Mascalzone Latino's ACC boats getting ready in Valencia for the Louis Vuitton Series

After a action-packed week in Cartagena where Emirates Team New Zealand were crowned kings of the Mediterranean, Valencia Sailing is back in Valencia and the Port America's Cup. The void created by the absence of the America's Cup and the end of this year's AUDI Medcup circuit seems to be filled with the Louis Vuitton World Series. The opening event of this newly-founded professional circuit in Nice, France is just a month and a half away and time will be short for the organization and teams to get ready.

Here's a quick picture from the Mascalzone Latino base in Valencia. The Italian team's shore crew has started preparing ITA-90 and ITA-99 since they will be the ones the 10 teams will race in Nice, together with Desafío's ESP-88 and ESP-97. We will have more in-depth coverage in the days to follow, particularly on the details of how you "water down" 4 America's Cup yachts and try to make them as equally matched as possible. Stay tuned.

Finally, on the opposite side of the basin, there was considerable activity going on in the BMW Oracle base with cranes, containers and trucks everywhere. We are not sure whether this is due to the Challenger of the America's Cup getting ready to move to the venue of the event in Ras Al-Khaimah.

Mascalzone Latino's ACC boats fitted out for the Louis Vuitton Series. Valencia, 21 September 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis