NEW CUP ERA DAWNS TODAY Jun 16, 00:03
Valencia, Early Thursday Morning
It has been an exhausting but exciting week for everyone on the team as we moved the bulk of our operation from our temporary base at the Real Club Nautico Valencia to our new, but not yet completed base, in the Port America's Cup.
The move on Monday went off with barely a hitch, thanks to the efforts of a lot of people, notably Laurent Esquier (Ops Dir), Grant Davidson (Logisitics Mgr) and Mirko Groeschner (Marketing Dir) and their teams. By midday Tuesday we were ready to sail a practice race against Alinghi (which we won), and by Wednesday afternoon the Team Hospitality area was in nearly perfekt shape for the first function of any sort at our new base -- the Girard-Perregaux team watch launch.
Today, however, is the day we have all been anxiously waiting for and working hard towards -- Day 1 of Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 4. An historic day, because for the first time in the 154-year history of the America's Cup the Challengers will be racing for points that count toward the selection of the ultimate challenger more than two years before the AC Match in 2007.
Act 4 is a match racing "round robin." Over the next week each team races each of the other 11 teams once, including the Defender Alinghi. The winner is the team with the most wins at the end of the round. If two teams are tied, the is broken in favor of the team which won the match between them.
Today we race the Swedish "Victory Challenge" in the first match, and then Cup newcomer "China Team" in the second. While the latter is the first-ever Cup entry from China, the sailing team (and yacht) are essentially the French LeDefi team from the 2003 Cup. So FRA-69 is now CHN-69.
The Victory Challenge looked fast at times in Auckland during the 2003 Cup, and they have won a good share of their practice races here in Valencia the past couple weeks, so they could shape up to be one of the better teams in the 32nd AC. China Team was the last Challenger to be accepted, and have not had much time to get ready for Act 4. But with all the teams racing today for the first time with yachts modified to the new "Version 5" of the Class Rule, it could be anyone's day.
Breeze in the upper teens (in knots) is predicted all week and into next by our Meteorologist, Chris Bedford (USA), and with the relatively rough conditions (for the amount of wind) that we find here in Valencia, it will be an interesting test of the crews -- and yachts.
A number of the teams have already had serious gear failures this week in practice racing, and given the breezy, rough conditions expected again today, no doubt there will be some more breakdowns. Knock on wood that we don't suffer any gear problems today! As they say in Formula One to finish first, first you have to finish.
(Place your cursor over the images, below, for their captions.)
It has been an exhausting but exciting week for everyone on the team as we moved the bulk of our operation from our temporary base at the Real Club Nautico Valencia to our new, but not yet completed base, in the Port America's Cup.
The move on Monday went off with barely a hitch, thanks to the efforts of a lot of people, notably Laurent Esquier (Ops Dir), Grant Davidson (Logisitics Mgr) and Mirko Groeschner (Marketing Dir) and their teams. By midday Tuesday we were ready to sail a practice race against Alinghi (which we won), and by Wednesday afternoon the Team Hospitality area was in nearly perfekt shape for the first function of any sort at our new base -- the Girard-Perregaux team watch launch.
Today, however, is the day we have all been anxiously waiting for and working hard towards -- Day 1 of Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 4. An historic day, because for the first time in the 154-year history of the America's Cup the Challengers will be racing for points that count toward the selection of the ultimate challenger more than two years before the AC Match in 2007.
Act 4 is a match racing "round robin." Over the next week each team races each of the other 11 teams once, including the Defender Alinghi. The winner is the team with the most wins at the end of the round. If two teams are tied, the is broken in favor of the team which won the match between them.
Today we race the Swedish "Victory Challenge" in the first match, and then Cup newcomer "China Team" in the second. While the latter is the first-ever Cup entry from China, the sailing team (and yacht) are essentially the French LeDefi team from the 2003 Cup. So FRA-69 is now CHN-69.
The Victory Challenge looked fast at times in Auckland during the 2003 Cup, and they have won a good share of their practice races here in Valencia the past couple weeks, so they could shape up to be one of the better teams in the 32nd AC. China Team was the last Challenger to be accepted, and have not had much time to get ready for Act 4. But with all the teams racing today for the first time with yachts modified to the new "Version 5" of the Class Rule, it could be anyone's day.
Breeze in the upper teens (in knots) is predicted all week and into next by our Meteorologist, Chris Bedford (USA), and with the relatively rough conditions (for the amount of wind) that we find here in Valencia, it will be an interesting test of the crews -- and yachts.
A number of the teams have already had serious gear failures this week in practice racing, and given the breezy, rough conditions expected again today, no doubt there will be some more breakdowns. Knock on wood that we don't suffer any gear problems today! As they say in Formula One to finish first, first you have to finish.
(Place your cursor over the images, below, for their captions.)
General | by TFE
