Alinghi launches multihull training programme on Lake Geneva

[Source: Alinghi] Alinghi, 33rd America's Cup Defender, has started its 2009-2010 multihull campaign in Switzerland launching the two Décision 35 catamarans that will be used as training platforms towards a multihull America's Cup in May 2010. The sailing team will be dedicated to multihull training, racing the Challenge Julius Baer on Lake Geneva for the rest of the season and withdrawing from other monohull commitments.

In addition to Ernesto Bertarelli's original SUI1, the team has chartered a second Décision 35 (SUI6) for the season and the two grand prix multihulls will race the eight events that span the summer, starting on 8 May with the Grand Prix Corum.

Ed Baird will helm Alinghi SUI6 with Brad Butterworth as tactician while Ernesto Bertarelli, Alinghi president, will helm Alinghi SUI1. “Ernesto and his team have been strong in this class for years, we look forward to learning from and with them throughout the season,” said Baird. “We realise we have a lot to learn, and there will be a number of great crews to race against, so we're excited to have the opportunity to get back on the water in a competitive environment.”

The Alinghi multihulls will face a strong 10-boat fleet that includes some of the best offshore multihull sailors in the world, and while an Alinghi team has won the last two championships on the Lake, the group is candid in its expectations: “We are here to try to win, just as we did last year, but this season is going to be tough: the circuit has two new boats (Veltigroup and Banque Populaire) manned by highly professional multihull sailors with lots of experience, so the starts of the races will be more challenging. We will definitely be trying to keep the trophy in our hands though!” said Yves Detrey, Alinghi bow/mastman.

The first event, the Grand Prix Corum is from 8-10 May at the Société Nautique de Genève, so the Alinghi teams will start training from next Monday, “the D-35's represent a more sophisticated racing multihull than we have experienced before, and we need all the training opportunities we can get as we prepare for an America's Cup in multihulls,” Ed Baird concluded.

Crew lists

Alinghi SUI1
Club: Société Nautique de Genève
Ernesto Bertarelli, helmsman
Pierre-Yves Jorand, mainsail trimmer, performance
Nils Frei, trimmer
Yves Detrey, bow/mastman, boat captain
JC Monnin, trimmer, performance
Luc Dubois, helmsman, performance
Tanguy Cariou, tactician
Coraline Jonet, trimmer
Andrew Graham, spare
Claudy Dewarrat, coach
Christian Wahl, tactician

Alinghi SUI6
Club: Société Nautique de Genève
Ed Baird, helmsman
Brad Butterworth, tactician
Warwick Fleury, mainsail trimmer
Lorenzo Mazza, trimmer
Piet van Nieuwenhuijzen, bow/mastman
Curtis Blewett, bow/mastman
Murray Jones, tactician

Alinghi's view on the latest developments of the 33rd America's Cup

Dear Alinghi Friends,

We would like to share with you the latest developments of the 33rd America's Cup.

Representatives of the yacht club's America's Cup committee and representatives of Golden Gate Yacht Club, Challenger of Record, met on the 23rd April at the Société Nautique de Genève, under the presidency of vice-commodore Fred Meyer.

During this meeting, SNG confirmed that they accepted the Challenge of the Golden Gate Yacht Club for the 33rd America's Cup and has informed the American yacht club that our team, Alinghi, will be ready to race their 90x90ft boat (as stated in the GGYC Notice of Challenge of July 2007) in 2010.

SNG also expressed its willingness for the challenger selection to be open to other teams and has encourages GGYC to do so by offering them more time for teams to prepare if necessary. In this matter, SNG has declared being ready to give more time to teams wishing to take part in a challenger selection series in multihulls. It was also stated that SNG would be flexible and ready to discuss other terms of the 33rd America's Cup such as race format, venue or calendar.

Confirmation that the 33rd America's Cup will be raced on multihulls is the consequence of the fact that SNG and Alinghi have been forced by the GGYC's challenge of July 2007 to build a multihull, despite of the fact our club and our team have been working hard with a group of challengers in the last two years to create an America's Cup that would suit the current global economic situation, i.e with a single boat per team. However, BMW Oracle Racing, representing Golden Gate Yacht Club, which has interrupted this process with legal procedures in order to become the Challenger of Record, has recently made a proposal to organise a Cup in 2011, presumably with two boats per team, therefore in total contradiction with the economical efforts decided by the 18 challenger teams and Alinghi.

Now Alinghi has built a giant multihull in Villeneuve on the shores of Lake Geneva where this boat will be launched soon. Huge efforts, both technological and financial, have been invested in this project. In the meantime, Alinghi sailing team is preparing for this exciting adventure and will be training and racing in Lake Geneva this coming season.

BMW Oracle Racing has also been training on their giant trimaran since summer 2008.

Once this 33rd America's Cup on multihull is over, if SNG and Alinghi win in their defense of the Cup, hopefully, we intend to welcome a new Challenger for the 34th America's Cup with who we will be able to organise a new event with the biggest amount of challengers and with limited costs to allow every competitor to realistically aim for victory.

We are proud of our colours and will do our best to defend them with flair and we rely on your support, for which we thank you, and we look forward to seeing you soon for the first sail onboard the new Alinghi multihull on Lake Geneva.

Kind regards,

Alinghi

Statement from the Société Nautique de Genève

[Source: Alinghi] BMW Oracle Racing (BOR) and its club Golden Gate (GGYC) have again chosen the New York law courts, instead of accepting an invitation to another meeting to discuss the terms of the 33rd America's Cup. They have ignored both our proposal to open the competition to other challengers and our invitation to agree to mutual consent terms.

As Defender of the America's Cup, Alinghi and the Société Nautique de Genève (SNG) are duty bound to fulfill the Deed of Gift that governs the event. The document clearly states that May is the earliest possible date for a race in the Northern Hemisphere, where both clubs are located. The New York Supreme Court Order does not instruct us to breach our duties as trustee.

The Deed of Gift also states that the Challenger of Record should provide the Defender with a Custom-House Registry of the vessel ‘as soon as possible'. This they also ignore. The Deed of Gift is not a document to be cast aside at convenience: the wording is clear on the matter of the dates and cannot be dismissed because it does not suit GGYC and BMW Oracle Racing's current wishes.

The Société Nautique de Genève is prepared to defend its position, which fully respects the Deed of Gift as the governing document of the America's Cup, before the New York Supreme Court and will require BOR and the GGYC to do the same.

Video highlights from the Cagliari RC44 Cup

Winner of the fleet regatta, Larry Ellison’s BMW ORACLE Racing also grabs the Cagliari RC 44 Cup – the combined fleet & match race ranking - ahead of Chris Bake’s Team Aqua and Igor Lah’s Ceeref. Aqua, Ceeref and Torbjorn Tornqvist’s Artemis finish the event on a tie, with seven points each; however the fleet race results are taken into account to separate the teams on equal points, hence offering the silver to Bake and the bronze to Lah.

Highlights from last week's Cagliari RC44 Cup. Video copyright RC44

Statement from GGYC: Oral hearing scheduled for May 14

Related PDF Documents

- Order from NY Supreme Court for May 14th hearing

- Memorandum of Law in Support of Motion to Enforce Order and Judgment and for Contempt

- Affirmation of GGYC lawyer In Support of Motion to Enforce Order

[Source: Golden Gate Yacht Club] At Golden Gate Yacht Club’s request, the Supreme Court of the State of New York today issued an order directing the defender, Société Nautique de Genève, to show cause why it should not be held in contempt of court. SNG has refused to comply with the Court’s April 7, 2009 Order and Judgment concerning the dates for the next America’s Cup match.

The court scheduled a hearing for May 14, 2009 at 0930. In early April the New York State Court of Appeals, in a unanimous 6-0 ruling, held that GGYC is the rightful challenger, and that the next match would be in ten months, meaning early February 2010.

However, in a letter last week to GGYC, SNG unilaterally dictated that the match would be in May 2010 in defiance of the Court’s April 7 Order and Judgment. SNG and Alinghi officials also made the same statements widely in the media.

“By forcing litigation over our rightful challenge, they have already managed to delay the match from July 2008 to February 2010,” said GGYC spokesman Tom Ehman. “Now they seek another three-month delay, in defiance of the Court’s clear mandate. Enough is enough.”

At a meeting with SNG representatives in Geneva last week, GGYC’s straightforward proposal for a conventional, multi-challenger America’s Cup in monohulls was categorically rejected by SNG.

Vasco Vascotto's TP52 Pisco Sour getting ready in Valencia

The America's Cup seems to be in a long dark tunnel with hardly any light at its end but the buildup towards the AUDI MedCup continues unabated. It was the turn of Vasco Vascotto's modified TP52 Pisco Sour to arrive in Valencia.

She was put on the water early in the morning and the first training will take place in a couple of days. Wednesday and Thursday will be the official measurement days and all GP42's and TP52's present in Valencia will be checked in order to see if they comply with their respective box-rules.

Stay tuned to Valencia Sailing for all the information on the top fleet racing circuit. There will be some exclusive news and photos soon.

The modified TP52 Pisco Sour. Valencia, 28 April 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

The modified TP52 Pisco Sour. Valencia, 28 April 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

The modified TP52 Pisco Sour. Valencia, 28 April 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

BMW Oracle files motion in NY Supreme Court

It seems there is no end to the ongoing legal saga between Alinghi and BMW Oracle. The America's Cup Challenger of Record returned to the NY Supreme Court on Monday by filing a motion seeking to punish SNG/Alinghi for contempt of court.

The exact content of the motion has not been published and we haven't been able to reach any official from BMW Oracle. Still, as most sources speculate, the motion most probably concerns Alinghi's intention to hold the 33rd America's Cup match in May 2010, something going against the court order of holding it, in Valencia or any other venue they might choose, starting February 8th, 2010.

We will have more information as soon as possible.

71 ports from 37 countries express interest in the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12

[Source: Volvo Ocean Race] Riding high on record media and spectator numbers in the current event, Volvo Event Management UK (VEMUK), event organiser of the Volvo Ocean Race, announced today that it has received 71 formal Expressions of Interest from 37 different countries to host one of a maximum of 8 “Stopovers” in the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12. The Expressions of Interest were received in response to a formal request sent out last month by The Sports Consultancy, the specialist agency managing the bidding process on VEMUK’s behalf.

The Volvo Ocean Race has for 36 years joined together some of the world’s most prestigious ports. The growing interest in hosting a Volvo Ocean Race Stopover reflects both the event’s growing stature in the world of sport and the increasing awareness of cities to the benefits offered by hosting major sports events such as the Volvo Ocean Race.

In addition to the global media exposure that the Volvo Ocean Race delivers for the Host Ports, Deloitte describes the event as amongst “the sports world’s highest impact short duration major sports events” with Stopover’s ranking alongside the UEFA Cup Final and Open Golf Championship in terms of economic impact.

All ports submitting an Expression of Interest will progress to Phase 1 of the bidding process following which a shortlist of a maximum of 32 Candidate Ports will be announced on 22 June 2009 to go through to the final bidding stage.

Commenting on the bidding process, VEMUK CEO, Knut Frostad said: “It is hugely satisfying to see such strong support from potential Host Ports for the Volvo Ocean Race as we build on the success of the current edition of the race.

Whilst the route in yet to be confirmed, I can say that the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 will start and finish in Europe, should have two or three fewer stopovers compared to the current race, and the total time for the race should be about one month shorter.”

Angus Buchanan, Director of The Sports Consultancy, added: “I think this level of interest from potential host ports is a real endorsement for the continuing improvements being made to the Volvo Ocean Race and its growing appeal. When planning the new route it is essential that we balance the heritage of ocean racing and this great event whilst ensuring we visit new territories in order to bring sailing to a new audience. On the basis of the quality and regional spread of host cities submitting Expressions of Interest, I am very confident we will be putting together a great event for 2011-12.”

Ericsson 4 wins Leg 6 of Volvo Ocean Race; Ericsson 3 finishes second

[Source: Volvo Ocean Race] Ericsson Racing Team continued its dominance of the Volvo Ocean Race today when Torben Grael/BRA/Ericsson 4 and Magnus Olsson/SWE/Ericsson 3 finished first and second on leg six from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Boston, USA.

The two Ericsson teams shared the same top two positions on the previous leg from Qingdao in China to Rio, but in that case, Ericsson 3 came out on top.

Today, Ericsson 4 crossed the finish at 2105 GMT (1605 local) recording an elapsed time of 15 days, 10 hours 30 minutes and 54 seconds.

Skipper Torben Grael said: “It feels fantastic. I think we had a very good leg. We were always very close to the other boats.

“I think it was very important when we gybed a few days ago. After that, there were not many options. We just managed to keep the front, which was not easy.

“Even here at the end, when it looked like it was OK, the wind was very light with sea breeze fighting the land breeze. It was a very hard job, but a very good result for us. It couldn't be better. It's one more step towards our objective. Normally, regattas in the United States give me luck. This is another one of them.”

Ericsson 4 and 3 finish 1st and 2nd respectively. Boston, 27 April 2009. Video copyright Ericsson Racing Team

British navigator Jules Salter added, “It was very hard work, probably the hardest, but we had a lot of luck to get this win. People talk about strategy and reading books, but I think it comes down to luck. We knew our sails and our crew work was good, but it was never certain until we were over the finish. I’ve had 30 minutes sleep in the past day. Really, the whole leg has been a bit like that.”

A fearsome battle played out in the closing stages of the leg to decide the points for second place, which culminated in Ericsson 3 taking second, finishing at 2117 GMT, just over five minutes ahead of Telefónica Blue (2123 GMT), after 4,900 nm and nearly 16 days of ocean racing. It was a particularly remarkable achievement for Ericsson 3, whose skipper Magnus Olsson was washed into the steering pedestal on day six, 16 April, and was nursing a bruised back.

“Of course we are really happy,” said the skipper when he stepped ashore. “My back is not too bad, the pain at the beginning was a lot, but my crew did all the work. Telefónica Blue was coming in from behind and we kept watch on them. We have all had our problems and Ericsson 4 didn’t have a watermaker, but we wouldn’t have beaten them, but maybe next time,” he added.

A relieved Bouwe Bekking said on finishing third: “We had a really good come back after two horrible days. Passing PUMA and nearly catching Ericsson 3 was great. It has been fantastic and it is really nice to be back here. We have had some shocking times, but we have come back to a real high”.

Scoring 3.5 points for second place at the scoring gate of Fernando de Noronha and eight points for a leg win, Ericsson 4 extends her overall lead to 77.5 points. Telefónica Blue moves up to second overall with 64.5 points, only half a point ahead of PUMA provided she finishes in her current position of fourth. Ericsson 3 has a total of 53 points, which is good enough for fourth place on the overall leaderboard.

Björn Hansen wins the Open de España Match Race

Swedish match racer Björn Hansen and his OnBoard Sailing Team won the 6th edition of the Open de España Match Race in a convincing way and after a day that started with long delays waiting for the breeze, then light and shifty conditions and ending at 8:30pm with a 12 knots of easterly breeze.

When the first race got underway, both sailors went into an aggressive prestart that cost Ainslie a penalty. Nevertheless, the South African got the upper hand on the starting line and went off to the right with a slight advantage. Not only was he able to hold on to it, Hansen slipped back in the second beat, giving Ainslie ample room to offload the penalty at the finish line and win the first race.

Being one race down, Hansen showed his aggressive match racing skills in the second start, squeezing Ainslie behind the committee boat and holding him back. Ainslie threw a fierce tacking duel in the first beat but half way up, umpires judged he tacked too close to Hansen, handing him a penalty. From that point he was unable to recover and with a penalty turn to do he would have to wait for the third and final race to decide the winner.

Before the start of the final race, and with night approaching fast, the breeze was rapidly dying down. Both sailors engaged in yet another close prestart whose clear winner was Hansen. He got the side the wanted and crossed the starting line with better speed. Ainslie stayed close behind him until the leeward mark, when sensing a left shift was coming, opted for the left side of the course while Hansen sticked to the right. The call didn't pay off for Ainslie because when the two Tom28 yachts converged once again after their huge separation, Hansen was several boatlengths ahead. The Swede sailed safely and won the race and the overall trophy.

Iain Ainslie leads Björn Hansen in the first race of the finals. Calpe, 25 April 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Björn Hansen sails to victory in the second race of the finals. Calpe, 25 April 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

After almost 9 hours on the water Björn Hansen wins the Open de España Match Race. Calpe, 25 April 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Petit Final : Iehl - Neugodnikov
After getting eliminated by Ainslie in the semifinals, Damien Iehl had a commanding performance over Neugodnikov. The Russian match racer proved to be an easy opponent for the French who claimed the 3rd place overall with a 2-0 victory in the petit final.

Damien Iehl beats Eugeny Neugodnikov 2-0 in the Open de España petit final. Calpe, 25 April 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

First Semifinal : Hansen - Neugodnikov
Unlike the other semifinal Hansen and Neugodnikov didn't suffer as much as Ainslie and Iehl from the fluky and shifty conditions. Even if at times they had to sail in a flickering breeze or face huge shifts, none of their races was canceled. The first race took place under light yet acceptable conditions. Despite the intense and aggressive prestart, Hansen crossed the starting line with a clear advantage on the right side of the course and managed to hold on to his lead until the end.

As the breeze was dying and shifting right, the second race was a simple question of who was to call tactics more accurately. It was Hansen that correctly picked the right and his lead grew to frustrating levels for Neugodnikov. He crossed the finish line when the Russian and his crew had just hoisted their spinnaker after rounding the top mark.

Prestart of the semifinal between Hansen and Eugodnikov. Calpe, 25 April 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Hansen sails to victory against Neugodnikov in the first semifinal. Calpe, 26 April 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Second Semifinal : Ainslie - Iehl
The close and intense racing and the exasperating wind conditions turned the second semifinal into a nailbiting drama. Ainslie won the first race in a convincing manner, leading his opponent from the start. After crossing the finish line the two crews were forced to endure more than an hour of frustrated attempts by the race committee to set a proper race course and get the 2nd match going. Racing was abandoned twice and with the time limit approaching fast, the race officers were considering the option of declaring Ainslie the winner in order to start the finals.

Finally, at around 6pm the breeze kicked in and the 2nd match started with Iehl squeezing Ainslie in the pre start, forcing him to tack twice on the start line. The French went off with a clear advantage that Ainslie was unable to overcome.

With the two teams tied and a steady breeze of 12 knots, we were guaranteed a close and exciting race and that was the case. Not only during the intense pre-start where Ainslie got the upper hand but also in the first beat, where we counted 12 tacks. Iehl was throwing all the tacks he could but Ainslie held on and won the race and the ticket to the final.

Ainslie leads Iehl in the first race of the second semifinal. Calpe, 26 April 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Iehl leads Ainslie in the second race of the second semifinal. Calpe, 26 April 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Ainslie leads Iehl in the third race of the second semifinal. Calpe, 26 April 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

BMW ORACLE wins fleet race event and overall Cagliari RC 44 Cup

[Source: RC44]There were no races in Cagliari today due to the lack of wind. Larry Ellison and Russell Coutts’ BMW ORACLE Racing are the grand winners of the event, ahead of Chris Bake’s Team Aqua and Igor Lah’s Ceeref.

The wind carried on playing tricks with the Cagliari Cup organisers today. Despite a good forecast and some promising moments, Peter “Luigi” Reggio had no other option but to send all the teams back to port at 2:30 PM.

Winner of the fleet regatta, Larry Ellison’s BMW ORACLE Racing also grabs the Cagliari RC 44 Cup – the combined fleet & match race ranking - ahead of Chris Bake’s Team Aqua and Igor Lah’s Ceeref. Aqua, Ceeref and Torbjorn Tornqvist’s Artemis finish the event on a tie, with seven points each; however the fleet race results are taken into account to separate the teams on equal points, hence offering the silver to Bake and the bronze to Lah.

The Cagliari RC 44 Cup has not offered a wide range of sailing conditions to the teams. Indeed, all the races have taken place in less than 12 knots of wind, and often in very light conditions. Nevertheless, the races have been exciting and the teams seem to be closer than ever. Also interesting to note that the results are very different from the last regatta in Puerto Calero, proving that the Class’s one-design concept gives equal chances to all the teams and that the newcomers have the opportunity to get excellent results, as shown this week by the Calero brothers and their team on board “Islas Canarias Puerto Calero”.

The next regatta will take place in Lake Traunsee, a mountain lake located in Austria, on May 27 – 31.

Russell Coutts and Larry Ellison, winners of the overall event. Cagliari, 26 April 2009. Photo copyright Nico Martinez

They said:

Larry Ellison, helmsman, BMW ORACLE Racing: “I am very happy, because it was really tough behind the wheel this week. The sailing conditions were tricky, but it was the same for all of us. The level in this Class is very tough, and the other owners are very experienced. The team did a great job, and Russell is a fantastic tactician.”

Russell Coutts, tactician, BMW ORACLE Racing: “The standard of the fleet is getting higher. Most of the teams have similar sails, and they use similar settings, which keeps all the boats very close from each other. This regatta was very difficult for the helmsmen, because of the waves and the light breeze. It is also an event that rewards the teams who work well together; those who manage to constantly adapt their settings to the mode required by the situation. I am absolutely convinced that the next regatta, on smooth water, will open opportunities to other teams.”

Chris Bake, helmsman, Team Aqua: “We were on good form and this is a nice follow through from the last event in Lanzarote. I am really happy with our team: everyone is very focused and cooperative; it’s a strong team, and we also have a very good time together. Cameron Appleton is the pillar of this team, he does a great job.”

René Mangold, helmsman, Team Austria: “The result is kind of what we expected for our first regatta. But I saw good signs and I know what we have done wrong. I am very happy that we have joined this circuit. Everyone has been helping us, all the teams are friendly; it is really great.”

Karol Jablonski, tactician, Organika: “We are quite happy with our result in the match race, because we are getting closer and closer to the best teams. We are definitely there. We still have some work to do in the fleet regatta, but we are coming together; we just need a little bit more time.”

Cagliari Cup, final results:

(Ranking, Name of team, match race, fleet race, total points)

1) BMW ORACLE Racing, 4, 1 – 5 points
2) Team Aqua, 5, 2 - 7 points
3) Ceeref, 3, 4 - 7 points
4) Artemis, 1, 6 - 7 points
5) Islas Canarias Puerto Calero, 6, 3 - 9 points
6) No Way Back, 2, 7 - 9 points
7) Team Sea Dubai, 8, 5, – 13 points
8) Team Organika, 7, 8 – 15 points
9) Team Austria, 9, 9 - 18 points

Björn Hansen wins Open de España Match Race

Björn Hansen and his Team Onboard crew won the Open de España Match Race after a very long day in Calpe with tough conditions that kept the race committee busy trying to keep on top of a breeze that shifted left and right and went from 15 knots to nothing in a matter of minutes. Hansen was a favorite early on in the event. He led the round robins with 8 victories in 11 races, then easily beat Portuguese Alvaro Marinho 3-0 in the quarterfinals. He didn't encounter any problem either in the semifinals where he beat Russian Eugeny Neugodnikov 2-0 before meeting South African Iain Ainslie in the finals. Ainslie won the first race, despite the penalty received in the prestart but thanks to excellent starts Hansen dominated the next two races and won the event.

