BMW Oracle's USA-87 is back on the water

After an absence of several months, USA-87 of BMW Oracle, reappeared this morning in front of the team's base in Port America's Cup. Together with her new sistership USA-98 this was one of the most anticipated appearances given the fact BMW Oracle is after all the Challenger of Record.

The most obvious change, even for an untrained eye, is the disappearance of the bowsprit. Ironically, USA-87 was the first yacht in the 32nd America's Cup to incorporate such an element in its design and was then followed by Alinghi who tried it on both SUI-64 and SUI-91 as well Shosholoza on RSA-83 and finally China Team on CHN-95. Apparently, BMW Oracle's design team has concluded it was not a feature worth keeping in the boat.

What hasn't changed though was the jumperless mast.

Note: We write about USA-87 because it is the yacht that came out of the boat shed numbered 87 and we assume BMW Oracle keep their boats in the corresponding sheds. If now it turns out it actually was USA-98, then we hope they don't race with the wrong yacht and get eliminated in the first round of the Louis Vuitton Cup.

USA-87 of BMW Oracle back on the water after several months. Valencia, 28 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

USA-87 of BMW Oracle back on the water after several months. Valencia, 28 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

USA-87 of BMW Oracle back on the water after several months. Valencia, 28 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

USA-87 of BMW Oracle back on the water after several months. Valencia, 28 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

USA-87 of BMW Oracle back on the water after several months. Valencia, 28 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

In all photos there is a clearly visible difference in the glare below and above a line on the bow. We tried to draw it on this picture. Could this be the possible cut line of the new bow? This difference was first noticed by user "Huevos Rancheros". Valencia, 28 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

New America's Cup yachts: ITA-85

Considering that the sailnumber of the first boat to be built for the 32nd America's Cup in Valencia was 83 and that after almost two years numbering has reached 100, ITA-85 was one of the first new-generation boats designed and built for this edition of the sailing competition.

ITA-85 is the yacht the Italian team +39 Challenge will rely upon to battle in the Louis Vuitton Cup. She hasn't been used in any official racing and the team has only raced since 2004 on the older ITA-59. Italian designer Giovanni Cecarelli started working on ITA-85 at the beginning of 2004 and construction started in the middle of 2005. The hull arrived in Valencia in June 2006 and she was officially presented at the end of that month. Nevertheless, the boat wasn't yet ready for sailing and after being fitted out she was launched last October, making her maiden voyage on the 27th.

Since that day, the Italian challenger has been regularly training in Valencia, hoping to be able to reach thier goal of 4th position in the Louis Vuitton Cup, an admittedly enviable rank, coveted by at least a handful of challengers.

ITA-85 being towed out of Port America's Cup. Valencia, 27 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

ITA-85 being towed out of Port America's Cup. Valencia, 27 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

ITA-85 being towed out of Port America's Cup. Valencia, 27 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

ITA-85 of +39 Challenge during her first test sails. Valencia, 22 October 2006. Photo copyright +39 Challenge

Modified America's Cup boats

With the return of BMW Oracle and Emirates Team NZ to Valencia during the last weekend and the imminent reappearance of their boats, we will run a series of articles and photos on the pretenders to the throne, that is the Louis Vuitton Cup and, of course, the America's Cup.

The America's Cup rules do not oblige teams to build brand new boats for this edition of the event in Valencia. The only constraints on teams were to participate with a yacht built in their country of origin and modified to the newer version of rules, called Version 5. Nevertheless, all of them have built either one or two new yachts after the end of the previous edition in Auckland.

In addition, some of the first generation of newly-built boats have undergone substantial modification, often less than a year after their initial launch. As a prelude, we publish comparison photos of the two boats where the modifications are more evident, Luna Rossa's ITA-86 and Shosholoza's RSA-83.

Luna Rossa ITA-86
Luna Rossa's ITA-86 being towed out of Port America's Cup. Valencia, 20 April 2006. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Luna Rossa's ITA-86 being towed out of Port America's Cup. Valencia, 24 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Shosholoza RSA-83
Shosholoza's RSA-83 being towed out of Port America's Cup. Valencia, 13 June 2006. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Shosholoza's RSA-83 being towed out of Port America's Cup. Valencia, 28 January 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Fifty days to go but not a second to lose

Time flies and a mere fifty days are left till the start of the Louis Vuitton Cup and all teams present here in Valencia are taking advantage of each and every second available to train, test and optimize their boats. Given the prevailing wind patterns in January and February this might even translate into launching the boats at dawn or even before daylight.

