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!