Our full report with many pictures will be published on Sunday. Our apologies for the scant updates on Friday and Saturday but it was the result of them being very long days on the water and a very slow internet connection.

Björn Hansen and Team Onboard sail to victory against Iain Ainslie in the finals of the Open de España Match Race. Calpe, 26 April 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Iain Ainslie claims second place in the Open de España Match Race. Calpe, 26 April 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Björn Hansen and Team Onboard sail to victory against Eugeny Neugodnikov in the semifinals of the Open de España Match Race. Calpe, 26 April 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

BlackMatch bail out of the Open de Spain in exciting fashion

Hello again from BlackMatch in Spain,

Today we had the unenviable task of racing World #6 ranked skipper Damien Iehl in a best of 5 race quarter final. Unfortunately we didn't get off to the greatest of starts and the Frenchman looked set to cruise to victory after dominating the first two matches, however in a miraculous turnaround we totally dominated the next two matches. After a comprehensive win in the third match, Adam pulled off an impressive start in the 4th match that saw us gain the early advantage by pushing them over at the start line and also forcing two penalties on them, setting us up for match point.

Minoprio collides with Iehl in the intense prestart of the 2nd race. Calpe, 24 April 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

The deciding match was action packed and in a match that saw us handed 3 penalties in controversial circumstances, we still managed to fight back losing by mere seconds on the finish line. After an even start we were tack for tack up the first beat, however nearing the top mark we gained the advantage and held a two boat length lead going into the first downwind. Approaching the bottom mark we hit some bad waves from spectator craft that gave Iehl a sniff of an overlap, this was all that he needed and he went for the kill. After protesting that we did not give him room at the mark, the umpires agreed and we were given a red flag penalty to be taken immediately. On completion of our penalty we still held an advantage as the French team had a terrible rounding, yet in a bizarre decision by the umpires we were handed another red flag penalty which we yet again had to undertake immediately. Despite all of this we fought back and were again 'tack for tack' approaching the top mark. While on the layline we 'leebow tacked' close to Iehl and seconds later luffed to defend our lead, however the umpires deemed us to have tacked past head to wind and a third penalty was handed to us. Although normally 'game over' we had a great final downwind and once again gained the lead, but our penalty turn on the finish line cost us too much and the talented French team took a deserved win.

BlackMatch would like to congratulate Bjorn Hansen, Damien Iehl, Eugeny Neugodnikov and Ian Ainslie on making the semi finals. These teams have shown great form throughout the week and although it is a shame we couldn't quite make it through, we wish these teams well.

Adam Minoprio and BlackMatch finish round robins 4th in Open de España

Greetings from BlackMatch on day two of the Open de Espana,

The second day of racing saw the round robin completed and the top 8 teams progressing through to the quarterfinal. We managed 5 wins from our 7 races today and with an overall scorecard of 7 wins 4 losses, we earned our way through to the quarterfinals in 4th position. Today's effort set us up for a show down with Frenchman and world #6 Damien Iehl, who we recently defeated in the Marseille International World Tour semi final.

We had wins today against the highly regarded french duo of Mathieu Richard and Damien Iehl, also managing wins over local hopeful Manuel Weiller and Alvaro Marinho of Portugal while we also had the edge in the clash of the Kiwis, managing a narrow victory over Phil Robertson.

After a comprehensive defeat against Eugeny Neugodnikov following a split tack start that saw the Russian pick up a massive right hand windshift, we had a very close race against the top qualifier Bjorn Hansen. Bjorn had the better of us in the start and we trailed the Swede up the first beat but managed to make a significant dent in their lead as we gybed on top of them downwind. We outmanoeuvred them in a gybe and managed to roll over the top of them nearing the bottom mark, also breaking the overlap which meant we were entitled to sail to the mark, however in the tight maneuvering we struggled to get our spinnaker down in the windy conditions and they gained a significant enough advantage to take the win.

Tomorrow will see us compete in a very tough quarterfinal against Iehl and his French team, with the first team to reach 2 wins progressing through to the semi finals. With a mixed start to this regatta we have been slowly improving throughout and are hoping that we will start to 'hit our straps' tomorrow and proceed through to the later stages of the event.

Dean Baker and Artemis undefeated in the Cagliari RC 44 match race contest

[Source: RC44] Team Artemis scores an impressive 9 / 0 and wins the match race event ahead of No Way Back, Ceeref and BMW ORACLE Racing; all three on a tie with five points each.

Showing great mastery of the tricky air conditions, and superb boat handling, Dean Barker and his crew on board Artemis have exploded out of the blocks, winning all of their matches and the overall ranking ahead of Philippe Presti and Sébastien Col.

Today will be remembered as the longest, and certainly one of the hardest match-racing days in the RC 44 Championship Tour history. The racing started on schedule, under a blue sunshine and with a very light breeze. It finished eight hours later under a stunning red sky and with a lovely 10-12 knots breeze. Race Officer Peter Reggio had to postpone racing on several occasions, re-establishing the course according to the wind variations. Luckily it all finished well, with fantastic sailing conditions and great matches.

Highlights from the second day of the RC44 Cagliari regatta. Cagliari, 23 April 2009. Video copyright RC44

On great form, Dean Barker managed to win the first start – and match - of the day despite being dominated by Cameron Appleton’s Team Aqua in the pre-start. Reacting one second too late at the crucial moment, Appleton let his fellow citizen escape and win the race.

All other teams opposed to Barker and his “fab-seven” were to suffer the same fate later on in the day, succumbing to Barker’s aggressiveness, perfect positioning and great tactics. The best example was the match between Artemis and Ceeref. The Slovenian team, with Seb Col at the helm, was in the lead but Barker and his team kept pushing harder and harder until Ceeref made a first mistake, touching the windward mark, before getting a second “killing” penalty a few minutes later.
Also well inspired however unable to beat Artemis, Team Puerto Calero bravely tempted everything against Artemis during the fifth flight but could only humbly congratulate their opponent past the arrival line: there was nothing to do against this team today.

The racing became really interesting in the middle of the afternoon, once the breeze had established itself. At this stage, four teams were in a position to grab the second overall spot: Ceeref (Sébastien Col), No Way Back (Philippe Presti), Team Aqua (Cameron Appleton) and BMW ORACLE Racing (Larry Ellison). As the day went by, the sailors’ muscles started to hurt and concentration and focus became the deciding factors for victory. Team Aqua, who was struggling to adapt to the new Class rule regarding bowsprit management – and its consequences on crew work – struggled in the end of the day and let the three others fight for the podium.

Dean Barker ends the match race event with a perfect score. Cagliari, 23 April 2009. Photo copyright Nico Martinez

Both No Way Back and Ceeref had the best run, winning one more match then BMW ORACLE Racing; they were however both penalised for a light touch against one of their opponents. As a consequence, they finished on a tie with the American team. Ceeref had beaten Oracle, who had beaten No Way Back, who had beaten Ceeref whilst the three teams had been beaten by Aqua… It took the Jury a while to listen to – and reject – Ceeref’s request for redress, and announce that No Way Back was second overall, ahead of Ceeref and BMW ORACLE Racing.

Many other extraordinary matches took place today. Team Austria won its first ever match race, against Puerto Calero. This is with no doubt only the start for this promising team. Team Sea Dubai also had its moment of glory, beating BMW ORACLE Racing and Team Austria. As for the craziest match of the day, it was with no doubt the one between No Way Back and Organika; a fabulous fight that looked more like a boxing match than a regatta.

Organika, team Sea Dubai and Puerto Calero also finished the day on a tie, illustrating how close racing is in the RC 44 Class.

The fleet regatta starts tomorrow morning. It promises to be another fantastic event.

