Looks like a nice week shaping up for picnics or even the beach maybe, but not for testing and training -- at least not here in VLC. Between now and March, take your pick: sunny but light air, some breeze but with heavy rain, or very heavy northwesterly (offshore) winds that we rarely see here during the spring/summer "racing season."

Hence the reason at least Alinghi, BMWOR and ETNZ have bolted for more reliable sailing venues. Remains to be seen whether any other teams will join the exodus -- word on the waterfront is that Victory Challenge (SWE) are waiting to hear if they have the funding to join Alinghi in Dubai.