they maintain it was the right choice to sit tight.

After her delivery in March, their first V5 boat had a lacklustre season compared to her rivals in the Big Four and ended the Acts thwacking the bowsprit off the BMW Oracle Racing boat with her transom during a tack. Their second V5 boat is due into Valencia before Christmas. Meanwhile the team have been experimenting with a new, radical bow shape on one of their existing V4 boats. Crew-wise the team are as strong as any of the top four and following the Volvo Ocean Race benefitted from the addition of long term hand with the Italian syndicate, Torben Grael, who seems to have recently replaced Charlie McKee.



Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia Team have been back out sailing recently after fixing some serious structural problems at the back end of their first Version 5 boat, ITA 90. Their new boat, ITA 99 is in the UK at present - under the nationality rules for the America's Cup a certain percentage of a team's boat must be built in the country that team is representing. Having been started at Marine Composite in Andora, Italy thereby fulfilling this part of the rule requirement, the new boat is now being finished off by Green Marine in Lymington. In terms of afterguard, the squad of skipper Vasco Vascotto, Flavio Flavini, Jes Gram-Hansen, Cameron Dunn, Rasmus Kostner, Michele Paeletti and Nacho Postigo, was recently joined by ex-GBR Challenge man Adrian Stead, who sails regularly with team boss Vincenzo Onorato on his Farr 40.

After much rumour and speculation, Spain's Desafío Español 2007 yesterday confirmed the appointment of Paul Cayard as Technical Adviser to their team. This comes as a time when their second version 5 boat ESP97 is due to leave the shed, allowing Cayard time to add his expertise in the critical weeks that the team will spend getting her finished, launched, and then up to speed. Like Luna Rossa, the team are remaining in Valencia over the winter awaiting the arrival of their new boat.

Victory Challenge is rapidly becoming the team for Brits to follow in this America's Cup with the recruitment of Neal McDonald, Simon Fisher, David Carr, Nik Pearson, Ian Weighell and Richard Sydenham plus several more pommies in their design and shore team. The Swedes have been on a heavy recruiting drive since the end of the Acts this year and their sailing team has swelled dramatically particularly with former Volvo Ocean Race sailors. In addition to McDonald and Fisher, the team picked up ex-ABN AMRO men Dave Endean, Tony Mutter, Luke Molley and Andrew Lewis as well as Pepe Ribes, Richard Mason, Anthony Merrington and Andy Meiklejohn. American Morgan Larson has also joined their afterguard.

It was with some surprise that Victory Challenge announced less than a week ago that they will be following Alinghi's example in heading for Dubai for winter training. Aside from having the same reasons as stipulated by Alinghi, there is rumour that the team may have commercial reasons for heading to the Gulf (an operation that is likely to cost around $2 million alone in transporting their two existing boats there and back by Antanov), perhaps related to their title sponsor Red Bull. Whatever the reason we're sure the ever discreet Alinghi will be pleased to have company...

Due to the financial crisis they experienced early on in this Cup cycle, before they had found backing from Red Bull, the Swedish team have been late with the launch of their first V5 boat. SWE 96 is being delivered in time for the team to start sailing when they return from the Gulf. There has been rumour of a second Swedish boat, but considering the lateness of the first it would be hard to see the benefit of this for the team.

Team Shosholoza have also confined their training this year to Valencia. The popular South African team were first to launch a new V5 boat and while plans were afoot to build a second, this has been shelved. While the team have been training hard out of the Port America's Cup, they have been given a lengthy break over the winter and it is expected this time will be used to carry out major surgery on RSA 83.

Back in October there was a re-arrangement of the South African team's afterguard with Tommaso Chieffi taking over from Dee Smith as tactician. Chieffi and Paolo Cian, joined the team earlier this year in the role of crew/coaches and remain in charge of the team's training program as well as heading up the sail and boat development program. Cian, who steered Mascalzone Latino in the last Cup in Auckland, has now moved on to the helm, Ian Ainslie becoming strategist. In addition to these three Mark Sadler remains as skipper and Marc Lagesse as navigator.



Also remaining in Valencia, the French Areva Challenge (formerly K-Challenge) have recently taken delivery of their new V5 boat FRA 93 where it was christened at a grand gala event on 24 November. Having had a good long chance to scrutinise the exceptional 2000 America's Cup winner NZL 60, the daddy of both the last generation Alinghi and Team New Zealand boats, it will be interesting to see how much of this historic boat's design has filtered through to the new French boat.

Like Team Shosholoza the French afterguard has seen some rearrangement over the last months with the talented Sebastien Col taking over the helm position from Thierry Peponnet who is now tactician alongside Tanguy Cariou.

The Italian +39 team seems to be at a slight standstill at present as they resolve some funding issues. Their new V5 boat, ITA 85, was delivered in October and has been compared to a large Star boat due to its raked back rig. Unfortunately at present the team have had precious little opportunity to sail it.

After struggling with their version 4 boat GER 72 during the Acts, United Internet Team Germany got their new V5 boat GER 89, Germany 1, in August. Unfortunately the opportunity to use the boat has been limited as it has been found to be suffering from "stability problems of the keel construction." The structure of the fin was not strong enough to support the 20 tonne bulb and so a new fin has been built. At present the team is on Christmas break as this issue is resolved and will resume training on 8 January.

In Valencia, the Franco-Chinese China Team have been relatively quiet as their operations over the last few months have focussed on the Far East. The team are expecting the arrival of their new yacht CHN 95 this week in Valencia from McConaghys in Dong Guan, China. The plan is to be sailing her by mid-February. In the meantime the team have been trying to recruit crewmen to sail the boat not just from China, but also other countries in the area, via a series of training camps. Some have also been representing China Team are regattas such as the recent Monsoon Cup in Malaysia. Here Singaporean sailor Tan Wearn Haw took a race off Peter Gilmour at the Monsoon Cup, while James Spithill came close to losing another off Malaysia's only female match race skipper Tiffany Koo.



Video

See our video of what's going on in the Port America's Cup (taken Saturday before last). Please excuse the poor quality of this video due to some errant spray on our video camera's lens.

Click here to see the video

NB: This video is formatted to play in Windows Media Player and is 34MB in size - therefore only suitable for those with broadband connections. Mac users can now view WMV files by downloading a suitable add on to Quicktime - we for example use Flip4Mac which works a treat. The only noticable difference is that while the clip will play out while downloading on a PC, on a Mac it must download first.