Mascalzone Latino Capitalia Team launching their boat at dawn, starting a day of intensive training in Valencia. Photo copyright Mascalzone Latino Capitalia Team

Areva Challenge launching FRA-93 at dawn, starting a day of intensive training in Valencia. Photo copyright Franck Socha / Areva Challenge

No, this is not a miner sweating in the depths of a mining tunnel but a crew member of Mascalzone Latino Capitalia Team preparing the boat for launch in Valencia at 7am. Photo copyright Mascalzone Latino Capitalia Team

Emirates Team NZL-84 and NZL-92 arrive in Valencia

After a two-day trip aboard the enormous Antonov cargo plane, NZL-84 and NZL-92, the two latest-generation yachts of Emirates Team New Zealand, arrived this morning in Valencia. At around 1pm the two boats that could eventually win the 32nd America's Cup arrived in their base at Port America's Cup and were tucked inside the team's boatshed, away from indiscreet eyes. Valencia Sailing was there to welcome and greet the two high-tech hulls.

Emirates Team NZ will try to win the Louis Vuitton Cup and, probably, the America's Cup with two boats in its amunition, NZL-84 and NZL-92.

NZL-84 was built in Auckland in 2005 and first launched there, just before Christmas of that year. At the beginning of 2006 she was transported to Valencia and relaunched in mid April. The kiwi America's Cup challenger raced with this boat during the whole 2006 season, finishing third in both Louis Vuitton Acts 10 and 11 and first in Louis Vuitton Act 12, where they clearly outperformed all other 11 teams, losing just 2 races out of 17. After the end of the northern hemisphere summer and racing activity in Valencia she was once again shipped back to Auckland where she was used during the team's two-boat training sessions, together with NZL-92

NZL-92 hasn't been used in official racing yet and in fact this is her maiden trip to Valencia. She was built in 2006 and launched in Auckland on October 19. Since that day, together with her older sisterhip NZL-84 they have been training extensively in the Hauraki gulf, spending six or more hours on the water, five or six days a week. Around ten days ago, the team finished their winter training in New Zealand and both yachts were flown to Valencia, arriving today morning.

According to the team, the shore crew will now prepare the two boats for sailing and the New Zealanders will resume their training on March 5, this time of course off Valencia's coast.

NZL-84 and NZL-92 about to enter the Emirates Team New Zealand base. Their identity is unclear to us, although it seems that NZL-92 is on the left and NZL-84 on the right. Valencia, 24 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

We haven't been able to unequivocally identify the two hulls and in order to avoid errors we will refer to them as Boat 1 and Boat 2, according to the order in which they entered the base.

Boat 1Judging from the form of her bow it is NZL-84, but again, we have no unequivocal proof.

Emirates Team NZ boat. Valencia, 24 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Emirates Team NZ boat. Valencia, 24 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Emirates Team NZ boat. Valencia, 24 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Boat 2This must be NZL-92, but again, we have no unequivocal proof.

Emirates Team NZ boat. Valencia, 24 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Emirates Team NZ boat. Valencia, 24 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Emirates Team NZ boat. Valencia, 24 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Emirates Team NZ boat. Valencia, 24 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

BMW Oracle's USA-98 arrives in Valencia

[Source: BMW Oracle] BMW ORACLE Racing‘s new race yacht, USA 98 arrived to Valencia by Antonov cargo plane from Auckland, following conclusion of the team’s New Zealand winter training session.

The shore team greeted the plane at the Valencia airport to unload two masts, two keel bulbs, sails, a chase boat and the new America’s Cup Class race yacht for trucking to the team base in the Port America’s Cup.

The focus is now on final preparations for the Louis Vuitton Cup, the Challenger Selection Series for the 32nd America’s Cup, starting here 16th of April. BMW ORACLE Racing will continue its sailing programme in Valencia starting in early March with USA 87 and USA 98. The New Zealand winter training session was deemed successful, paving the way for the final ramp-up to competition in Valencia.

“Our time in New Zealand exceeded our expectations on all fronts,” Chris Dickson, CEO and Skipper of BMW ORACLE Racing said. “We sailed in a full range of conditions which gave us the chance to fully sea trial USA 98 with new rigs, sails and appendage packages. While it is still early days with USA 98, we are all pleased with the performance to date. Even more importantly, our in-house racing programme has the crew closer to being ready for the Louis Vuitton Cup now less than two months way,” Dickson said.

USA-98 being offloaded the Antonov cargo plane. Valencia, 23 February 2007. Photo copyright BMW Oracle Blog

Victory Challenge parties and officially presents Järv (SWE-96)

It was party time this early evening at the Victory Challenge base in Valencia. The Swedish America's Cup challenger officially presented and christened their brand new yacht. From now on, in addition to her sailnumber SWE-96, she will be called Järv (Swedish for wolverine). According to the team, she is one of the least known predators which is remarkably strong for its size and often described as cunning, presumably the qualities of the yacht designed by Mani Frers and helmed by Magnus Holmberg.

There isn't really anything new to talk about, as far as the boat is concerned, because SWE-96 had already been presented to the media two weeks ago and she has been sailing since then, together with SWE-73. The only difference this time around was the party and christening itself. It was completely different from what we have seen so far. Gone were the talks, champaign bottles broken on the bow and launches. This time the yacht came from the sea, towed with all the sailing crew onboard who afterwards were presented one by one.

The biggest difference of all is probably due to the fact that Red Bull is the one of the team's main sponsors. There was a distinguishly younger mood with DJs playing loud techno music, thousands of cans of the energizing drink and above all the extremely spectacular Red Bull acrobatic planes diving and circling dangerously a few meters off the sea level and our heads.

Hard core sailing fans might find all this a distraction and consider it superfluous but it is unavoidable. Why should the America's Cup be different from all other top professional sports? It is exactly sponsors that pay the budget necessary to design, build and race these spectacular sailing battleships. After all it was a very spectacular show and I wonder why the Swedes didn't invite all Valencians to go to Port America's Cup public spaces and watch the acrobatics.

This is not Pearl Harbor but Port America's Cup where the famous Red Bull acrobatic planes gave a different spin to the presentation. Valencia, 22 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis Valencia Sailing

The Red Bull parachutist about to splash in the water. Valencia, 22 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis Valencia Sailing

The Victory Challenge base. Valencia, 22 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis Valencia Sailing

Getting down to more serious business, we had an interesting chat with Mani Frers, designer of Järv (SWE-96):

Valencia Sailing: You must have answered this question many times. Are you satisfied with the first sailing tests of the new boat?
Mani Frers: Certainly, we are very satisfied with the first results. Since we didn’t have much margin for errors, we see now that the boat, the mast and sails are performing very well.

Valencia Sailing: Victory Challenge has only built one new boat. Was this a reason to choose a radical design, a make-or-break bet?
Mani Frers: No, we didn’t opt for a radical design. In that direction you lose much more than you gain. Conditions in Valencia are very well known to everybody and we went to the maximum allowed by the rules. Being radical in the America’s Cup is almost impossible.

Valencia Sailing: Why?
Mani Frers: Because the rules are very tight. As I said, conditions are well known in Valencia, dimensions are very big. Obviously within these parameters there can be differences but they are not extreme. We took some risks but when you only have one boat and late, with little time to retouch things, they are calculated ones, in the hull, the mast, the sails and appendages. It’s a risk because you have little time and you don’t know whether you will reach your objectives. We still haven’t got to the level we wanted to but I believe we have all the possibilities to do it.


Järv (SWE-96) docked at the Victory Challenge base. Valencia, 22 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis Valencia Sailing

Järv (SWE-96) docked at the Victory Challenge base. Valencia, 22 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis Valencia Sailing

Järv (SWE-96) with all the Victory Challenge sailing crew. Valencia, 22 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis Valencia Sailing

Emirates Team New Zealand yachts take off for Valencia

[Source: Emirates Team New Zealand] Emirates Team New Zealand’s race yachts (NZL-84 and NZL-92) are on their way to Valencia, stowed in the massive hold of an Antonov cargo aircraft.

The aircraft left Auckland at daybreak on a 56-hour journey to Spain.

Team shore crew and engineers carefully loaded the aircraft on Tuesday. The shrink-wrapped yachts, masts, keels and bulbs were accompanied by several tones of gear and sails.

The aircraft will arrive at Valencia airport early on Saturday morning. Many members of the shore crew are in Valencia and sailing crew leave over the next few days.

The Auckland base is now closed and team operations switch to Spain. Already shore crew members are readying the base for the Antonov’s arrival. The team's workshops, 60ft tender, chase boats and container loads of equipment have either arrived in Valencia by sea or a due soon. Sailing crew and remaining shore will progressively fly north over the next 10 days.

By early March, the team will be fully operational again. NZL 92 and NZL 84 will be sailing off Valencia and the team will be back into some serious preparation for the regattas which start in April. The yachts will be sailing again on March 5.

NZL-84 and NZL-92 being loaded into the Antonov cargo plane. Auckland, 21 February 2007. Photo copyright Emirates Team New Zealand

GP42 class at crossroads, 2007 looks very promising

While the spotlights of attention of the international sailing community are all focused on Valencia and the America's Cup, another major sailing class is steadily advancing and growing both in number of yachts and, equally important, top professional sailors involved. The GP42 class held its meeting right here in Valencia a month ago and the first impressions are very promising and encouraging for the future of the box rule format.

Right now there are 14 boats that have been built or are under construction from six different nationalities (6 ESP, 3 ITA, 2 CRO, 1 POR, 1 NED and 1 NOR). The first ever GP42 was a Farr design built by Latini Marine in Italy and made her debut in the Trofeo de la Reina in Valencia, last year. The second boat was built by Croatian boatyard Murtic Yachts and designed by Botín & Carkeek.

The advantages of the GP42 class reside in the considerably lower financial costs. The construction costs (excluding sails and electronics) of a GP42 boat are between 400 and 450 thousand euros, while the annual budget of a team is well within reach of an owner and his sponsors that look for boats that can be competitive, fast, attractive, fun and can draw the interest of top-class international sailors. A rough estimate for an annual budget of a top-level team is 400 thousand euros. In addition, one of the basic concepts of the rule is to keep it stable for at least three years, further reducing the costs.

The GP 42 is aimed at the owner who enjoys pure racing on elapsed time. In order to win races the level of design, engineering and construction needs to be at the highest level. In terms of engineering, the rule limits displacement together with weight restrictions on the keel, mast and internal ballast, which in turn dictates the allowed composite weight. The designers role is to utilize this ´allowed` composite weight in the most efficient manner. i.e maximum stiffness with minimum vcg. The sail plan is dictated by the rule, however with no limitations on maximum sail area the early testing stages will prove important as crossover charts are developed.

The calendar of the first ever racing circuit of this growing class was also finalized and confirmed last month.

The International GP42 2007 Racing CircuitCres, Croatia June 21st – 23rd
Valencia, Spain July 13th – 15th
Palma de Majorca, Spain July 28th – August 5th
Cascais, Portugal August 30th – September 1st
Besides this official international calendar, the GP42 are invited and included as stand alone class in the following national events:

Melilla, Spain August 11th – 15th
Bayona, Spain September 7th – 9th
Sanxenxo, Spain September 14th – 16th
Cala Galera, Italy September 21st –23rd
Puerto Calero, Spain October 17th – 21st

Given the increasing importance of this class, Valencia Sailing will begin a more extensive coverage, starting from the months of March and April when the bulk of yachts is expected to come on stream, most of them right here in Valencia.

UBS Dubai Defender Trials: Helmsman selection for LV Act 13? "Too close to call…"

[Source: Alinghi] Ed Baird and his crew win Round 2 of the UBS Dubai Defender Trials

As Alinghi wraps up the winter training at the Dubai International Marine Club, the foreseen announcement of the helmsman for Louis Vuitton Act 13 has been postponed. Syndicate head Ernesto Bertarelli and team skipper Brad Butterworth explained at a press conference, also attended by Grant Simmer, managing director and Jochen Schuemann, sports director, that “it was too close to call” and Alinghi has scheduled further racing in Valencia before the team makes a decision on the helmsman.

This was on the final day of Round 2 of the UBS Dubai Defender Trials, a two round affair that saw Ed Baird and Peter Holmberg and their respective crews go head to head with SUI64 and SUI91. Baird and his crew won Round 1 on a 3-all tie-breaker and they also went on to win Round 2, but as the decision of a helmsman is not based on the points, it has been postponed. Butterworth explained: “The racing has been very, very close. For us it is a tough decision and this time it has been too close to call, plus we are really keen to keep this healthy in-house competition going when we get back to Valencia. When we get back we’ll be launching SUI100 and racing her against SUI91 and the team is committed to this in-house racing process, so we’re going to keep it going as we think this is good for our team.”