Larry Ellison ends the match race event in 4th position. Cagliari, 23 April 2009. Photo copyright Nico Martinez

They said:

Dean Barker, helmsman, Artemis: “I am really pleased. We worked really hard on our speed and crew work. It takes time, but it has paid off and it is great for the team. We had some really close races today, but we tried to always keep the pressure. It was a long day, with bits of waiting in the middle which made it hard to keep the focus.”

Philippe Presti, helmsman, No Way Back: “This was a very long day and very hard mentally, but I am extremely pleased with the way it went. The team was great, and everyone remained focus all along, showing a great desire to win. We have made enormous progress as a team. We sailed in many different configurations today, sometimes at the contact and sometimes just trying to make our best out of the conditions. The team showed a great capacity to adapt to those different situations.”

Daniel Fong, jib trimmer, BMW ORACLE Racing: “The wind was changing a lot today, which made it sometimes hard to find the right sail for the right race. We also had to constantly adapt our trimming, which was tough; we had to constantly keep an eye out of the boat. But we did pretty well. There is just one match, against Team Sea Dubai, which we should have won. Other than this, we are quite happy with our day.”

Ben Graham, grinder, Team Aqua: “Today was tough physically. It wasn’t too windy but the boats were fully powered, and finesse in trimming was essential. We needed to adapt constantly.”

Match-race, final results after 9 flights:

1) Artemis, Dean Barker, 9/0, 9 points
2) No Way Back, Philippe Presti, 6/3, 1 penalty, 5 points
3) Ceeref, Sébastien Col, 6/3, 1 penalty, 5 points
4) BMW ORACLE Racing, Larry Ellison, 5/4, 5 points
5) Team Aqua, Cameron Appleton 4/5, 4 points
6) Puerto Calero Islas Canarias, José Juan Calero, 2/7, 2 points
7) Team Organika, Karol Jablonski 2/7, 2 points
8) Team Sea Dubai, Markus Wieser, 2/7, 2 points
9) Team Austria, Christian Binder, 1/8, 1 point

Ericsson 4 and Telefonice Blue enter stealth mode

[Source: Ericsson Racing Team] The two leaders on Leg 6 have both entered Stealth Play, which makes them invisible to the rest of the fleet and race fans until this evening.

Stealth play allows a crew to hide its position information from competing yachts and race fans for a period of 12 hours. The crews seem to enact it when they are nearing changes in weather that they don’t want their competitors to comprehend.

Telefónica Blue, which has led the race since Apr. 12, activated its Stealth option this morning at the 1000 GMT position report. Three hours later, Ericsson 4 went into Stealth mode. Each is invisible for a 12-hour period.

The last position report when both were visible was at 0700 GMT, and at that point Ericsson 4 had closed to within 6 nautical miles of the Spanish yacht. Last Sunday Ericsson 4 was 105 miles behind.

The actions of the two lead yachts put Ericsson 3 in the lead. At the 1300 report, the Nordic crew was 841 nautical miles from the finish and 15 miles ahead of Puma, the next closest yacht.

At the 0700 report, when the two leaders were visible, Ericsson 3 was 22 nautical miles behind Telefónica Blue and 16 miles behind its teammate.

Leg 6 has reached a crucial stage. The fleet is about to encounter a series of cold fronts that will change the wind direction to northwest, before it eventually backs to the southwest after a following high pressure sweeps across the race track.

VOLVO OCEAN RACE LEG 6 LEADERBOARD
(At 1301 GMT, Apr. 23, 2009)
1. Ericsson 3, 841 nautical miles to finish
2. Puma, +15 NM
3. Telefónica Black, +68 NM
4. Delta Lloyd, +78 NM
5. Green Dragon, +131 NM
Stealth Telefónica Blue, Ericsson 4

Alinghi statement on meeting with BMW Oracle

[Source: Alinghi] At a meeting today in Geneva, the America's Cup defending yacht club, Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), confirmed that it accepts the Golden Gate Yacht Club's (GGYC) challenge for the 33rd America's Cup and informed representatives of the American yacht club that its team, Alinghi, will be ready to race their 90x90ft boat (as stated in the GGYC Notice of Challenge) in 2010.

SNG expressed its willingness for the challenger selection to be open to other teams and has encouraged GGYC to do so by offering them more time for teams to prepare if necessary. It was also stated that the SNG would be flexible and ready to discuss other terms of the 33rd America's Cup such as race format, venue or calendar.

Lucien Masmejan, SNG member, America's Cup committee secretary & Fred Meyer, SNG vice-commodore and America's Cup committee chairman & Brad Butterwoth (SNG member, America's Cup committeee vice-chairman) . Geneva, 23 April 2009. Photo copyright Carlo Borlenghi/Alinghi

Manolo Ruiz de Elvira (BMW Oracle Designer), Richard Slater (BMW Oracle Rules Advisor) & Melinda Erkelens (BMW Oracle General Counsel). Geneva, 23 April 2009. Photo copyright Carlo Borlenghi/Alinghi

BMW Oracle statement on meeting with Alinghi

[Source: BMW Oracle] A delegation from the Golden Gate Yacht Club and its team, BMW ORACLE Racing, met in Geneva today with representatives of SNG/Alinghi.

GGYC’s clear and straight-forward proposals for a fully competitive, conventional America’s Cup in monohulls were rejected by SNG, who insisted on a regatta in large multihulls under the Deed of Gift (“DoG”).

SNG asserted that the Deed of Gift match with GGYC would take place in May 2010. This is in defiance of the recent decision and orders of the New York courts that the DoG match take place in February 2010.

GGYC has asked SNG to put their position in writing, and hopes to have another meeting with SNG soon to clarify issues related to the DoG match.

GGYC is disappointed that SNG categorically rejected our proposals for a conventional regatta. GGYC will continue to negotiate in good faith as Challenger of Record to put the America’s Cup back on the water as soon as possible.

Alinghi and BMW Oracle meet in Geneva

As we are writing this post, the meeting between Alinghi and BMW Oracle in Geneva might have already ended, with or without any deal having being reached. It might have signaled the start of a conventional America's Cup in 2011 in Valencia or it just might have been the first meeting to discuss the details of a one-on-one race on giant trimarans some time next year. We will update with any information we have.

Assuming no settlement was found on a conventional regatta what are the options?

As it was widely reported last week, Christine Bélanger and Bruno Troublé were in Valencia for three days and held a series of meetings in view of organizing Louis Vuitton sponsored regattas. Given the very good results that were achieved in Auckland during the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series, it shouldn't come as a surprise the fact the French luxury group would like to also organize a Med Series.

It was initially thought the two French were to meet with Valencia's mayor, Rita Barberá, but both Bélanger and Barberá denied such a meeting was scheduled. According to a statement Bélanger made in the local press, Louis Vuitton was not in exclusive talks with Valencia but instead, the Spanish city formed part of a group of Mediterranean ports that could host such events. She mentioned the countries of Spain, Italy, France and Greece and according to information we have, the cities could be Valencia, Marseille, Naples and Athens. Always according to Bélanger, such events could take place next spring at the earliest, because Louis Vuitton's budget for 2009 sponsorship has already been exhausted.

Still, the letter BMW Oracle sent Alinghi prior to today's meeting in Geneva made it clear that Louis Vuitton's involvement could go much further than a simple circuit, a la AUDI Medcup, and become a full blown Louis Vuitton Cup, if of course the Defender of the America's Cup agrees. Obviously, BMW Oracle wouldn't have made such a proposal without prior negotiations and talks with Louis Vuitton. In any case, there is no doubt the French company wants to be active in top-level sailing inside or outside the America's Cup.

There is no doubt a Louis Vuitton Med Series would be a very cheap way for a lot of potential America's Cup teams to race and the organization might even face the problem of having too many teams interested in participating. It's also considerable cheaper for the host cities. Auckland City Council, Tourism Auckland and AucklandPlus each invested NZL $20,000 to help secure the Louis Vuitton event for Auckland, with Auckland City Council providing significant additional in kind support. The return on investment was tremendous as it injected at least NZL $16.1 million of additional cash into the Auckland economy according to an independent economic impact report.

Our view is that both Alinghi and BMW Oracle in reality want a one-on-one race. The winner of such a match will then have the liberty to negotiate with a Challenger of Record (hopefully a legitimate one) of their choice rather than hold tense talks after almost 2 years of legal fights. Time will tell.

Deal Breaker

In less than 10 hours and in some comfortable room inside the Société Nautique de Genève, three members from each of the two waring factions in the America's Cup will sit and talk, in order to, hopefully, negotiate a deal that would bring the America's Cup back on track. Whether there is any deal at the end of the meeting is still a big question mark. The two sides have been involved in a lengthy legal fight and there has been nothing so far that could make them agree on anything.

While the 6 delegates from the teams and their yacht clubs will be negotiating, the owner together with the skipper and CEO of BMW Oracle will be racing aboard the team's RC44 yacht in Cagliari. The first day of racing was very tricky and the unstable and fluky winds resulted in long delays and postponements on the water. Why should we care?

Because, Spain's most influential sailing journalist, Jaume Soler, spotted what could be one of the funniest ironies and asked Nico Martínez to take a picture. During one of the periods the race committee was eagerly waiting for some breeze, a laid back Larry Ellison was resting, lying down on the stern of his yacht, named "Deal Breaker". What deal is Ellison referring to? Let's hope not the one related to the America's Cup. Enjoy the picture.

What deal is Larry Ellison referring to? Cagliari, 22 April 2009. Photo copyright Nico Martínez / Jaume Soler

Artemis TP52 flies Swiss flag

As we said earlier today, one of the 3 TP52's training on Wednesday morning in Valencia was the 2008 Artemis, flying a Swiss flag on her stern.

Our friend happened to be close to the Swedish yacht and snapped a couple of interesting pictures. Jochen Schuemann is aboard but we don't know what role the German 3-times Gold Olympic medalist has in the team.

Artemis TP52 sails in Valencia flying the Swiss flag. Valencia, 22 April 2009

Artemis TP52 sails in Valencia flying the Swiss flag. Valencia, 22 April 2009

Artemis TP52 sails in Valencia flying the Swiss flag. Valencia, 22 April 2009

BlackMatch has mixed start on opening day of Calpe Open de España Match Race

Greetings from BlackMatch in our third regatta of 2009,

Today was the opening day of the Open de Espana Grade 1 event held in the picturesque town of Calpe, on the Meditterean coast of Spain. This is our second visit to Calpe, having competed here 4 years ago where we gained a respectable 5th placing and we are hoping to better that performance despite the very tough competition at this years edition of the event. Four of the worlds Top ten Skipper's are competing while amoungst many other highly ranked skippers is fellow Kiwi Phil Robertson in his debut grade 1 event, having earned his place here by winning the prestigious Warren Jones youth regatta in Perth last January. It is great to be joined in Europe by Phil and his young Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadran team, they are sailing with yet another legendary kiwi, Andrew Taylor (aka raw meat) and have made a great start to the regatta with 3 wins.

We had a mixed start to the regatta winning two and losing two however one of our losses included a black flag disqualification, the result of some extremely dubious umpiring which we are hoping to put behind us. Our wins came against South African Ian Ainslie, who has newly recruited BlackMatch crew member Dan Mclean trimming for him and an all girls team from Germany who are preparing for the 2012 Olympics. Our first match tomorrow is against Phil and his talented kiwi team and should be an awesome race while we both vie for a win to keep us on track for a quarter final berth.

Tricky conditions on day one of the Cagliari RC 44 match race contest

[Source: RC44] Two flights could be completed on day one of the Cagliari Cup match race event. The winners of the day are Team Puerto Calero Islas Canarias, undefeated, and No Way Back, who managed to beat the match race champion Ceeref. Team Aqua, Artemis and BMW ORACLE Racing are also unbeaten.

The first day of the Cagliari RC 44 Cup proved to be tricky for the navigators as well as the race organiser’s nerves. Indeed, big black clouds started building up over Cagliari early in the afternoon, forcing Race Officer Peter Reggio to send everyone home after the two first flights. The nine RC 44’s then sailed back out once the shower and thunder were gone, but only for a short time as the next threatening weather system was arriving fast.

Highlights from the opening day of the RC44 Cagliari regatta. Cagliari, 22 April 2009. Video copyright RC44

The first flight saw fairly easy victories from Team Aqua, BMW ORACLE Racing and Puerto Calero against respectively Team Sea Dubai, Team Austria and Team Organika. The most interesting match was the one opposing Team No Way Back and Artemis. The two teams kept in contact all along, showing how much the Dutch have improved since the last regatta. Both boats arrived together at the last windward mark, and went into a spectacular dial up that turned out to Dean Barker’s advantage. Despite loosing the race, Philippe Presti and his crew onboard No Way Back got the proof that their long training session in Lanzarote had paid off. They would soon have another confirmation of their progress.

Indeed, sailing in the second flight against the favourite of the match race contest, Ceeref, with Sébastien Col at the helm, No Way Back managed to control most of the regatta, loosing the lead shortly during the second beat but regaining it in the last downwind leg to win the race. Not many RC 44 teams can say that they have beaten Ceeref in a match; No Way Back’s owner Pieter Heerema can tick this one in his list of achievements.

Team Puerto Calero, Artemis and Aqua are unbeaten after two races. BMW ORACLE Racing is also unbeaten; however after sailing only one match, against Team Austria.

Seven flights remain for the 9 teams assembled for this second event of the RC 44 Championship Tour. Peter Reggio will certainly impose an intense rhythm tomorrow. The racing is due to start at 11:30.

They said:

Pieter Heerema, owner, No Way Back: “I am happy because we seem to be more in the race than before. We trained very hard after the last regatta and it has paid off. We had a good session in Lanzarote with Team Puerto Calero; we tuned up together and progressed a lot. We will do the same next month with the Austrians. It is an apprenticeship for all of us. We are learning a lot. At this stage, I am convinced that it is more important for us to spend a week sailing than to buy new sails.”

José Maria Ponce, helmsman, Team Puerto Calero Islas Canarias: “We took very good starts and managed to control the rest of the two races against Organika and Sea Dubai. We had a good speed, which is partly the result of our training session with No Way Back. We tested some trimmings, sails, configurations etc. It was extremely useful.”

Christian Binder, helmsman, Team Austria: “I have been trying to play it too safely today. We took good starts, but just a little bit behind our opponents; then we tried to hunt but our speed wasn’t very good in this light wind. We also had problems with our drop line. We will make a big debriefing tonight to see what we can improve.”

Match-race, provisional results after 2 flights (out of 9):
(Name of team, helmsman, No of victories / defeats, points)

1) Puerto Calero Islas Canarias, José Juan Calero, 2/0, 2 points
1) Team Aqua, Cameron Appleton 2/0, 2 points
1) Artemis, Dean Barker, 2/0, 2 points
4) BMW ORACLE Racing, Larry Ellison, 1/0, 1 point
5) No Way Back, Philippe Presti, 1/1, 1 point
6) Ceeref, Sébastien Col, 0/1, 0 point
7) Team Organika, Karol Jablonski 0/2, 0 point
7) Team Sea Dubai, Markus Wieser, 0/2, 0 point
9) Team Austria, Christian Binder, 0/2, 0 point

The TP52's train in Valencia

With less than 3 weeks left until the start of the 2009 AUDI Medcup in Alicante there is increasing activity in Valencia. Three TP52 yachts were training today and a handful more are expected to do so in the following days.

Last year's Med & World champions, Quantum Racing, are using Desafío's base and have been training for about a week. There is little additional information we have on Terry Hutchinson's TP52 campaign.

The Quantum Racing TP52 yacht on her way to another training day. Valencia, 22 April 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

As for the Spanish team Desafío, the most notable change is the departure of Paul Cayard. In addition, given the absence of a GP42 campaign this year, some of the crew that sailed last year in the smaller yacht was incorporated into the TP52 boat. Laureno Wizner, helmsman on the GP42 yacht for 2 years, has now taken Cayard's place and drives the Spanish entry in the AUDI Medcup circuit.

The Desafío TP52 yacht on her way to another training day. Valencia, 22 April 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

The 3rd TP52 yacht training further away was last year's Artemis, flying a big Swiss flag on her stern. She was too far to get a decent photo but we will certainly snap a few tomorrow. According to the information we have, the first-ever Swiss participation in the AUDI Medcup circuit started training yesterday and will make its racing debut in Alicante.

BMW Oracle test new 3Di mainsail in Valencia

On the eve of their all important meeting with Alinghi in Geneva and with Russell Coutts and the monohull sailing crew in Italy for the RC44 circuit, James Spithill, John Kostecki and the rest of the BMW Oracle multihull crew keep training in Valencia.

This is the third week the American team trains here in Valencia but unlike the first two, we only saw two yachts today. The first one was Groupama, with Franck Cammas on the helm, and the second one was a BMW Oracle Extreme 40 with James Spithill driving.

What caught our attention was the brand new 3Di mainsail from Northsails. It was the first time we observed it, although it might have been used since Monday. Are we going to see this technology on the BOR 90ft trimaran? Our understanding is that the America's Cup challenger of record will move back to San Diego in 3 weeks for a 2-month training and testing session aboard their monster trimaran, before returning to Valencia for further testing.

BMW Oracle test new 3Di sails on their Extreme 40 catamaran. Valencia, 22 April 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing


BMW Oracle test new 3Di sails on their Extreme 40 catamaran. Valencia, 22 April 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

BMW Oracle: Two alternatives for a multi-challenger 33rd America's Cup

[Source: BMW Oracle] The Golden Gate Yacht Club and its team, BMW ORACLE Racing, remain committed to a multiple challenger, mutual consent regatta.

In preparation for our meeting with Société Nautique de Genève (SNG) this Thursday (23 April) in Geneva, Commodore Marcus Young sent a letter to his counterpart at SNG today reiterating our commitment and outlining two proposals for a multiple-challenger AC33.

We believe it is important to be clear and transparent in our respective positions. We are asking SNG to respond with their position in writing to avoid any confusion.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

April 21, 2009
Commodore Pierre-Yves Firmenich
Société Nautique de Genève
Port Noir
CH-1223 Cologny
SWITZERLAND

Dear Commodore Firmenich,

We remain committed to a multiple challenger, mutual consent regatta. To that end, we have ceded full authority to our delegation to negotiate an agreement with your club, and we seek confirmation that your delegation has similar powers.

We also believe that the process can be accelerated by highlighting our position to you in writing ahead of the meeting, thereby giving your team time to discuss the options and prepare. Henceforth, our AC33 proposals will be in writing and we respectfully request your responses be in writing as well.

Our proposal for AC33 is for a multi-challenger regatta under a Protocol and rules (racing, technical, commercial) agreed by mutual consent, at Valencia in 2011, in your "AC33" class based on:

- AC 32 rules and format with cost cutting measures; and
- the Board of ACM agreed by mutual consent.

or, alternatively

- a traditional format for a separate Challenger Selection Series organized at your venue by Louis Vuitton (if they agree to this role); i.e., the Challengers will provide the winner of the LV Cup, and the Challengers will re-assume the financial and organizational responsibilities for this series.

On Thursday our delegation is going to Geneva to discuss the foregoing with your representatives. We look forward to your written response to these proposals within a week of the Geneva meeting.

We suggest there be a neutral observer at the meeting able and willing to brief the potential Challengers and the press afterwards. We invite your suggestions on who this might be

Sincerely,

GOLDEN GATE YACHT CLUB

Marcus Young
Commodore

cc: Ernesto Bertarelli, Team Ainghi
Brad Butterworth, Team Ainghi
Russell Coutts, BMW Oracle Racing
Larry Ellison, BMW Oracle Racing

Valencia Sailing talks to Adam Minoprio

The young New Zealander match racer talked to Valencia Sailing on the eve of the Open de España Match Race in Calpe. Continuing the tradition of his small island country, Minoprio and BlackMatch came aggressively into the World Match Race Tour and won their first ever event in their second year in the circuit. Minoprio talks about his past, the present and his future in the Tour and, why not, the America's Cup. BlackMatch and the other 11 teams trained on Tuesday under, unfortunately, light and shifty conditions.

Valencia Sailing: Let’s start with a brief overview of your sailing background. I suppose, like most kiwi sailors, that you started in a very young age.

Adam Minoprio: I grew up in a farm in rural New Zealand. My father bought my first Optimist and we used to travel on weekends to the coast in order to have a little sail. From there I went on to race Optimist and started competing in Optimist events. I can’t remember too much of it right now but I really enjoyed it and wanted to do more each time. When I was 11 I won the New Zealand Optimist nationals and then went to the 1997 Worlds in Belfast. That was really my first taste of international sailing and from that point I felt I wanted to do more and really get into it. After that, I continued sailing the youth classes in New Zealand and went in a few more championships.

When I was 17 I joined the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron LION FOUNDATION Youth Training Programme. They have ten elliot 6m boats and they teach you how to sail keelboats and get you out on keelboats on Wednesday nights in southern Auckland. From there I was introduced match racing and went to youth regattas in Australia and America. I really enjoyed that and I learned about match racing, the World Match Racing Tour, the America’s Cup. I learned about all the top-level professionals, the lives they lived and led and thought it would be exciting to get into that. When I finished the youth training program in 2006, my mates and I decided to set up our own team, race in regattas, work our way up and hopefully get in the World Match Racing Tour. We developed a 5-year plan whose ultimate goal is to win the World Match Racing Tour in 2010.

On each step of our plan we decided we knew how much money we needed to raise. In the first years we had the support of Line 7 from New Zealand but after a couple of good results, people took better notice of us and FedEx joined us. All of us were students and last year was the first one we toured Europe full time. We started getting our act together, did very well in various events and ended up finishing the World tour 4th overall, something far beyond what anyone of us hoped to do. Our aim is to improve even further.

Adam Minoprio and BlackMatch Racing train on the eve of the Open de España Match Race. Calpe, 21 April 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Valencia Sailing: You are yet another top sailor from New Zealand that comes out of the youth training program. Is that the key to your nation’s success in sailing?

Adam Minoprio: The youth training program is the key to what you learn as a young sailor. It shows you what you can achieve and inspires you. We have figures such as Cameron Appleton, Gavin Brady and a bunch of others that went through the youth programs, sailing in the America's Cup, the Volvo Ocean Race the Farr 40 Worlds and many other top races. It shows what you can achieve if you put the effort. We also have great facilities, good boats and excellent coaches. It is the best you can have if you really want it and put the effort.

Valencia Sailing: This is now your second year in the World Match Racing Tour. How difficult was it for a young crew like BlackMatch Racing to compete in this level?

Adam Minoprio: Last year it was rather difficult. We were new and had never raced the other guys before. Some of the teams had been competing for more than 10 years while we went to Europe for more than couple of weeks for the first time. You know, when we had to race people such as Magnus Holmberg or Peter Gilmour we were impressed. We tried to do our best and last year was our learning year. Our mission was to learn as much as possible. We had a couple of good results and improved in each and every event. The more we improved, the more confident we got and in my view, success in the Tour is a combination of confidence and experience.

Valencia Sailing: The big breakthrough came last month in Marseille when you won a Tour event for the first time ever. How difficult was it? Did you expect it?

