There's never a dull moment around here.

Act 11 ended Sunday evening, and the team got a well-deserved day off on Monday. Nonetheless, your Ed. did notice several members of the design, shore and marketing teams here at the Base on Monday and still hard at it.

Everyone was back at work bright and early Tuesday morning when we launched into a series of debrief sessions on every aspect of the campaign. At the same time a number of the sailing and marketing teams are involved in a BMW TV commercial being shot this week here at the Base and out on the water.

The secrecy surrounding the shoot, which involves a prototype BMW yet to be announced, is friendly but firm. We found out first hand. As I said, never a dull moment....


The BMW video crew fitting a gyro-stabilized cam this morning to
the marketing chase boat Henri Lloyd for an on-the-water shoot
this afternoon.


Meanwhile, out on the street behind the base the camera
op gets ready to shoot the new vehicle entering the Base.


Ready, roll video, action!


Security men checking for cameras in neighboring buildings.
At first, they were not amused when they saw your Ed. nearby
with a camera.


The friendly but firm security man realizes that we are all
batting for the same team. Good thing, as otherwise he had been
getting ready to use that black cloth on your Ed.

One AC truism oft repeated is, "You're only as good as your 'B' boat." Without a good second boat, and top crew to race it, your testing program is suspect and your training (especially practice starting) is compromised. And without two boats worth of excellent sailors, you lack the necessary depth of talent to succeed in these long, hard campaigns.

These days there is another given: "A team is only as happy as their families." In other words, family matters!

As the Cup has matured into a global, full-time business with larger and, on average, older teams, the care and comfort of our families, and having their full, enthusiastic support of the campaign, is more important than ever.

Senior management recognized this early on. Business Director Russell Green focused our attention on this important issue, and with the strong support of CEO Chris Dickson significant resource was allocated to family matters. A Family Committee of spouses was established to set strategy and help develop policies and activities in support of our families. Admin staff member Sofia Barraclough (GBR/ESP) was tasked by Russell and Base Manager Grant Davidson to work closely with the Committee and to provide follow-up.

It's working well, and like every other aspect of our campaign they, too, try to lift their game with each passing week. We greatly appreciate and value the work of the Family Committee, to say nothing of the support we receive day in and day out from our spouses and kids.


Families cheering the sailing team and USA 87 as they dockout on Saturday
for races 3 and 4 of Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 11.


The Family Committee meeting at our Base this afternoon. Clockwise
from lower left: Kelley Braun, Leslie Ehman, Sofia Barraclough, Sue
Dickson, Danelle Sofuku (Chairwoman) and Anna Salek. Missing in action
(with newborn son Jack): Bridget Baker.


Family champion: Cup veteran Russell
Green (Business Director, NZL).

From another thoughtful Matthew Sheahan story, today on the Yachting World website:

Of course that's not Chris Dickson 's view, his comments about the team's radical boat make it clear that he believes that there's plenty more golf in the hole so to speak. A radical boat that will accelerate like a multihull and turn like a figure skater suggests that there is more to be learned. Their jumper-less rig was aboard USA-87 for the fleet racing Act and while it would be difficult to attribute their poorer showing in this Act than the previous one to the rig, something was clearly up in the fleet racing for them to prise out a fourth overall.

But America's Cup racing would be nowhere without conspiracy theories and surely this Act will end with the most obvious. None of the big three wanted to be in front of Alinghi. When it comes to the big boys, fleet racing benefits Alinghi more than anyone else, leaving little reason for the Kiwis and the rest to show their hands, even when teased by Alinghi.

Full story


Photo courtesy of Alinghi's team photog (for a change), Thierry Martinez.

There is a nice interview with sailing team member Brad Webb (NZL) up on the ACM website, covering life at the pointy end of the boat -- especially sharp in the case of BMW ORACLE's bow-spritted USA-87....

It is a radically different boat to others in the America’s Cup fleet, not least because the mast is positioned around 2 metres further forward and also with that distinctive bowsprit poking out the front.

All these changes, plus the ability of the boat to turn so quickly, have a big effect on Brad Webb’s precarious job up on the bow. “You have to cope with very rapid movements up there,” says Webb, who admits that things weren’t exactly running to plan at the moment that picture was taken. “You can see my feet are hooked around the bobstay, and I’m just trying to think of how the boat is going to move and I’m looking for that next handheld. I hope you won’t see me repeating that move!”

Full interview


Er, caption contest anyone? (Karen Webb not eligible.) Photo: Carlo
Borlenghi, ACM.

After Acts 10 and 11, and with Act 12 still to go next month, here are the current standings for the America's Cup Class 2006 Championship (12 points for winning an Act, 11 points for second, 10 for third, etc):

1 - ITA/LR, 22 points
2 - SUI, 21*
3 - USA, 21*
4 - NZL, 20
5 - ITA/ML, 14
6 - RSA, 12*
7 - ESP, 12*
8 - SWE, 10
9 - ITA/39, 9*
10 - FRA, 9*
11 - GER, 4
12 - CHN, 2

* Current ties broken in accordance with NOR 20.6(a).


The big moment just before the finish of yesterday's Race 5 of Act 11
when USA 87 drove over the top of Mascalzone, getting on their air and
collapsing their kite. Passing ITA/ML lifted BMW ORACLE in the Act 11
standings, keeping things tight at the top of the ACC 2006 Championship.
Photo: Gilles Martin-Raget. More at www.bmor-photo.com.

One of our goals was to be on top of the Challenger leaderboard at the end of Acts 10 and 11, and that we did -- albeit now sharing the lead with our friends from ETNZ.

With two Acts to go (next month's match racing Act 12, and the Act 13 fleet race regatta next April) the "big three" Challengers have enough of a lead that we should have some wiggle room vis-a-vis Alinghi in the two remaining Acts with confidence of remaining among the top four LV Ranking positions, and being reasonably assured of getting at least three if not four bonus points going into the LVC rounds robin that follow Act 13 next April.

Graphic courtesy of Pierre Orphanidis and his increasingly popular Valencia Sailing website....

Here is graphic (in every sense of the word) confirmation of the dominance of the "big four" and how a good team with a good boat can overcome a mistake like our premature start. No question that Alinghi is still good with their SUI 75, but sometimes things on the race course as between the Challengers and Defender are not exactly as they may appear on paper, or in this case your computer screen. Click to enlarge....


Chart courtesy of the official ACM website (more) of Sunday's fifth
and final race of Act 11.

With finishes of 4th and 2nd, for us Saturday was a better day at the races.

While ETNZ stumbled a bit with a 2nd and 5th (having run 8th for much of the second race), Alinghi and Luna Rossa topped the field each scoring a 1st and 3rd. The "Big Four" are back on top of the show, along with a steadily improving Mascalzone Latino.

Too bad for China Team, who suffered structural problems with their CHN 79 in yesterday's second race, forcing them to retire on leg one. Reportedly they will be a no-show today.

A quick Act 11 scoreboard (position/team/points -- 12 points for a win, 11 for second, etc):

1 SUI 41
2 ITA/LR 36
3 NZL 34
4 ITA/ML 31
4 USA 31
6 RSA 28
7 FRA 26
8 ITA/39 24
9 SWE 22
9 ESP 22
11 GER 10
12 CHN 6

Alinghi probably have a lock on Act 11, though it's going to be light again at race time and that could jumble the fleet as it did on Friday. Regardless, Alinghi is of little concern to us and the other Challengers -- though it will be interesting to see if they try to place themselves in today's finishing order to help and/or hinder certain Challengers.

More important for us is finishing Act 11 still on top of the Challenger LV Rankings. Going into Act 11 we led the LV Rankings:

USA 85
NZL 81
ITA/LR 78

At the end of Act 11 the top Challenger will pick up 22 LV Ranking points (remember that these 2006 Acts count double), second place 20 points and third 18 points, etc.

Assuming we beat Mascalzone today and end 4th overall for Act 11 (not a given -- ITA/ML are sailing fast and well), and assuming Luna Rossa stays on 2nd overall and NZL on 3rd, the LV points at the end of Act 11 will read:

USA 103
NZL 101
ITA/LR 100

If NZL beat ITA/LR today by more than two boats thereby finishing ahead of ITA/LR in Act 11 (and we beat ITA/ML in Act 11 but not ITA/LR), then we would be tied with NZL with 103 LV points with ITA/LR in third on 98 points.

Our mission today will be to climb to second overall in Act 11 finishing six places higher than ITA/LR and four places higher than NZL -- a big ask. Have compared notes with our diligent Rules Advisor, Richard Slater (AUS), and he points out a few other combinations and permutations involving tie-breaking which, as you will know from Act 10, is a bit complicated and confusing.

Regardless how it goes today, after Act 11 it's going to be tight at the top of the LV Rankings with only two Acts to go -- the Act 12 match racing regatta next month, then the "triple-counting" Act 13 fleet race regatta next April from which the top Challenger will score 33 LV Ranking points, second Challenger 30 points, third 27, etc.

At the end of Act 13, the Challenger with the most LV Ranking points will carry four bonus points (worth two wins) into the Louis Vuitton Cup double round robin, which begins 18 April 2007. Challengers standing 2nd, 3rd and 4th will carry three bonus points each. Doesn't sound like much? Well, just do the math and then recall that only the top four boats advance out of the round robin to the LVC semi-finals. The other seven go home. The Challengers will be fighting for every possible LV Ranking point in Acts 12 and 13, as we will be today.

So, once again our work is cut out for us. Beddow is saying it will be another light seabreeze with only 6-10 kts at show time (14:00), possibly a bit more (8-13kts) by 16:00. However, by then Race Five will likely be over and Act 11 history.

In the light, and as we saw on Friday, it's anybody's race to win, place or show -- or tank.

One day at a time, but with each passing day time becomes more precious -- and important.

"Tough day at the office" is how Peter Isler (sailing team, navigator) characterized yesterday's Day 1 of Act 11.

Truth is none of the "big four" distinguished themselves, with the possible exception of Alinghi with Jochen Schumann (GER) now on the wheel, who at least won a race and recovered from deep in the pack to finish 6th in the other.

Light, shifty, patchy, streaky, with a leftover lump from a strong, overnight breeze and a large spectator fleet -- it was anybody's, and nobody's, conditions.

Just about everyone led or at least were near the head of the pack at one time or another, with the exception of United Internet Team Germany whose GER 72 couldn't seem to get out of its own way in either race.

The bad news is we are tied for 9th. Good news is that last night the guys were pleased with the new rig, we learned a few things about our boat (and our competition) in the choppy seas, and with everyone except Alinghi having at least one lousy race we are only 6 points out of second place with three races still to go.

Here is a quick scoreboard (position/sail code/points -- 12 points for a win, 11 for second, etc):

1 SUI 75 19
2 SWE 63 17
3 RSA 83 16
4 ESP 65 15
4 FRA 60 15
4 NZL 84 15
7 ITA 86 14
8 ITA 77 14
9 ITA 59 11
9 USA 87 11
11 CHN 69 5
12 GER 72 4

So as Pumbaa said, "Let's put our behind in the past," or was it Timon who said, "Let's put our past behind us"? (You know it's been a long day, or maybe a late night out celebrating Bruce Farr's birthday, when you're blogging quotes from the The Lion King.)

The forecast today is, finally, for a moderate seabreeze (12-16kts). Let's see how the sprit and "naked stick," as an infamous website called it yesterday, go in medium air.

Another good day to learn. We are perfectly positioned, and one hopes poised, to strike back.


Congrats to Shosho who had their best AC 32 day yet. Aerial shot by
team photog extraordinaire, Gilles Martin-Raget, who finally got to go
up in a heli yesterday along with other team snappers -- thanks
to a temporary relaxation of the Protocol's recon rules.

Our team was saddened by the news today that ABN AMRO Two crewman Hans Horrevoets (NED) lost his life in the Volvo Ocean Race last night.

Many of our team members have been involved in past editions of this challenging race, and a number are involved in the current edition. While we realize there are inherent risks in ocean racing, we are nonetheless touched by this tragedy.

Our deepest condolences to his family and friends, the ABM AMRO team and the extended Volvo Ocean Race family.

On a warm and hazy Thursday morning in Valencia, and with the luxury of a half-day off between Acts 10 and 11, one can reflect for a moment on where we are in the big AC picture....

Before Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 10 our team's Executive Committee had set two clear goals, which were well articulated by CEO and Skipper Chris Dickson. I think everyone on the team understood them:

+ Learn as much as possible about ourselves, our new boat and the competition.
+ Stay on top of the Louis Vuitton Challenger Rankings.

This morning I think we can place a tick beside both.

Notice our mission was not, necessarily, to win Act 10. Whille winning is always an objective -- and nice when it happens -- it goes without saying (but never hurts to remind ourselves) that the overarching goal is to win the America's Cup.

If anything, winning Act 10 was yet another reminder for us, a wake up call perhaps for some of the other teams, about just how hard winning the Cup is in the first place, and how much harder it is going to be this time around given all that has been done to the AC 32 event format, class rule, and the racing itself to make it closer and more exciting for all concerned.

Act 10 also brings to mind the old saw, "You better be careful what you ask for -- you might get it!"

For sure this is no time to rest on our laurels. The Act 10 goals are unchanged for Act 11. Winning 11, too, would be nice. Far more important, however, is to stay focused, keep our collective shoulders to the wheel, learn all we can, innovate, and take calculated risks that expand the teamwork and technology envelopes.

It is said you learn more from failing; and failing to take risks and trying new things is a recipe for losing the Cup.

As any student of Cup history will tell you, innovation, taking carefully calculated risks, and striving for constant improvement is what usually wins:

+ 1983: Aus II's winged keel.
+ 1987: DC's last minute decision to build a third, more powerful hull.
+ 1988: DC's audacious catamaran when faced with no time to build a big monohull.
+ 1992: Bill Koch's last minute appendage swap which tested well in the tank and computer but with which they had little full-scale experience.
+ 1995: TNZ's brave new shapes above the water.
+ 2000: TNZ's brave new shapes below the water.
+ 2003: Alinghi's innovative new shapes above and below the water. (TNZ took calculated risks as well, but failed to take into account the structural impact of a windy AC final -- and large spectator fleet.

Likewise our team's mantra has to be innovation and constant improvement. Sure, at times we will take two steps forward and one backward. But make your mistakes in a hurry, learn from them, and fix them just as fast.

There is "no excuse for excellence" -- excellence is simply not good enough. Superiority in all critical success factors, which in this game means just about every department. The best teams are not those with the most money, but those with clear goals, the best strategy, the best people, and are best at judging and then acting on risk/reward and cost/benefit.

Each evening every one of us needs ask, "Did I do my job just a little better today than yesterday?" And in the morning you must look yourself in the mirror and ask, no matter how tired and beaten up you may be from the day before, "How can I do my job even better today?"

There is a good reason why these Cup endeavors are called "campaigns" not "seasons" or "championships." That's because doing the Cup is like a political campaign: first you have to have a party platform, raise the money, mold the candidate, win the primary election, then win the general election; if you win you get to govern; lose, well, as the Queen Victoria's aid supposedly said, "there is no second." Sometimes not even a second chance.

Or as Larry Ellison has said, "Sport has this finite, clear ending that is not present in business. That clarity between winning and losing is a dramatic difference. In business, there are more gray areas. In business, there are lots of winners. Being second is not so bad. In the America’s Cup, there is no second.”

And the AC is even harder than other sports -- lose in Formula One or the NFL, there's always next season.

Bottom line -- the America's Cup is the hardest game in the world, but the best game. Bring on Act 11, and once again let's see what we can learn and who pushes the envelope the hardest and farthest.

“I am really surprised at how much New Zealand and BMW Oracle have improved from their last boats,” he said. “I just wonder if we're only catching up to the level that they've already left…I think we might be left behind, that's what I'm afraid of.”
--United Internet Team Germany Skipper Jesper Bank (DEN).

“One of the things we did see this week is that all three of the top teams on the challengers’ side have very similar boat speeds. Now it is going to be a fight to see who can squeeze that last little bit out of the equipment and then of course who goes out there and races well. A couple of teams like Shosholoza and Spain are knocking on the door, so there is going to be a big battle on the challengers’ side. On one hand, we like to see this, because it means they’ll be beaten up pretty badly by the time they get to the Cup. But on the other hand they’ll have good racing experience, so we have to make sure we have that ourselves."
--Alinghi Act 10 Helmsman Ed Baird (USA).

“We are learning each time we go on the water. It’s quite hard to understand what’s going on with the wind here. We try to learn with the weather team....This boat is tacking quite well, and I think this boat is quicker in the light and quicker in the heavy. It’s not much, maybe two boatlengths faster in a beat, but it’s quite enough to stay there when you have a bad shift, and make a good gain when you get a good shift.”
--BMW ORACLE Tactician Bertrand Pace (FRA).

With today's win over +39 we not only finish Act 10 untied and first overall but, more importantly, as the number one Challenger. The 2006 Acts are worth double points, so we pick up 22 points, and our total LV points score increases from 63 to 85.

ETNZ and Luna Rossa are tied for second, so they each pick up 20 more points, moving them to 81 and 78 respectively.

Act 11, five fleet races over this coming Friday through Sunday, is new regatta and a chance to win another 22 points.

Click here for the official ACM Louis Vuitton Rankings Scoreboard, and a detailed explanation.


Starboard line bias: moments after the 5-minute signal in today's
match with +39. The wind had clocked and the committee boat (from
which 87 entered) was further upwind, so 87 gybed to port and
enticed +39 closer before gybing back to starboard and engaging them.

Our Team Meteorologist Chris Bedford (USA) calls for a nice 10-13 knot easterly seabreeze to fill in by the scheduled 1400 warning (ten-minute) signal for our match today with +39. It has warmed up a bit the last couple days, and for the first time this year it is starting to feel like summer has arrived in Valencia.

We were calling it the "orphan" match, since it is the lone match today (the only one for which the time limit ran out the other day). Others are calling it the "widow match" which, in these politcally-correct times may seem insensitive if not sexist to some? And our dear readers know how hard we try at all times to be PC! :)

Regardless, it is a full on race day here albeit without VIP guests and, hence, our usual trio or quartet of VIP spectator boats. We went through our normal race-day mornng schedule, and series of meetings. Even though they have been struggling a bit we take +39 very seriously. They have shown bursts of speed, and won both their matches yesterday in similar conditions expected today. +39 skipper Iain Percy and tactician Ian Walker, good friends of many of us on this team, were prominent guests at our barbecue last evening. Both are double Olympic medalists and, without a doubt, will be gunning for an upset today.


Summer breezes, make me feel fine...la, la, la....

While 10 of the 12 teams enjoy a day off, BMW ORACLE and +39 will go racing today to complete our leftover match from Act 10. Despite the barbecue at our Base last evening that didn't wind down until nearly 0300, our sailing team had long since gone home as today's race is no different than any other -- a chance to win points, and an opportunity to learn more about our new boat and opponents.

Matthew Sheahan continues to write interesting, insightful pieces on the Yachting World website. An excerpt from today's:

Top Dogs

Chris Dickson described it as the most innovative America's Cup Class boat to have been built, others described USA-87 in alternative ways. Ridiculously quick to accelerate, amazingly nimble and superbly balanced were just three of the compliments to be heard time and time again. Whatever the view, USA-87's nimble nature at the weather mark in her race against Luna Rossa not only put a penalty on the Italians, (who were ahead at the time), but won them the race and brought the Americans overall victory in their first Act win since Marseille back in 2004.

After the race navigator Peter Isler appeared to play down the winning move.

"Remember that for a boat to accelerate faster in the down speed stuff requires two things, a good boat, but a team that can put the sails in the right place and a skipper that can put the boat in the right place," he said.

He may well have point, it's a fact that the crew work on BMW Oracle is the best we've seen yet, but this was a crucial tight race, just the kind to expose a few more of the weapons the team has up its sleeve. When racing started any one of the top four teams were in with a shout.

More....


Boys will be boys: sailing team members Jamie Gale (NZL), Mark "Squark"
Bradford (AUS), and Zach Hurst (NZL) have a "Moet moment" at the Act 10
prizegiving last evening in front of the Foredeck Club.

So we ended Act 10 today with two key wins over ESP and ITA/LR. Meanwhile NZL handed a second loss to SUI, meaning we win Act 10 on the tie-break countback without having to re-sail the match with ITA/39 that was abandoned when the wind pooped out two days ago.

However, even though Act 10 is over, we still need and want to sail the race with +39 on Wednesday, the reserve day. Why?

During these regattas we are also collecting Louis Vuitton ranking points among just the 11 Challengers, after excluding Alinghi's scores. Under that scoring system, ties at the end of a regatta between Challengers are not broken, and tied Challengers receive the same number of Louis Vuitton ranking points.

As of tonight, NZL, ITA/LR and ourselves are tied on 9 wins. If we do not race the ITA/39 match, each of our three teams would end tied for first (among the Challengers), and each would be entitled to 22 LV points.

So the plan is to race the remaining match with ITA/39 tomorrow at 1400. If we win, BMW ORACLE will be on 10 wins, making us the sole Challenger on top and winner of 22 valuable LV points. NZL and ITA/LR would each score 20 LV points as they will be tied for second among the Challengers.

Moreover, as Dicko said at the media briefing tonight, the more chances we get to race another team, the more we learn. Race on!

In the meantime, as I type this our team is hosting a BBQ here in the yard at our Base for some 500 of our family and friends -- including friends from the other teams, many of whom are in our new Base for the first time. Time to relax a bit, and go join in the fun.


The burgers are sizzling, the beer is flowing and the classic rock is rolling.
Party on!

Serious Fun....

First, apologies for not getting anything posted yesterday. We came off the water even later than normal Sunday evening, went straight into the usual post-race series of meetings, grabbed a quick shower in our Team Base's locker room (talk about a step up in facilities from previous Cups!), and dashed off to a very nice sponsor function we hosted until the wee hours Monday morning for our BMW friends who had come down from Barcelona after the Formula One Grand Prix there.

After a brief night's sleep, we were back at it early Monday morning to prep for the media event with BMW Sauber's F1 Driver Nick Heidfeld, team head Prof Dr Mario Theissen, BMW technical luminary Prof Dr Raymond Freymann, and our design coordinator Ian "Fresh" Burns. Their presentation with video and slides showing the F1-AC synergies was simply sensational. I had not seen Nick in nearly ten years, when he was a Formula 3000 driver for the F1 team sponsor I was then involved with. Nick still looks like he's about 17, but in the meantime has matured into an articulate, engaging celebrity with no pretense whatesoever -- to say nothing of a very quick F1 pilot. Prof Freymann's enthusiam was as infectious as always. This guy can make even the most arcane technical subject understandable, interesting, even exciting. After being on the water all day race-watching, at 2100 last evening Raymond was still at the Base sharing insight and a beer with some of our sailing and technical guys.

Nick and Mario raced as 18th men in our matches against CHN and SUI yesterday, and both said it was an eye-opening experience. See Ivor's story on our main team website.

It was fun, too, having Allianz AG board member Jan Carendi and his wife Helen with us as special VIP guests. From Stockholm, both are avid racing sailors. It was Jan who got Skandia Life involved in sponsoring, among other major sailing activities, the very popular Skandia Cowes Week each August in the Solent -- the same waters where that famous yacht race was held in 1851.

Serious Stuff....

Here is the best media recap we have seen of yesterday's action, once again courtesy of Yachting World and Matthew Sheahan (who, along with Andy Green and others are doing a terrific job with the English-language race commentary that is available here in VLC on VHF channel 8, and worldwide on the internet via the official America's Cup site):


A Glimpse of 2007?

BMW Oracle Racing versus Alinghi, Challenger of Record versus Cup holder, could this be a preview of the big show in 2007?

As the teams headed out of the Darsena this afternoon there was little doubt that the match between the Americans and the Swiss was the match of the day.

Who would win, how much would each be prepared to show and would we be able to see any tangible differences between a boat that was designed in 2002 and one that was launched only a matter of weeks ago and billed by the team's skipper as the most innovative America's Cup Class boat to have been built?

At the beginning of Act 10 Alinghi helmsman Ed Baird had said that they would be delighted if they could take a race off one of the new boats. Afterguard member Jordi Calafat had said that if the new boats didn't beat them, then there was something wrong. On the other hand, BMW Oracle were clear that they would be working up their boat bit by bit during Act 10 and that it would take time to exploit the full potential from the new design.

As the match panned out it was clear that the differences between the two were very small indeed. At the start Ed Baird managed to squeak a half boat length advantage as the gun went, just enough to maintain control up the first beat by holding the Americans out to the left hand extreme of the course and banging the corner.

Alinghi's tactics might have been a fraction better, but it was BMW Oracle's boat handling and crew work that stood out throughout the race. For this to be visible against the frequently flawless Swiss team is a mark of both how good the USA team has become and how small the crucial differences are at the top.

BMW Oracle's spinnaker hoists were better, but only by a split second, their gybes smoother, but only by a whisker and their bottom end mark roundings half a boat length slicker. To watch such an impressive display of handling aboard both was impressive but this was perhaps the first time we have been able to properly quantify the improvement in crew work that the team has been telling us has taken place. Perhaps it was the first time for them as well.

Yet, for all the improvement, Alinghi won the match by a slim 21 second margin.

Does it matter?

For Act 10 probably not, although it's easy to see how seriously BMW Oracle are taking this regatta, but their clean score line has been broken and evened up the leader board to make for an exciting play off.

But when it comes to sizing up the competition, today's race was one of only a few opportunities to line up against the boat that BMW Oracle hope to do battle with next year come the Cup match proper.

Serious stuff.


F1 meets the America's Cup.


Raymond Freymann, Mario Theissen, Nick Heidfeld,
Ian "Fresh" Burns meet the media.


Nick and Tony Kolb meet for German TV.


A meeting of the minds? Serious stuff, indeed.

On this special day, big hugs to all our wives and mothers, whom we hold dear throughout the year, but especially today when many places in the world we say....

Last Sunday was Mother's Day in Spain, and today in Germany, the USA,
and many other countries around the world.

Your Ed.'s search engines show the following release to be the most popular Cup story running around the world this Sunday morning. Short and sweet, from the AC Press Office:

BMW ORACLE Racing are unbeaten while the Swedes and South Africans move up
The first weekend of the Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 10 promised some great racing, and the teams more than delivered with close action and upsets on the race course, and teams vaulting up and falling down the leaderboard.

On shore, it was the opening weekend of the new Port America's Cup and the public in Valencia turned out in force on a sunny Saturday to enjoy the new facilities that make up the greatest stadium in sailing. The canal leading from the Port to the race area was lined with crowds who cheered the teams in and out of their bases and the America's Cup Park activities were filled with families enjoying a day out and capturing the spirit of the Cup.

On the race course, BMW ORACLE Racing earned an important win over Emirates Team New Zealand, and ends the day as the only team to remain undefeated. Luna Rossa Challenge recovered from a difficult defeat on Friday to knock off the Defender on Saturday; a tremendous victory for the Italian team. And Shosholoza and Victory Challenge each picked up two wins on the day, vaulting up the standings.

Nice to be on top, albeit technically not alone but at least with a "race in hand" after our second match yesterday was called off in the very light air when the time limit ran out.

Reflecting on yesterday's 12 light-air matches, in 25+ years of watching AC races I can't recall another day of light air racing when there were so many close, interesting matches. Normally 7-11 knots results in big wins/losses due to large discrepancies in boat speed and/or big differences in wind speed and direction local to a given yacht. The close action we saw Saturday in the light bodes well for the racing, and race fans, this year and next, as no doubt there will be more of the same.

Speaking of which, sorry to say the wind forecast today is for even less than yesterday: 6-10 knots at race time dropping to 4-9 knots later in the afternoon. Here is today's weather slide from Chris Bedford.

The wind gods willing, it's Mascalzone Latino Capitalia Team in the first race and China Team in the second. Mascalzone almost beat Alinghi in the light the day before yesterday, so they are not to be taken, er, lightly. ITA 77 has proven especially quick downwind. Here is the Regatta Director's Day 4 pairing list.


The "BMW ORACLE Racing Experience" -- the
public interactive area on the ground floor
of our Team Base here in Valencia, was jammed
with fans last evening for the poster signing by
two members of our race crew, David Brooke (NZL,
above foreground) and Rodney Daniel (AUS,
background). Nice gesture by our guys and team
that proved very popular.

Our daily weather slide, courtesy of our team meteorologist Chris Bedford.

Today it gets a bit more interesting. We race NZL while Luna Rossa (ITA/LR) and Alinghi (SUI) go at it. The other match to keep an eye on will be Desafio Espanol (ESP) vs. Mascalzone Latino (ITA/ML). The Regatta Director's pairing list for Day Three is here.

More of the same weather-wise. Yesterday at times we had a knot or two more breeze than the 7-11 predicted. If the clouds clear away and it gets a bit warmer this afternoon, maybe the seabreeze will surprise us and assert more than expected.

Desafio Espanol (ESP) and the locals were rejoicing last night. Their day began with the christening of the new yacht ESP 88 in the presence of their majesties King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia. Then Juan Carlos, a keen racing sailor in his own right (as are the royal kids), sailed with ESP as 18th man in their first race -- followed around by a gaggle of media. Is there a Spanish word for paparazzi?

But it was Desafio's second race against Luna Rossa (ITA/LR) that, as we had predicted here on the BOB yesterday morning, turned out to be the "match of the day". ESP managed to beat Luna Rossa even after copping a pre-start penalty. ¡Viva España!

This morning the media are in a lather about the "Big Four" now being the Big Five. Apparently Luna Rossa have been struggling a bit with their new ITA 86. In pre-Act informal racing with various teams the media have reported that 86 appeared a bit off the pace, as she looked again yesterday. So, at least for the moment, maybe it's actually the Big Three?

But don't count Luna Rossa out just yet. They are a sharp, highly-motivated team with heaps of experience. And so far we only have seen racing in the lightish 7-11 range. Let's see how everyone goes in 11-16, let alone the bumpier 17-23, yet to come (one hopes -- although Chris Bedford is saying this morning it could be light for the rest of Act 10).

All but lost in yesterday's ESP hoopla was Alinghi's narrow win over Mascalzone. The "Macaroni's" (we have a more or less endearing moniker for each of our opponents) led a good bit of that match. Apparently Alinghi pooched the start, but more importantly ITA 77 (Dennis Conner's boat from the 2003 campaign) was going like a bat out of hell downwind. Alinghi held them off at the finish by less than a boat length.

So maybe it's really the Big Six? Or are the Spanish and Mascalzone just light air pretenders, Luna Rossa seriously off the pace with their new boat, and Alinghi now starting to show signs of weakness with their multiple-skipper merry-go-round and an aging SUI 75? (Recall that 75 was none too swift in the light going at Trapani last autumn.)

If so, that would make the Kiwis and ourselves the standard bearers. The new Big Two??

Somehow I doubt it. Regardless, it's much too early to tell.

As we have been saying for many months, the "modernizations" that the Defender and Challenger of Record wrote into the rules for this 32nd edition of the Cup -- especially with the hope of providing, closer, more intense racing -- seem to be working. The "Big Four" are going to lose races to lower-ranked teams, especially in light air.

After a particularly heavy-air period a couple weeks back, we are now going through a light patch. And things will heat up -- literally and figuratively. As the temperatures rise with the approach of the Valencian summer, more new yachts will come on line (including, one suspects, Alinghi's new SUI-91), the seabreeze will ramp up, and the seas will get rougher. Only then will we begin to get a true feel for who's who in AC 32.

In the meantime, enjoy the early skirmishes. Especially in the light air, there's still a lot of damn to come over the water.


Modernizing the Cup, and
leveling the playing field?