Ernesto Bertarelli, team syndicate head, gave his thoughts: “This is the end of a very nice chapter of the Alinghi story for the 32nd America’s Cup. We have really enjoyed our stay in Dubai and have greatly benefited from being here. I am particularly pleased that by coming here, we have been able to touch another part of the world, having sailed in San Francisco and Newport, then later the Louis Vuitton Acts in Marseille, Sweden and Trapani and now back in Valencia. I think this is especially important since the Cup is a very old and extremely international trophy – if we can open new windows to our sport in locations such as this one here, then we can all be proud of what we have achieved. Of course, none of this would have been possible without UBS, our Main Partner, and the Dubai International Marine Club with their logistical support.”

Race day 4 – a shifty day
The last race of the event was delayed due to unstable conditions, but when it finally got away, the boats had a split tack start. SUI64 took an early lead in a big shift off the start line. Holmberg and the crew of SUI91 clawed Baird back downwind, closing the gap. But it was not enough and Baird finished 35 seconds ahead bringing the score to 4-1.

Dubai – a good choice
Dubai has been a valuable choice for Alinghi’s winter training. “The conditions here have in general reflected the conditions that we expect in Valencia in June, so we did a lot of testing before turning our focus on racing,” explained Butterworth. “The racing has been great, the level of in-house competition has been high and the team is pushing hard. With the winter training now over, the team starts the breakdown of the compound immediately to get the boats on the ship back to Valencia where training will resume in mid-March.”

BMW Oracle's USA-98 on the way to Valencia

[Source: BMW Oracle] BMW ORACLE Racing is loading USA-98 tonight onto an Antonov cargo plane in New Zealand for transport back to the team's base in Valencia, Spain.

Scott Sandford, the team’s New Zealand logistics manager, oversaw the pack-up and trucking of the new America’s Cup Class yacht to the airport in Auckland today. USA-98, the masts and appendages are being loaded onto the cargo plane tonight. The plane will depart New Zealand tomorrow.

USA-98 leaving the BMW Oracle base. Auckland, 19 February 2007. Photo courtesy of the BMW Oracle Blog

UBS Dubai Defender Trials, Round 2, Day 3: Races cancelled due to lack of wind

[Source: Alinghi] With the scoreboard 3-1 to Ed Baird (SUI91) at the beginning of Race Day 3, there was everything to play for. Peter Holmberg and Baird swapped boats for the second half of the regatta, but unfortunately, the conditions were against them and racing was cancelled due to light airs.

Tomorrow, Monday 19 February, is the final day of racing and will define the winner of Round 2 of the UBS Dubai Defender Trials. The prize-giving at 16:30 will be followed by a press conference at the Alinghi compound in the Dubai International Marine Club. This conference will wrap up Alinghi’s winter training in Dubai before the team returns to Valencia, Spain, to continue training for the America’s Cup Match in June.

First test sailing of China Team's CHN-95

China Team couldn't have asked for better conditions in this first day of sea trials and last day of the chinese year of the Dog. Not too strong, not too light, just the perfect wind conditions for the first sail test of a brand new America's Cup yacht.

We couldn't follow this first sail till the end and as a result we are not able to report on the outcome and the first observations and impressions from the crew and technical team of the first-ever Chinese America's Cup challenger but as far as we could observe everything went smooth and as planned. After hoisting the mainsail and sailing with it for some time, the crew hoisted the genoa and continued with upwind maneuvers, the usual routine in a first sail.

Video of CHN-95 in her first sail

First test sailing of China Team's CHN-95. Valencia, 17 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

First test sailing of China Team's CHN-95. Valencia, 17 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

First test sailing of China Team's CHN-95. Valencia, 17 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

First test sailing of China Team's CHN-95. Valencia, 17 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

First test sailing of China Team's CHN-95. Valencia, 17 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

First test sailing of China Team's CHN-95. Valencia, 17 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

UBS Dubai Defender Trials, Round 2, Day 2: Ed Baird (SUI91) 3 - Peter Holmberg (SUI64) 1

[Source: Alinghi] Racing got away in a steady 10-11 knot breeze on day 2, with Ed Baird at the helm of SUI91 and Peter Holmberg on SUI64. The boats started on opposite tacks, with Baird tacking over to follow Holmberg out to the right. When Holmberg came back Baird and SUI91 had found more pressure and crossed ahead. SUI91 led around the top mark and although the boats came together on the first downwind leg with more pressure from behind, by the next topmark Baird had almost doubled the lead and went on to win by 49 seconds.

Race 4 was just one lap. Holmberg started to the left of Baird and when the boats came together a few minutes after the start Holmberg showed a small advantage but couldn’t cross and tacked. SUI91 tacked away. SUI64 rounded the topmark a boat length ahead and on the downwind leg both boats were even with SUI64 finding a bit more pressure on the left handside to finish 41 seconds ahead.

CREW QUOTES
Peter Holmberg, helmsman (SUI64): “Our group’s sailing really well, the afterguard made a lot of good decisions, the middle of the boat is putting in a lot of horse-power and the bow is doing a good job, so when we do have a victory, I think it is important to credit the whole team.“

Ed Baird, helmsman (SUI91), at this point during Round 1, was holding 1 win to Holmberg’s 3. For Round 2, he is holding the 3 wins to Holmberg’s 1: “It's nice to know that we can have a three race streak as well. The boats are awfully close and the teams are both great. We know that no-one will win straight, we just have to do our best in each race and I think the guys have done that. They sailed a really nice race in the last one that we lost today. We just kept putting pressure on the other team, we kept close, we were pushing, we were right there at every opportunity and it didn't work, but that's match racing.”

As always, don't forget to check the dedicated section on Alinghi's website, here, with yet more excellent video footage.

UBS Dubai Defender Trials, Round 2, Day 1: Ed Baird (SUI91) 2 - Peter Holmberg (SUI64) 0

[Source: Alinghi] Round 2 of the UBS Dubai Defender Trials got off today in beautiful conditions. Ed Baird took the helm of SUI91 with Peter Evans (tactician) and Juan Vila (navigator) in the afterguard. Peter Holmberg steered SUI64 with afterguard, Brad Butterworth (tactician) and Mike Drummond (navigator). Race 1 was a light air affair. The start was reasonably even with both boats on opposite tacks. SUI91 tacked onto starboard and both boats went left. Approaching the top of the beat SUI64 was in a strong position and managed to lock SUI91 out and lead around the topmark. SUI91 gybed away first into more pressure and gained ground to cross the finish line 14 seconds ahead.

Race 2 got off in more wind with SUI91 to the right managing to cross ahead of SUI64, who had to dip the stern taking a penalty. Butterworth, tactician onboard, reckons: “64 was unlucky to get a penalty.” Holmberg got control of the right to lead around the topmark, but the lead was not enough to do the penalty turn before the finish. So at the end of Day 1 it is 2-Nil to Ed Baird and the crew of SUI91.

Comment from Ed Baird: “All the guys did a tremendous job today. It was very difficult, very close with lots of action and a lot of things that they hadn't experienced before, such as doing a penalty turn at the finish line in 15 knots. That's why we are doing this."

"The two boats have been set up to go as close to the same speed as we can which makes it a tactical race and we have to be good at that. That's what we are trying to accomplish,” he added.

As always, don't forget to check the dedicated section on Alinghi's website, here, including today some excellent video footage.

SUI-64 and SUI-91 racing during Day 1 of Round 2 of UBS Dubai Defender Trials. Dubai, 16 February 2007. Photo copyright Thierry Martinez / Alinghi

The Red Dragon hits the water

The first ever Chinese-built America's Cup yacht is now in the water. Earlier this morning, China Team launched their brand new CHN-95. The chinese challenger is now the last one to have launched their brand new boat and as a result the only team remaining is Alinghi, whose SUI-100 should be almost ready.

CHN-95 is the culmination of many months of work and thousands of manhours in China and Valencia. Similar to all other teams, the Chinese will not waste a minute and try to sail today, if the strong winds allow it. After the first sailing trials, the shore and sailing crew will have a period of several weeks to develop the boat, know its sailing characteristics and, most importantly, train.

Video of CHN-95 launch

CHN-95 launched in the water for the first time. Valencia, 16 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

CHN-95 launched in the water for the first time. Valencia, 16 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

CHN-95 launched in the water for the first time. Valencia, 16 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

CHN-95 launched in the water for the first time. Valencia, 16 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

CHN-95 launched in the water for the first time. Valencia, 16 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

CHN-95 launched in the water for the first time. Valencia, 16 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

CHN-95 launched in the water for the first time. Valencia, 16 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

CHN-95 launched in the water for the first time. Valencia, 16 February 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing