Congrats to GBR's TeamOrigin

TeamOrigin, the prospective AC 33 challenger from Great Britain, sailed their newly-acquired (from Alinghi) GBR 75 here in VLC on Saturday and, at least briefly, on Sunday. Photo courtesy of Carlo Borlenghi (ITA).

AC 33: Ham and Cheese?

"Louis Vuitton have their own vision of the event. It just depends on people's vision.... Some people like caviar and salmon, some people like ham and cheese. Neither makes you a bad person," he said.

--ACM COO Michel Hodara reacting to Louis Vuitton's Friday announcement that they are leaving the America's Cup after a quarter of a century. Full Reuters story here, entitled "Americas Cup seeks new sponsor after LV quits."

Sad Day for the Cup(s)

It is a beautiful day here in Valencia -- warm, dry, sunny with some white puffy clouds, and a very nice seabreeze. A good day to lay by the pool rather than putting up the first post on the CC Blog in over a month and a half. Our last post was 26 May.

The hiatus, of course, was as the result of most of the Challengers having been excused by then (at the end of the LVC Semis) from further participation, including the teams of your Ed. and the CC Chair, Alessandra Pandarese (ITA, Mascalzone Latino). We felt it better to leave it to the two remaining teams to carry out their own communications programs without the possibility of any conflict from or with the CCB.

But the AC 32 Challengers as a group are still in contact with each other, and certain meetings continue among that group in re. wind-down of AC 32 and developments related to AC 33. Hence the CCB will be maintained should the need arise for more general communication among, or from, the AC 32 Challengers.

The title of this post relates, of course, to yesterday's announcement by Louis Vuitton. Media reports the world over have carried the disturbing news, at least for the Challengers, and ACM's response.

Elaine Bunting is Yachting World's features editor. This commentary from her blog today:

Louis Vuitton's marriage to the America's Cup ended with an acrimonious divorce yesterday when they delivered a sharp slap to the America's Cup Management (ACM). The news that they are withdrawing from sponsorship of the Challenger trials was accompanied by carefully worded censure of ACM's plans for the next Cup.

The French luxury goods company has become synonymous with the America's Cup, which they have sponsored since 1983. But the news that they are dropping out confirms rumours that they are unhappy with the way the event is being run and the escalation in the costs of sponsorship and participation.

The most intriguing element of the announcement is its criticism of the naked commercialism of the Alinghi-led management, and the power struggle that is brewing about how the next event will be run.

'Louis Vuitton have decided not to sponsor the next Challenger trials but will carefully observe the future evolution of the event,' they say. 'The new rules of the America's Cup imply a more commercial approach and the protocol is already disputed by some teams. In addition, there is a risk of a significant reduction in the number of teams taking part.'

If the dispute about the protocol is one of the reasons for withdrawing, that's strange: you would think that such a major decision would been made in principle well before the shenanigans this week. If anything, the announcement reads like a veto: Louis Vuitton will watch the event 'carefully' and they reserve the right to sponsor another event with a Louis Vuitton Cup.

The announcement drew a wonderfully haughty, huffy response from Michel Hodara, chief operating officer of ACM. "Now, we will simply have to find a partner that shares the same values of the Cup and this sport," he said dismissively.

As for getting the Louis Vuitton Cup trophy back for the company to use again, that's out of the question. ACM would not be asking Emirates Team New Zealand to hand it back.

"It can remain theirs for all of eternity," Hodara said.

The next America's Cup is already proving to be a first-rate spectator sport.




Gone, at least for the moment, but not forgotten.

Valencia Crónica #72

Issue #72 of Valencia Crónica is now available here.

The usual fine print.... Editor Bridget Baker issues VC approximately every other week, and it is intended solely for AC 32 team members and their families. Accordingly, VC is password-protected to ensure the privacy of contributors' contact info.

To obtain the password, or to be added to the email distribution list for Crónica, please write Bridget at valenciacronicaspain [at] yahoo [dot] co [dot] nz. Over 500 families are now receiving VC by email.

Valencia Crónica #71

Issue #71 of Valencia Crónica is now available here. Despite it now getting late in the AC32 game, Valencia Crónica continues to get better and better. Thanks to Editor Bridget Baker and her now many contributors for such a helpful and family-friendly service to all the teams. May it continue in future editions of the Cup!

The usual fine print.... Bridget issues VC approximately every other week, and it is intended solely for AC 32 team members and their families. Accordingly, VC is password-protected to ensure the privacy of contributors' contact info.

To obtain the password, or to be added to the email distribution list for Crónica, please write Bridget at valenciacronicaspain [at] yahoo [dot] co [dot] nz. Over 500 families are now receiving VC by email.

Congratulations & Thanks

Nice letter emailed to the Challengers last evening by Commodore W H Dyer Jones, AC 32 Regatta Director, and posted here with his kind permission....


Ladies and Gentlemen,

On behalf of the Race Committee, I want to thank all competitors for their patience, cooperation, and understanding during the recently completed Round Robin series of the Louis Vuitton Cup. We know it was as difficult for you as it was for us.

We wish to congratulate the 4 teams that will now proceed to the Semi-final stage next week; and equally importantly, to thank those teams which are excused from further racing, for their tremendous effort with us over the last four years. We have enjoyed your spirit and determination to excel. We wish every member of every team all best in the future; we are sure our paths will cross at another sailing event soon.

We also want to thank all of the Race Volunteers who stuck with us for many more days than they had committed to without any days-off.

Finally, we extend out thanks for their support and assistance to the Capitanería de Valencia and the Capitán Marítimo, Red Cross, Guardia Civil, Salvamento Marítimo, the Spanish Navy, and the Port of Valencia. No racing is scheduled for 10-13 May. We look forward to racing starting again on 14 May 2007 in the Semi-finals of the Louis Vuitton Cup.

For the Race Committee,

Dyer Jones
Regatta Director
32nd America's Cup

Nice Ink: Taking South Africa to the America's Cup

America's Cup Semifinals Taking Shape
South Africa's Shosholoza Shows Spark in Close Loss

By Angus Phillips
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, May 6, 2007; Page E04

VALENCIA, Spain, May 5 -- The top two challengers guaranteed themselves spots in America's Cup semifinals with easy victories Saturday, but it was the best-loved team in town that tugged heartstrings, falling from contention with another narrow defeat.

After regatta co-leaders BMW Oracle and Luna Rossa secured their slots in the next round, South Africa's Shosholoza absorbed a 47-second loss to Desaf?o Espa?ol that ended the first-ever African entry's chance to advance.

Shosholoza has three races left and won't go meekly. The rookie South Africans gave all the good teams a scare over the last two weeks and scored one shocking upset, beating top-ranked Luna Rossa.

Not bad for a team with a $23 million budget, 15 percent of what the big spenders have, and a crew that hadn't sailed these big, complex boats before.

The inclusion of two black sailors boosted the global image of a nation that only two decades ago was mired in apartheid. Did he ever imagine he would sail in the America's Cup? Not in his wildest dreams, said Zulu bowman Golden Mgedeza of Johannesburg.

Miracles do happen. The last few weeks, Shosholoza has been seen off the docks with a blessing from Andrew Mlangeni who spent 26 years locked up on Robben Island with South Africa's most famous freedom fighter, Nelson Mandela, who became president and oversaw the nation's overhaul to democracy.

But Shosholoza's entry wasn't symbolic. Of three teams trying the Cup for the first time, it was by far the most successful. China and Germany battled for the cellar. Whenever Shosholoza went out, a potential upset was in the air. In the first round robin, they won half their races to widespread surprise.

"We never thought we'd give the big boys such a hard time," said Erika Spilhaus, whose son Johann is a grinder and whose husband, John, takes care of hydraulics -- with her help. She was bicycling to the Cup village with a smile as the clock wound down.

"We're happy," she said. "We never expected to make the semifinals, but we never expected to do this well."

Saturday was typical. Shosholoza battled up the first leg on a bright, breezy day and rounded the first turning mark five seconds ahead. The win was critical for the fourth-place Spaniards, fighting for the last semifinal berth. They attacked on the downwind run, slid ahead on a puff of breeze, then held off the Africans in a tight, tactical race.

Shosholoza's financial and emotional leader, transplanted Italian shipping executive Salvatore Sarno, reckons the effort won't end, assuming he can find help to carry on. That seems likely.

"It was huge back home," team spokeswoman Di Meeks said. "On live TV every day and we've had front-page articles in all the papers."

"I'm absolutely stuffed," said mastman Charles Nankin. "It's the end of the road. We put so much into it and came so close to so many good teams. To be in this league, with so much potential to win, and have it end . . . "

Full story

Ernest G Taylor

We were sad to hear the news that Ernie Taylor (AUS) passed away on 25 April after a long illness. He served as executive director of the Challenger Commission's forerunner, the Challenger of Record Committee (CORC), for the 1992 and 1995 Cups. The Kiwi challenger, Black Magic, defeated Dennis Conner's Stars & Stripes at San Diego in 1995 thanks in part to the strength of the challengers as a group in the '95 LVC.

From ACM's statement: Dyer Jones, currently Regatta Director of the 32nd America's Cup in Valencia, Spain and who worked with Ernie in both events stated: "Ernie was a determined and forceful leader of the Challenger Committee who, because of his background in television, helped bring this event into the forefront of public attention. We extend our sympathy to his family; he will be missed by all of us in this event who knew him."

Valencia Crónica #70

Issue #70 of Valencia Crónica is now available here.

The usual fine print.... Editor Bridget Baker issues VC approximately every other week, and it is intended solely for AC 32 team members and their families. Accordingly, VC is password-protected to ensure the privacy of contributors' contact info.

