Saturday, June 30, 2007

America's Cup Match - Day 6: Preview

Good morning from sunny and warm Valencia. It seems we are going to have another nice summer day and racing off the city's coast should be at least as exciting as yesterday, even if the general feeling among meteorologists is that the breeze will be lighter than Friday.

The 32nd America's Cup Match is becoming more interesting and absorbing as each day passes and all pundits and presumably knowledgeable experts that were predicting a clean sweep by either team should be more careful next time.

In any case, today's race is certainly an inflection point in the Match and will seriously tip the balance towards one side or the other. Emirates Team NZ must absolutely win this race or risk seeing Alinghi be a step before winning the world's oldest sports trophy for a second time. Still, neither of the teams should be extremely satisfied with their performance so far. Alinghi doesn't have the irrefutable edge on boat speed as many had been speculating while Emirates Team NZ has had gear failures and crew errors that at this level of competition are unforgivable.

ClearPoint weather overview
The ClearPoint weather forecast this morning is not very optimistic. The model (calculated at 9am) predicts around 7 knots from the south east, direction 120 degrees. This is always the forecast for the winds at 3pm in the approximate area of the starting line. It seems the south race area is favored today, but obviously since the Louis Vuitton Cup semifinals, racing takes place only in the north area!!

ClearPoint satellite overview of the Iberian peninsula at 9am Valencia Time. It's another bright, sunny, summer day.

ClearPoint wind forecast for 3pm in Valencia at 1km resolution, calculated at 9am Valencia Time. The model is currently predicting around 7 knots, direction 120 degrees

Weather forecast by the America's Cup organizers
Gradient wind continues from the south with good conditions locally for sea breeze development. Similar sea breeze conditions, albeit slightly lighter. Winds start 7-9 knots south southeasterly, building to 10-12 knots and backing to southeast during the race. Some high cloud cover – Temperature 29 degrees

Alinghi's public weather forecast
Sea breeze conditions, ESE starting from 8-10 knots and increasing to 12-14 knots. Maximum temperature 29°

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