TV crews prepare BMW Oracle yachts for upcoming 34th AC Trials

Greetings from sunny and VERY hot Valencia. We are just two days away from the start of the "34th America's Cup Media & Race Evaluation Trials", the test the current Defender of the America's Cup will be carrying out off Valencia's coast for four days (Thursday to Sunday).

According to the team's press release last week, the trials will serve as a "lab", a testbed for the "the format of racing and type of boat" to be used in this edition of the Cup but also "television production". Russell Coutts, BMW Oracle CEO, points out that practically everything we have known so far in the America's Cup will be turned upside down and conventional wisdom will be thrown out of the window. We might see starts downwind instead of upwind, alternative race courses and even multihulls in San Francisco three years from now.

The BMW Oracle base with the two RC44 yachts and two Extreme 40 catamarans getting ready for Thursday's "34th America's Cup Media & Race Evaluation Trials". Valencia, 20 July 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

We can't be the judges on those claims since they haven't started yet but there's one aspect of the Trials we were able to check upon earlier today in Valencia's Port America's Cup. The four yachts, two RC44 sloops and two Extreme 40 catamarans, are being fitted out, docked in front of BMW Oracle's base. We were at a distance but it was easy to observe, as seen on the photos, that the TV crews were busy preparing the two RC44 yachts. The two Extreme 40 catamarans didn't have any obvious cameras, at least as far as I could see.

So, what will BMW Oracle try on the TV side, at least from what was clearly visible? I counted cameras in 4 different positions on the black RC44 yacht, Larry Ellison's "Deal breaker". Firstly, one mounted on the bow, right above the bowsprit, and another one on the boom, but it could be two of them, stacked together, one facing forward, the other aft.

Curiously, at the stern of the yacht there are two cameras on opposite sides facing not right forward but inclined 45º inwards. Could these be part of the 3D coverage promised by BMW Oracle? Finally, there's another camera on the top of the mast, facing down. Always on the black yacht there was a microphone at the stern, between the two cameras.

They promise to be an interesting four days and it's good to see BMW Oracle at least openly experimenting on these issues. There might be some more cameras to be installed today or tomorrow and some of them might not be visible from our usual spot. It's funny though when you think that in 2005 and 2006 when BMW Oracle were the Challenger of Record of the 32nd America's Cup they were throwing their microphones off the yacht... but then again, those were different times and the team was managed by Chris Dickson and not Russell Coutts.

TV and shore crews preparing the BMW Oracle RC44 yacht for Thursday's "34th America's Cup Media & Race Evaluation Trials". I personally see, one camera at the bow, another one at the boom and a third one at the stern. In fact, it's two cameras at the stern, the second one is blocked by the person with the blue shirt. Valencia, 20 July 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

TV and shore crews preparing the BMW Oracle RC44 yacht for Thursday's "34th America's Cup Media & Race Evaluation Trials". This yacht appears to have one camera on the boom, but it could be two of them, stacked together, one facing forward, the other aft. Valencia, 20 July 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

One of the cameras, at the top of the mast. Valencia, 20 July 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

The BMW Oracle base with the two RC44 yachts and two Extreme 40 catamarans getting ready for Thursday's "34th America's Cup Media & Race Evaluation Trials". Valencia, 20 July 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing