Ellison, BMW ORACLE Raicng secure 2010 RC 44 Season Championship

[Source: RC44 Class Association] Larry Ellison and his BMW ORACLE Racing crew wrapped up the 2010 RC 44 Season Championship with a second-place finish in the fleet racing portion of the ORACLE RC 44 Cup Miami.

Coupled with the team’s sixth place in the match racing portion of the regatta, BMW ORACLE Racing placed fourth overall in the Miami regatta, which equated to a 2-point victory over Artemis Racing for the season championship.

“We were up and down. We’ve had good regattas and sometimes things didn’t go so well, but overall the team did a great job sailing,” said Ellison. “We came first in fleet racing and first overall. We had a rough match racing regatta here in Miami, but the fleet was good enough and we’re happy with the result.”

Ellison and crew, including tactician Russell Coutts, finished 3-4-3 today but had to pull a few rabbits out of their collective hat.

They started one race early and found themselves constantly battling back on a day with very shifty winds. In particular they gained a few places in the last half of the runs to the finish that kept their score low enough for the championship.

“We do better when it’s breezy,” said Ellison. “There are more opportunities to pass downwind. I’ve got a lot of experience sailing on San Francisco Bay and we love the breeze.”

While Ellison got the spoils for the season championship, Vincenzo Onorato’s Mascalzone Latino won the ORACLE RC 44 Cup Miami title.

Mascalzone Latino showed great improvement at this regatta after rejoining the class in July. The Italian crew placed third in both the match and fleet racing for the overall victory with the low score of 6 points.

“Winning this event is special meaning for me because the past three years have been difficult for me in my life and in sailing,” said Onorato, a six-time world champion in yacht racing.

“Russell asked us to come back to the class and we couldn’t be happier with this result. We’ve worked hard to regain our form and we will do our best in the future to perform in this class,” Onorato said.

Yet a third winner today was William “Doug” Douglass aboard the RC 44 World Champion yacht 17. Douglass, sailing with Australian James Spithill as tactician, won the fleet racing portion of the ORACLE RC 44 Cup Miami with the low score of 39 points.

“The class seems extremely well organized. It was good, we had a lot of fun out there,” said Douglass, a veteran of the Farr 40 and Melges 32 classes. “Today was a little windy and we saw how the boats could get wicked up and go.”

The 2011 RC 44 Season Championship begins in March in San Diego, Calif.

RC 44 2010 Season Championship
1. BMW ORACLE Racing (USA) Larry Ellison/Russell Coutts – (8)-1-1-4-2-4 – 12 points
2. Artemis Racing (SWE) Torbjorn Tornqvist/Terry Hutchinson – 1-(8)-4-2-5-2 – 14 points
3. 17 (USA) William Douglass/James Spithill – (11)-3-5-3-1-3 – 15 points
4. No Way Back (NED) Pieter Heerema/Ray Davies – 2-2-3-5-3-(6) – 15 points
5. Team Aqua (UAE) Chris Bake/Cameron Appleton – 4-6-2-1-(8)-5 – 18 points
6. Team Sea Dubai (UAE) Harm Müller-Spreer/Markus Wieser – 3-4-6-7-6-(9) – 26 points
7. Katusha (RUS) Guennadi Timtchenko/Paul Cayard – 6-5-(8)-6-4-8 – 29 points
8. Ceeref (SLO) Igor Lah/Rod Davis – 5-7-7-(9)-7-7 – 33 points
9. Mascalzone Latino (ITA) Vincenzo Onorato/Francesco Bruni – 11-(12)-12-11-9-1 – 44 points
10. Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (ESP) Daniel Calero/Jose Maria Ponce – 7-9-10-8-(11)-11 – 45 points
11. AEZ RC 44 Sailing Team (AUT) René Mangold/Christian Binder – 9-10-9-10-10-(14) – 48 points
12. Synergy Russian Sailing Team (RUS) Maxim Logutenko/Evgeniy Neugodnikov – 11-12-12-(13)-13-10 – 58 points
13. Peninsula Petroleum (ESP) John Bassadone/Inaki Castaner – 11-12-12-(13)-12-12 – 59 points
14. Ironbound (USA) David Murphy/Ian Williams – 11-12-12-13-(15)-13 – 61 points

San Francisco mayor Newsom and members of the board of supervisors introduce the 34th America's Cup Host City agreement

Related Documents

- Final Host City agreement for the 34th America's Cup between San Francisco and BMW Oracle - 9 Nov 2010

- Final Resolution for the Host City agreement

[Source: City of San Francisco] Mayor Gavin Newsom, Board of Supervisors President David Chiu, Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi and other members of the Board of Supervisors today introduced San Francisco’s Host City Agreement, a final step in the consideration process to host the 34th America’s Cup. The Host City Agreement sets forth essential terms and conditions agreed upon by the America’s Cup Committee of the Golden Gate Yacht Club and the City of San Francisco in accordance with the Protocol for the 34th America’s Cup and the Term Sheet adopted by the Board of Supervisors by a vote of 9-2 on October 5, 2010.

“There is no better place and no better partner for the America’s Cup than San Francisco,” said Mayor Newsom. “With this agreement, San Francisco is making its commitment to the America’s Cup in return for the Team’s commitment to bring the world’s oldest international sailing competition and all the jobs and long-term economic benefits that come with it to San Francisco. This is the opportunity of a lifetime we must not let pass.”


In addition to Mayor Newsom, Board of Supervisors President Chiu and Supervisor Mirkarimi, the Host City Agreement was also initially co-sponsored by Supervisors Michela Alioto-Pier, Carmen Chu, Bevan Dufty, and Sophie Maxwell. The San Francisco America’s Cup Organizing Committee is also a party to the Agreement.

Hosting the America’s Cup in San Francisco would bring a beautiful backdrop, predictable winds, world-class visitor amenities and enormous spectatorship opportunities that the natural marine amphitheater of the San Francisco Bay offers. In order to provide the Team with the highest level of certainty possible regarding a number of important issues, including the venue plan, key financial terms, sponsorship opportunities, schedule and event logistics, City staff have negotiated host city agreement with the team for endorsement by the Board of Supervisors.

“We as a City are coming together to put into place the commitments necessary to host the 34th America’s Cup in our Bay waters,” said Board of Supervisors President David Chiu. “The economy of the entire San Francisco Bay Area will benefit exponentially from hosting the America’s Cup in 2013, and we are preparing to bring this world class sailing race to our world class waterfront.”

“San Francisco is the only location for this event,” said Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi. “Having been exposed during my youth to sailing and the America’s Cup, I know we have everything race organizers need, including the expertise and will, to host the ‘World Cup’ of sailing and make this event a historic success. I look forward to the Budget and Finance Committee hearing on the Agreement on December 1st, where we will hear concrete answers to the questions of how the America’s Cup will benefit the people of San Francisco and the greater Bay Area.”The Host City Agreement envisions the use of piers along the southern waterfront and leaves open the possibility of exploring and studying other sites if there are opportunities to deliver the facilities more quickly, using fewer resources on both sides, and further enhancing the America’s Cup experience in San Francisco. The possible alternatives are part of the Fiscal Feasibility study and will be included in the project’s California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review.

Hosting the Event in San Francisco would generate significant public benefits for the City, including providing a catalyst for the repair, improvement and productive reuse of City piers along the City’s central and southern waterfront that are currently in a such state of grave disrepair that there is no other viable plan to pay for the improvements. Hosting the America’s Cup would also generate an enormous amount of economic development in a very short period of time, including over 9,000 jobs and more than $1.4 billion of new economic activity.


There are additional terms in the Host City Agreement that expand upon the concepts in the Term Sheet including a number of suggestions made by members of the Board of Supervisors and the public during the prior hearings, and they include:

• Ensuring that the Event Authority receives future development opportunities commensurate with the infrastructure improvements necessary to build world class America’s Cup Village facilities on San Francisco’s public waterfront.

• As the specific plans for the 34th America’s Cup have not been finalized, the parties anticipate certain changes may be made by mutual agreement prior to the execution of the Venue Leases, the Development and Disposition Agreements for the Legacy Leases and/or the Transfer Agreement.

• Ensuring the highest environmental standards and sustainability programs are used for the America’s Cup event as well as the infrastructure improvements as well as using local labor and workforce for the infrastructure improvements undertaken by the Event Authority.

• Securing MOUs from key third parties, specifically federal and state agencies with oversight and are key parties to a successful hosting of the America’s Cup in San Francisco These include: the Coast Guard, FAA, FCC, GGNRA, Homeland Security, BCDC, to name a few.

• Affirmatively stating that the Board of Supervisors and/or the Port of San Francisco will have future discretionary approvals for the execution of the Venue Leases, Development and Disposition Agreements, Legacy Leases and Transfer Agreement, as well as any potential CEQA appeals.

The BMW Oracle rocket

Last Sunday, the RC44 fleet finished in Copenhagen its 3 event of the 2010 season and BMW Oracle, helmed by Larry Ellison, won it after a great comeback in the final day. On Saturday, all official racing was cancelled due to the very strong winds, reaching 35 knots.

However, not everybody sat on the dock. BMW Oracle's RC44 ventured into the strong winds for some training and as the amateur video below clearly shows they has some great action. Thanks to Tom Ehman and the BMW Oracle blog for the video, I just wish it lasted more than 55 seconds.

Larry Ellison at the helm of BMW Oracle's RC44, screaming downwind at 25 knots. Copenhagen, 12 June 2010. Video copyright Johan Granath

BMW Oracle wins RC 44 Copenhagen Cup

[Source: BMW Oracle] The tricky conditions, strong and shifty wind, put one team after the other out of contention for the RC 44 Copenhagen Cup fleet race title. Separated by one point ahead of the last race, BMW ORACLE Racing and No Way Back had a last race of their own…

The cold and windy conditions prevailed for the last day of the RC 44 Copenhagen Cup. Four beautiful races took place today; they led to the elimination of one team after the other from contention for the fleet race and overall titles.

Igor Lah’s Ceeref was the first and biggest casualty of the day, going from second overall to eight. “Just a day of hell”, summarised tactician Rod Davis. The team’s worse moment occurred when they collided with Paul Cayard’s Katusha during a tacking dual. Ceeref got two points penalty whilst Katusha had to stop racing in order to change their crash bow. They got redress from the Jury.

Highlights from the RC44 Copenhagen Cup. Copenhagen, 13 June 2010. Video copyright RC44 Clas

Many teams broached, ripped their spinnakers or suffered in a way or another. Team Sea Dubai, who got some brilliant results today – a 2nd and a 1st – lost it all because of two DNF’s due to a spinnaker problem and a man overboard during the last race; an incident that occurred as the team was controlling its third place overall against Artemis and that cost four places in the overall ranking!

The wind was blowing quite hard throughout the day, at 18 knots with gusts up to 25 that put great emphasis on crew work and tactical decisions.

BMW ORACLE Racing, who was fifth overall this morning, started the day with a 1st and a 2nd. On the other hand, No Way Back couldn’t do any better than 4th and 6th. With both Team Aqua and Artemis failing to obtain consistent results, the final race would definitely be between those two teams.

Both of them started the last race at the pin end of the line, with BMW ORACLE Racing controlling No Way Back. The American team reached the top mark ahead of its opponent, and chose the worse side of the course during the run, letting the Dutch team grab the lead within this personal race (John Kostecki’s 17 had a huge lead over the rest of the pack).

Larry Ellison and Russell Coutts then opted for the left of the course during the second beat whilst Pieter Heerema and Ray Davies went to the right. The American’s choice was the right one. The american team then controlled No Way Back until the arrival, crossing the line in third, two places ahead of its opponent.

Winner of the fleet regatta and second of the match race event earlier in the week, BMW ORACLE Racing conquers the RC 44 Copenhagen Cup – the combined fleet / match race ranking ahead of Chris Bake’s Team Aqua.

The next regatta will take place in Valencia on July 27 – August 1.

They said: 


Larry Ellison, helmsman, BMW ORACLE Racing: “This has been a fantastic event. Yesterday we practiced in strong winds and reached the speed of 25 knots. In hindsight, it has helped us a lot today: I felt very confident and more precise at the helm. Having said this people sometimes put too much credit on the helmsman: this is a real team effort and all the guys did a great job. Russell was also fantastic at making the tactical choices.”

Great comeback victory for Larry Ellison. Copenhagen, 13 June 2010. Photo copyright Nico Martinez

Pieter Heerema, helmsman, No Way Back: “Everything was open ahead of the last race; unfortunately we were a bit out of phase. I am happy with our result but not pleased with the way we got there. It was all a bit messy. Of course the conditions were difficult but we should be able to master this. Altogether I have loved this event. I just found that the weather was unfair with the venue.”

Terry Hutchinson, tactician, Artemis: “This was a tough day for the helmsmen and it also required a great team effort to succeed. There were massive wind shifts but at the end of the day it didn’t really matter if you went right or left; you just had to be in phase with the shifts. This morning Torbjorn told us to make the best of it and have fun. That’s what we did; I feel very privileged to have an owner like him.”

Chris Bake, helmsman, Team Aqua: “It has been very challenging few days. Today we struggled during the first two races and then I started to feel settled. I am pleased that Team Aqua won the match; it was difficult for me to arrive and settle in immediately, I took me a little while.”

René Mangold, helmsman, AEZ RC44 Sailing Team: “We were sailing with two new people and we struggled because of this: we couldn’t look out of the boat. We definitely need more practice and we will do this in the future.”

Fleet race, final results after eight races:

1) BMW ORACLE Racing, Larry Ellison, 8, 6, 2, 41, 2, 4, 3 – 30 points
2) Team No Way Back, Pieter Heerema, 10, 1, 4, 1, 4, 6, 2, 5 – 33 points
3) Artemis, Torbjor Tornqvist / Martin Hestbaek, 3, 5, 8, 2, 5, 5, 6, 4 – 38 points
4) Team Aqua, Chris Bake, 2, 3, 9, 5, 6, 9, 3, 2 – 39 points
5) 17, Anders Myralf 4, 7, 6, 7, 9, 1, 7, 1 – 42 points
6) Katusha, Guennadi Timtchenko, 6, 8, 1, 8, 3, 4, 7 (RDG), 5,3 (RDG) – 42,3 points
7) Team Sea Dubai, Harm Muller Spreer, 7, 4, 3, 6, 2, 11 (DNF), 1, 11(DNF) – 45 points
8) CEEREF, Igor Lah, 5, 2, 7, 3, 7, 8, 10, 8 – 50 points
9) Team Islas Canarias Puerto Calero, Daniel Calero, 1, 10, 5, 9, 8, 7, 5, 7 – 52 points
10) AEZ RC44 Sailing Team, René Mangold, 9, 9, 10, 10, 10, 3, 9, 6 – 66 points

RC 44 Copenhagen Cup – Overall Ranking:

1) BMW ORACLE Racing, 2, 1 – 3 points
2) Team Aqua, 1, 4 – 5 points
3) No Way Back, 4, 2 – 6 points
4) Artemis, 3, 3 – 6 points
5) 17, 5, 5 – 10 points
6) Team Sea Dubai, 7, 7 – 14 points
7) Ceeref, 6, 8 – 14 points
8) Katusha, 9, 6 – 15 points
9) AEZ RC44 Sailing Team, 8, 10 – 18 points
10) Islas Canarias Puerto Calero, 10, 9 – 19 points

Murray Jones to join BMW Oracle?

The RC44's are currently racing in Copenhagen (read the press report further down) and Team Aqua, helmed by Cameron Appleton, is leading the score table, unbeaten. There is an interesting shot though that our friend Jaume Soler published in his blog.

Jaume is in Copenhagen, working as the press officer of Islas Canarias Puerto Calero, the Spanish team taking part in the RC44 championship, and spotted Murray Jones on Larry Ellison's RC44 yacht. According to Jaume, Jones was on the back of the boat, the usual spot for the team guests, while the team was practicing, got off after the preparatory signal was sounded and followed the races onboard the BMW Oracle tender.

So, is Jones back together with Russell Coutts, 7 years after the two kiwi sailors parted ways? We'll have to wait and see.

Murray Jones on Larry Ellison's RC44 yacht. Copenhagen, 8 June 2010. Photo copyright Nico Martinez

Video: Highlights from the RC44 Austria Cup

Highlights from the RC44 Austria Cup. Gmunden, 4 May 2010. Video copyright RC44 Class Association

Video: Highlights from Day 4 of the RC44 Austria Cup

Note: Today and tomorrow, Monday and Tuesday, you can watch the RC44 fleet races LIVE, here on Valencia Sailing. Similarly to all the major sailing events that are streamed live on Valencia Sailing, the internet TV player is located at the very top of the website.

Racing is scheduled to start at 11:30am, Central European Time, but this will obviously depend on the prevailing wind conditions at that time. The player starts automatically and until there is live feed, a spinning circle will be all you can see.

Highlights from Day 4 of the RC44 Austria Cup. Gmunden, 3 May 2010. Video copyright RC44 Class Association

Four teams on top of the RC 44 Austria Cup fleet race leaderboard

[Source: RC44 Class Association] The America’s Cup team BMW ORACLE Racing is on great form since the beginning of the year, and confirms it in the RC 44 Austria Cup. Indeed, USA 17 (Ian Vickers / John Kostecki) and USA 18 (Larry Ellison / Russell Coutts) share the lead at the end of day one of the fleet regatta, ahead of Pieter Heerema’s No Way Back and Igor Lah’s Ceeref.

The wind was blowing from the north-east this afternoon, between 5 and 12 knots. In most cases, the right of the course proved favourable and the RC 44’s had to head for the coast and stay as close as possible from the shore in order to benefit from land effects. However, the right proved favourable on rare occasions, allowing some spectacular come-backs.

BMW Oracle's two teams lead the RC44 fleet. Gmunden, 2 May 2010. Photo copyright Nico Martinez

It was definitely a tough day for the tacticians and the results show it clearly: except for RC 44 Challenge - who finished all the races in the top five – all the teams scored at least one counter performance, finishing 8th, 9th or even 10th. On the other hand, some well known teams such as Torbjorn Tornqvist’s Artemis or Chris Bake’s Team Aqua didn’t manage to score a top three.

Igor Lah and his team onboard Ceeref started the day with a disastrous tenth place but finished with two consecutive wins. Katusha’s owner Guennadi Timtchenko also had an interesting time: today he discovered the sport of sailing, the RC 44 Class and yacht racing! Benefiting from Paul Cayard’s advice, Timichenko spent most of the day fighting in the middle of the pack, racing hard and discovering why this sport - and this particular Class – are such a passion for its members.

The RC 44 Class proposes for the first time a live GPS tracking and 3D visualization of the event, available on the Class website (www.rc44.com). Today, no less than 2191 armchair sailors from all over the world followed the races. They will have the opportunity to analyse the world’s best sailors’ moves in the coming days. With four teams separated by three points and the top teams showing fairly high score averages, the fleet race remains totally open and the next days will with no doubt be interesting.

Gennady Timchenko, owner of Team Katusha, helms his RC44 yacht in his third day sailing ever!! Gmunden, 2 May 2010. Photo copyright Nico Martinez

They said:

Guennadi Timtchenko, owner, Katusha: “This is all new for me and I will remember this first regatta all my life! It is an absolute pleasure to sail on this lake with Paul and the other guys; the place is absolutely beautiful and the sport is very interesting. My only regret is to discover it so late!”

Pieter Heerema, owner, No Way Back: “You are never safe on this lake and the sailing is really difficult, but I enjoy it immensely. This lake is less predictable than the sea and there is a portion of luck, good or bad. You just need to accept it and to be patient. The organisers of this event are doing a tremendous job. Nobody knows anything about sailing here but there is a huge crowd; people are passionate and very friendly. The atmosphere is great.”

Chris Bake, owner, Team Aqua: “I was asleep during the first race; we got stuck in a tree in the second, took a premature start in the third and started sailing decently in the last race. This summarises our day pretty well.”

Harm Muller Spreer, helmsman, Team Sea Dubai: “The boat is very nice and I enjoy it very much; the concept of the Class is also great. But there is still a long way to go for me to be competitive.”

Igor Lah, owner, Ceeref: “We did a good job after an embarrassing first regatta. The racing here is very interesting; we really need to sail close to the shore in order to catch the lifts, it’s very exciting.”

James Spithill, grinder, RC 44 Challenge: “I find it awesome to sail on this lake, it is beautiful but also very interesting. The strategy is very different, we need to play with the land effects and John Kostecki did a good job at putting us in the right place.”

Fleet race, provisional results after four races:

1) BMW ORACLE Racing, Larry Ellison, 1, 2, 8, 2 – 13 points
2) RC 44 Challenge, Ian Vickers 3, 5, 2, 3 – 13 points
3) Team No Way Back, Pieter Heerema, 2, 1, 3, 8 – 14 points
4) CEEREF, Igor Lah, 10, 3, 1, 1 – 15 points
5) Artemis, Torbjorn Tornqvist, 4, 9, 4, 5 – 22 points
6) Team Sea Dubai, Harm Muller Spreer, 6, 4, 10, 6 – 26 points
7) Team Islas Canarias Puerto Calero, Daniel Calero, 5, 7, 5, 10 – 27 points
8) Team Aqua, Chris Bake, 7, 10, 7, 4 – 28 points
9) Katusha, Guennadi Timtchenko, 8, 6, 9, 7 – 30 points
10) Team Austria, René Mangold, 9, 8, 6, 9 – 32 points

Ten teams and ten favourites ready to compete for the RC 44 Austria Cup

[Source: RC44 Class Association] The RC 44 Austria Cup will take place on April 29 – May 4. The level of the Tour is such that it is impossible to name a favourite.

The second regatta of the RC 44 Championship Tour 2010 will begin on Thursday, April 29, on Lake Traunsee, in Austria. James Spithill, Russell Coutts and Larry Ellison make their come back on the circuit; they will sail against Ray Davies, Paul Cayard, Rod Davis, Markus Wieser, Terry Hutchinson, Cameron Appleton, Christian Binder and many more of the world’s best sailors… Tough job for the bookmakers!

Recent winner of the America’s Cup at the helm of BMW ORACLE Racing, James « Jimmy » Spithill is the skipper of a new team called RC 44 Challenge. His crew is made up of a combination of America’s Cup sailors - such as John Kostecki - and genuine amateurs, as required by the Class rules. RC 44 Challenge will with no doubt immediately become one of the favourites of the event. “I am really looking forward to returning to the RC 44 Class”, says Spithill. “It attracts the world’s best sailors from both match racing and fleet racing, plus the boats are incredibly rewarding to sail and certainly one of the reasons I’m back. We have a fantastic team. John Kostecki will be tactician and Joey Newton trimming, both who raced on the BOR 90 trimaran.”

Other new faces involved in the RC 44 Austria Cup include Harm Müller Spreer, who will be Team Sea Dubai’s fleet race helmsman. Owner of the well known TP 52 Platoon, Harm Müller Spreer is a successful Dragon sailor; he became European champion in 2004, finished second at the 2005 worlds and is a triple Gold Cup winner.

Russell Coutts is also back on the circuit for the first time since last year’s Portoroz Cup. Larry Ellison will steer BMW ORACLE Racing during the fleet races whilst Coutts will be at the helm on Thursday and Friday for the match race.

Finally, Team Austria, the local team headed by René Mangold, will be keen to perform in front of its public. The Austrians managed to win two fleet races in Dubai earlier in the season. “We have improved a lot but we need more continuity”, comments Christian Binder, the team’s match race helmsman and tactician.

The teams involved in the RC 44 Austria Cup (fleet race / match race helmsman):

Team No Way Back (Pieter Heerema / Ray Davies)
Artemis (Torbjorn Tornqvist / Terry Hutchinson)
CEEREF (Igor Lah / Rod Davis)
BMW ORACLE Racing (Larry Ellison / Russell Coutts)
Team Aqua (Chris Bake / Cameron Appleton)
Team Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (Daniel Calero / José Maria Ponce)
Katusha (Paul Cayard)
Team Sea Dubai (Harm Muller Spreer / Markus Wieser)
Team Austria (René Mangold / Christian Binder)
RC 44 Challenge (Ian Vickers / James Spithill)

Alameda Urges Ellison to Bring America's Cup Races to San Francisco Bay

[Source: City of Alameda] In a letter dated March 3, 2010 signed by the mayor and all members of the Alameda City Council, the City of Alameda has congratulated America's Cup winner Larry Ellison on his spectacular win over the Italian [Alinghi is, obviously, Swiss, but it seems they mixed it up at the City of Alameda. This introductory text is copied as is from the release sent by the City of Alameda] contender, Alinghi 5, in the 2010 America's Cup races last February. The City also urged Ellison to bring the next series of America's Cup races to San Francisco.

Read the full text of the City's letter below:

BMW Oracle returns to competition this month

[Source: BMW Oracle] The BMW ORACLE Racing team will return to competitive sailing at the end of the month following its win in the 33rd America’s Cup in Valencia in February. First on the agenda is the RC 44 Austria Cup, the second regatta on the 2010 RC 44 Championship Tour where BMW ORACLE Racing will be represented by two boats.

Team owner Larry Ellison (USA) and team CEO Russell Coutts (NZL) will be competing under the BMW ORACLE Racing banner, while the winning skipper of the 33rd America’s Cup team, James Spithill (AUS), will be at the helm of a boat currently named ‘Boat 17’. Crew from the BMW ORACLE Racing team will be sailing on both boats.

The RC 44 Austria Cup is a popular stop on the circuit, set amongst the Austrian Alps on Lake Traunsee. The beautiful mountain lake is surrounded by ‘postcard perfect’ vistas, but the weather can be unpredictable, offering up challenging conditions for racing.

BMW Oracle sailing in the 2009 RC44 Austria Cup. Traunsee, 31 May 2009. Photo copyright Nico Martinez

Ten world-class teams are expected in Austria, including the early leader in the RC 44 Championship, Artemis. The regatta is from April 29th to May 4th.

Following the RC 44 Austria Cup, BMW ORACLE Racing will return to Cup style racing at the Louis Vuitton Trophy in La Maddalena, on the Italian coast of Sardinia, beginning on May 22.

"I’m really looking forward to getting back on the water and racing against the top teams again," said Jimmy Spithill. "Having had a look at the Louis Vuitton Trophy regatta in Auckland in February, I know we have a lot of work ahead of us to get our team competing at the highest level again. The RC 44 circuit and Louis Vuitton Trophy events are a great way for us to start that process."

In addition to competing on the water in La Maddalena, BMW ORACLE Racing will be providing two of the four boats to be used by the Louis Vuitton Trophy teams during the three-week match race event.

Video: Larry Ellison talks about the America's Cup

Larry Ellison talks about the America's Cup. San Francisco, 20 February 2010. Video copyright ABC

33rd America's Cup - Day 6: Challenger of Record

Update, Saturday, 6:35pm Sunday's race will be postponed by at least 2 hours. No start will be given before noon. The race committee will provide further information on Sunday morning, 9am

Greetings from cold and windy Valencia. A big weather front is covering the entire Iberian peninsula, bringing freezing temperatures, rain and even snow a mere 25 kilometers from downtown Valencia. Both giant multihulls are docked in their respective bases and I'm sure the teams are spending the day debriefing and preparing for tomorrow's race.

The opening race of the 33rd America's Cup was so one-sided that it leaves little to talk about. The wing is the weapon, as Ernesto Bertarelli stated in yesterday's press conference and as a result, why not run a poll about who will be the Chellenger of Record if BMW Oracle becomes tomorrow the Defender of the 34th America's Cup.

So, who do you think will be signing with Larry Ellison a new protocol on Sunday afternoon onboard the Rising Sun in Valencia?

1. Artemis Racing / Torbjorn Tornqvist, representing the Royal Swedish Yacht Club
2. Equipo Telefonica / Pedro Campos, representing the Real Club Náutico de Valencia
3. Mascalzone Latino AUDI Team / Vincenzo Onorato, representing the Club Nautico Roma
4. Santa Clauss Challenge, representing the Royal North Pole Yacht Club (Larry Ellison's CNEV)

Video: CNN Mainsail goes onboard BMW Oracle's BOR 90

CNN Mainsail goes onboard BMW Oracle's BOR 90. Video copyright CNN Mainsail

NZ Herald: BMW Oracle withdraws from LV Trophy Auckland

Update: We contacted BMW Oracle and it was confirmed that the team will not participate in the Louis Vuitton Trophy in Auckland in order to be "100 percent focused on the 33 America's Cup". BMW Oracle will compete in the remaining Louis Vuitton regattas planned for 2010 and "continues its commitment to and support of the Louis Vuitton Trophy regattas and the World Sailing Teams Association (WSTA)".

[Source: NZ Herald] BMW Oracle have withdrawn from the Auckland regatta of the Louis Vuitton Trophy in March.

The news will come as a blow, as BMW Oracle are one of the founding forces behind the Louis Vuitton regatta that so successfully launched in Auckland last summer and which spawned a world series.

That opened in Nice in November and will be followed by Auckland in March, La Maddelena in Sardinia in May and then a Middle Eastern venue in November 2010 (to be named next month). Hong Kong has been mooted as the next Louis Vuitton venue, in January 2011.

BMW Oracle say they are too busy with their impending big-boat America's Cup challenge against Alinghi, now confirmed in Valencia for February 12.

Read the entire article here

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

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

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

The RC44's carry out fleet race in Trieste in very light winds

[Source:RC44] After another long postponement, the fleet regatta finally started today afternoon at 3:00 PM. Patrick de Barros’ Banco Espirito Santo made the best of the light breeze and won the race ahead of BMW ORACLE Racing (with Peter de Ridder at the helm) and Armando Giulietti’s Team Hiroshi – Città di Milano.

The Adriatic Sea off Trieste was once again better suited for water skiing than sailing today. Nevertheless, the nine strong RC 44 fleet managed to sail the first fleet regatta in a 5-6 knots breeze dying to 2-3 knots by the end of the regatta.

After an excellent start, Chris Bake’s Team Aqua was the first to approach the windward mark. However, Bake tacked too early and struggled to make it to the mark, looking frustratingly as several teams sailed past.

Patrick de Barros’ Team Banco Espirito Santo benefited most from this situation, taking the lead and controlling the rest of the fleet until the arrival line.

BMW ORACLE Racing, with Peter de Ridder at the helm, followed a few boat lengths behind whilst Armando Giulietti’s Team Hiroshi – Città di Milano – sailing without Sébastien Col (busy trying to win the world match race title in Bermuda) finished third.

Team Aqua finally crossed the arrival line 6 seconds before the time limit in seventh place, whilst Cro – A - Sail and ITA 7 didn’t make it in time.

Already winner of the three matches completed earlier in the week as tactician onboard BMW ORACLE Racing, Russell Coutts - calling the shots on Banco Espirito Santo for the fleet regatta – is currently unbeaten in Trieste.

They said:

Patrick de Barros, owner, Team Banco Espirito Santo: “We trained during three days before the beginning of the event and this has certainly paid off. Russell has also done a fantastic job: during the first beat, we tacked precisely when we needed to and this has allowed us to take the lead.”

Sarah Roberts-Thomson, helmswoman, Artemis: “It was very exciting for me to steer Artemis in this fleet regatta. I had never sailed with a wheel before in my life, so it took a bit of time to adapt. The boat is very exciting and fun to sail and steer, it reacts very well.”

Peter de Ridder, helmsman, BMW ORACLE Racing: “I introduced the tillers on the TP 52 Class, so needless to say that I usually prefer them. However the steering is very interesting on the RC 44. The boat responds very well, you can feel the load on the wheel. I think that the boat is great. It is like a small Cup boat. I also like the idea that they got rid of all the silly IMS inside requirements such as the kitchen or toilets. This is just a pure race boat.”

Armando Giulietti, Team Hiroshi – Città di Milano: “With this light wind it is difficult to catch up when you are behind. We were in the lead after the start but then we lost some places. All in all, we are quite happy with our third place. It is our goal in this regatta to be always amongst the top boats, and more than anything to avoid bad results that can affect the overall ranking badly.”

Meeting between Ellison and Bertarelli does not take place

[Source: Golden Gate Yacht Club] GGYC spokesperson Tom Ehman said, "Unfortunately, the meeting between Larry Ellison and Ernesto Bertarelli in Trieste did not take place. We remain eager to resolve this issue and return the 33rd America's Cup to the water as a multi-challenger regatta under fair rules. We hope and expect the meeting will be rescheduled to take place in the near future."