There is a flurry of activity in and around host St Francis YC this afternoon as the organizers and teams get ready for the start tomorrow of the Allianz Cup presented by Oracle.

Driving into the club you are greeted with one of our two SM40's, the BMW ORACLE Racing match racing practice boats based here in SF. One of the local TV stations has a truck in the parking lot for a live promo about the regatta for this evening's news.

In the east parking lot the Allianz Cup Village is being set up, which will include hospitality tents and a large grandstand -- all open to the general public. The start/finish line will be only 200 meters offshore, directly in front of the grandstand. In the background is the Golden Gate Yacht Club and Larry's SF-based yacht Ronin.

The teams each had 2.5 hours of practice time today. The opening skippers' meeting is at 1800.

An international team of umpires headed by David Tallis (AUS) spent the afternoon carefully reviewing the Notice of Race, Sailing Instructions and "ump calls" and procedures in preparation for the Skippers' Meeting this evening and their work on the water tomorrow through Sunday.

A steady stream of spectators checked out the practice sailing in this most scenic of sailing venues just off the St Francis and Golden Gate YCs, between Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. That's Sausalito in the background, at the northern end of the GG Bridge.

If the westerly continues to blow this week, as it did today, the spectators -- and TV audience -- will be afforded a great show. That's the view from the second level of StFYC, and gives you a good idea of how close to shore the racing will be. (That's phone-cam photo, not a telephoto lens.)

Speaking of TV...

...there will be live coverage on the internet at least on Saturday and Sunday, possibly earlier. Check www.sail.tv or www.allianzcup.com for details. Above, the Sportshows Television team making ready in the makeshift "master control room" -- the "Starboard Room" on the second floor of StFYC.

And then there was some great action on the water, too. Photo: Bob Grieser/Allianz Cup.

Foreground, Alinghi's Peter Holmberg; background, Dicko & Co. Photo: Bob Grieser/Allianz Cup.

Staffan Lindberg's team from Finland, with the beautiful St Francis YC clubhouse in the background. Come the weekend, the club will be packed with VIP spectators same as the foreshore between GGYC and StFYC will be with the general public. Photo: Bob Grieser/Allianz Cup.

Dicko on the helm and Paul "Flipper" Westlake (AUS) trimming the mainsail. Photo: Bob Grieser/Allianz Cup.

In addition to doing the event commentary, we will do our best to live blog all week with behind the scenes photos and insight. Official results on the Allianz Cup site, and our main team website.