Adam Minoprio: We didn't expect it in the J80 class because the previous time we sailed a J80 boat we didn't have a huge success. We were hoping to compete and definitely get into the semifinals. It would have been a disappointment for us if we hadn't made it to the semis. It was a very tough field in Marseille and getting through to the quarterfinals was a big achievement. Then Ed Baird picked to race us in the quarter finals.

Valencia Sailing: That was a fatal error he committed.

Adam Minoprio: [Laughs] Yes. Last year, in every event we made it to the quarterfinals we were the team that others picked to race against. So, we wondered if that changed this year. When Baird picked us, he probably failed to notice that each time we were picked in the quarter finals we won. Of course, at the same time we were aware we had to race the America's Cup winner. It was a very tight match and to beat the America's Cup champion was a fantastic reward. Still, even after that victory we knew it wasn't over because we had to race 2 French guys that had lots of experience in J80's and were very competent match racers. Being in the semifinals and having achieved our goal we were able to sail much more relaxed and just enjoy ourselves. I think this is why we managed to sail very well and beat them.

Adam Minoprio and BlackMatch Racing train on the eve of the Open de España Match Race. Calpe, 21 April 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Valencia Sailing: What aspects in the World Match Racing Tour do you like and what do you think could be improved?

Adam Minoprio: What I like is that we go to a lot of fantastic locations to sail, a lot of different boats, there is a lot of fantastic people on the Tour and it's awesome racing everywhere you go. With the prize money we can make ends meet, so we can have a fun year, we are still young and don't have any mortgage payments to do. We are having a good time doing what we love. Hopefully we can go further from there. The only thing we don't like is that our home is in New Zealand, so we don't have home here in Europe. We are nomads traveling around. If we were Europeans it would be easier, we could go home between the regattas. That's the one part that could probably get us down a little but is also a motivation to succeed and in between the regattas we try to find other boats to sail so that we have less down time.

Valencia Sailing: Is it difficult to find sponsors for a team competing in the World Match Racing Tour?

Adam Minoprio: It is always hard to find sponsors but we had our sponsors not knowing we would have entered the Tour so we are pleased we ended up getting it. I think it would have been easier if we knew we had an entry in the Tour but, definitely, with the amount of TV coverage and the media the World Tour attracts it will be easier to find a sponsor.

Valencia Sailing: Let's talk about the future by mentioning three names. Russell Coutts, Dean Barker, Adam Minoprio. Is this the line of succession to the helm of the Team New Zealand America's Cup boat?

Adam Minoprio: [Laughs] I can only hope. It's going to be a long time before we even join this list of names and there is still a tremendous amount of work we need to do. It's a dream for the moment.

Valencia Sailing: Is it something you aspire to, you look forward to?

Adam Minoprio: This is definitely a goal.

Valencia Sailing: How difficult would it be to jump from these match racing yachts to an 85-90ft America's Cup yacht in, let's say 2-3 years? Do you have helming experience in bigger boats?

Adam Minoprio: I have driven some boats of that size, Maximus, a 100 footer, in New Zealand. I'm hoping to try and get more experience on bigger boats. I've done a few offshore races in 50 footers. It's going to be quite a long time before I get the opportunity to helm an America's Cup yacht, so I will be able to get a lot more experience.

Valencia Sailing: You have the support of Emirates Team New Zealand and its logo on your shirts. Does that mean you have any contractual obligation with them or could you go to any team that knocks on your door?

Adam Minoprio: I'm not signed up with Team New Zealand so I don't have any obligations. They have supported us and helped us get entry into World Tour events last year and as a result, we are very grateful to them. Ideally, being New Zealanders we would love to sail with them first. It's definitely our priority but you never know what could happen.

Valencia Sailing: Last but not least, Torvar Mirsky, the other antipodean young gun. Is he your toughest rival? Would you rather race against him or Peter Gilmour?

Adam Minoprio: They are both Australians so there is a lot of rivalry across the Tasman. He is another young guy on the Tour, he is of my generation of sailors and there will certainly be a lot of competition between us. We are good friends and we enjoy racing him, especially as of lately. Still, we wish him as much success as we have. Having another strong young guy adds value to the World Match Racing. There will is lot of competition and we always like to come out on top.

Valencia Sailing is in Calpe for the Open de España Match Race

Today's updates will come a little bit later as Valencia Sailing goes to Calpe for the Open de España Match Race. For yet another year, this Grade 1 Match Race event will gather some of the world's best sailors. The lineup includes 9 of the top twenty in the ISAF ranking while the winner of the event will be invited to the Saint-Moritz regatta of the World Match Racing Tour.

Don't miss out our photos from Tuesday's training session and our interview with the up and coming kiwi match racing maestro, Adam Minoprio.

Ericsson 3 skipper Magnus Olsson breaks rib

Ericsson 3's skipper Magnus Olsson is out of the watch system after a big wave forced him into the wheel, injuring a rib. He will remain onboard to Boston, but he is resting and medicated.

Ericsson 3 skipper Magnus Olsson suffers from broken rib. Atlantic Ocean, 20 April 2009. Video copyright Ericsson Racing Team

First race of the season for CONTAINER: Second place at Hublot Palma Vela

[Source: Team Container] At the Hublot Palma Vela the new CONTAINER of Udo Schütz took a marvellous second place. After intense training sessions in winter the start into the new racing seaon went as scheduled.

From April 16th through 19th the new STP65 type boat took part at the races in Palma de Mallorca waters and clearly could benefit from the latest optimization efforts in March. Racing in the Mini Maxi division CONTAINER was able to show her huge potential against that small but top class fleet.

Especially in the first race and in the long distance race on Saturday CONTAINER proved good speed all the time. In Sunday’s final race tactician Karol Jablonski was able to move the boat from third to first place by a sail change on short notice due to a wind shift and underlined that CONTAINER enforces her claim for more podium places this year.

In the overall result CONTAINER just became second behind the Italian Luna Rossa. Evaluating the confrontation with her sistership, Peter Sibbert, CONTAINER crew member for decades, said “Most of the time we could get control of our direct competitor and in match racing we would have won 4:2 against Luna Rossa. You cannot see that from the final result list and a small tactical mistake during race no. 2, which moved us back to 4th place immediately, shows how close the racing was.”

The next regatta for CONTAINER is scheduled fort he mid of June when she will meet her competitors at the Giraglia Rolex Cup.

Team Container racing on the 3rd day of the 2009 HUBLOT Palmavela. Palma, 18 April 2009. Photo copyright Nico Martinez / HUBLOT Palmavela

Final results Hublot Palma Vela, Mini Maxi division:
1. Luna Rossa, Italy, 9 pts.
2. CONTAINER, Germany, 11 pts.
3. RAN II, Great Britain, 14 pts.
4. Bella Ments, USA, 14 pts.
5. Alegre, Great Britain, 19 pts.

Besides owner Udo Schütz the following crewmembers were on board during Palma Vela:
1. Kazuhiko Sofuku, bow, Japan
2. Lindsay Stead, midbow, Australia
3. Martin Klawon, floater, Germany
4. Magnus Augustson, pit / stb. grinder, Sweden
5. Pawel Bielecki, stb. grinder, Poland
6. Matthias Bohn, port grinder, Germany
7. Nils Beyersdorf, port grinder, Germany
8. Victor Marino, downwind trim, Spain
9. Matti Paschen, upwind trim, Germany
10. Gabriel de Llano, main grinder, Spain
11. Jens Mack, upwind grinder, Germany
12. Hartwell Jordan, mainsail trim, USA
13. Benjamin Stoffels, traveller, Germany
14. Peter Sibbert, runners, Germany
15. Tom Swift, runners, UK
16. Markus Wieser, helm, Germany
17. Karol Jablonski, tactics, Poland
18. Matt Wachowicz, navigator, USA