To obtain the password, or to be added to the email distribution list for Crónica, please write Bridget at valenciacronicaspain [at] yahoo [dot] co [dot] nz. Over 500 families are now receiving VC by email.

Weather Defensive

Excerpt from a story this morning in the International Herald Tribune:

AC Management wouldn't release weather data on Valencia, so the Swiss team, which conducted the analysis, did its own research.

After analyzing the weather buoys on the northern "Romeo" course for wind in the afternoon when racing is scheduled, sailing has only been possible for half the number of days in April.

That is well down on the average of 80-90 percent of days being suitable for sailing from April through July since 2000.

"We still stand by our analysis that Valencia is a good sailing venue, it should not be judged on a single meteorological event," Bilger said.

But Valencia's Meteorological and Climate Center head, Jose Angel Nunez, said the event should have started in May to avoid possible scheduling problems.

"The wind that the competition is looking for won't be arriving until June and July," he said. "Winds are frequent in spring but not established until the summer, when they will be much more consistent. There's a better probability, frequency and intensity of wind the closer we get to summer, when you have the better atmospheric conditions for racing — it's evident."

Butterworth said the schedule wasn't only determined by the wind.

"The timing of the Cup was set certainly to fit into the market of television and then other events earlier and later in the year that could conflict with it," Butterworth said, referring to cycling's Tour de France.

Full story

Weather or Not

Two more days of nada de nada? Slide courtesy of the BBC Weather Centre.

What a Way to Run a Regatta

Excerpt from an editorial on the Sail World website by Bob Fisher:


'We did analysis of the [weather] statistics and Valencia was always the best,' said America’s Cup Management CEO, Michel Bonnefous at a press conference this morning, and stuck to that line through intensive questioning. 'We have done precise research and have good numbers – the worst case in April was losing four days.'

One of the sailing crew aboard Emirates Team New Zealand recalled after that press conference that there were nine days last April when sailing was not possible. Does that collaborate America’s Cup Management’s 'precise research'? No. Bonnefous called this year’s lack of wind, 'An unusually bad stretch of light weather.'

It could have been avoided by holding the entire event later in the year, but Bonnefous explained that ACM had chosen the ideal date for the America’s Cup match and worked backwards from there. On that basis, little consideration was given to the challengers to allow them to present a worthy opponent for the defender.

This situation does not benefit any of the challengers and is the result of one organisation running the racing for the challengers and defenders. All benefits go to the defender and enhance Alinghi’s ability to mount a successful defence. It is a situation that must never be repeated.

Perhaps the words of Paul Elvstrom should be brought to the attention of those in charge of this regatta. 'You haven’t won the race, if in winning the race you’ve lost the respect of your competition.'

Full story

MEDIA STATEMENT -- CC Meeting, 21 April 2007

The Challenger Commission for the 32nd America's Cup (“CC”) met at the call of the Chair, Alessandra Pandarese (ITA) of Mascalzone Latino Capitalia Team, at the ACM offices in Valencia from 1800 to 2030 last evening, Saturday 21 April. Representatives of ten of the eleven Challengers were present. Apologies were received from +39.

Main decisions and points of discussion:

+ Decisions at the previous CC meeting were affirmed -- RR1 Flights 3 and 4 are scheduled for Sunday, 5 and 6 for Monday, etc. Flights postponed to a later date would be raced the next day(s) and in sequence with the balance of the schedule pushed back accordingly. The Regatta Director would adjust the pairing list (in consultation with CC reps) as necessary from day to day to minimize if not eliminate course swapping between Flights on a given day, and to otherwise avoid a big casino with respect to the equalization of other factors as between all Challengers (use of the north inner course, MDS buoyed courses, etc.).

+ The Regatta Director's proposal for the schedule of racing for RR2 (one race per day beginning Fri 27 Apr) was supported with the following caveats:

++ There should be no "Off Day" between RR1 and RR2. RR2, with one race per day scheduled, should begin the day after the last day of racing for RR2. If RR1 racing is further delayed, the start of RR2 would be delayed accordingly.

++ The RR1 "No Change Period" should end at 2100 on the last day of RR1 racing, and begin for RR2 at 0800 the next day (first day of RR2 racing).

++ Two additional reserve days should be added to the end of RR2 (May 9 and 10). Any RR2 races that are postponed to a later date would be rescheduled as the first of two flights the next day only if and when all but one of the scheduled reserve days has been taken up with postponed race(s).

++ The start of the Semi-finals should be delayed one day to 15 May. The "No Change Period" for the Semifinals should begin at 0800 on 15 May instead of 24 hours before the warning signal for the first race.

Under the various rules that govern the LVC, schedule changes must be agreed by the Challenger Commission and ACM. At the end of last evening's meeting, the ACM COO said by phone that he was not prepared to approve the above changes to the Regatta Director's proposal for RR2.

The CC was unanimous and adamant that all eleven teams must be afforded an opportunity to race in a fair and proper Louis Vuitton Cup regatta.

The CC Chair and Chair of the NOR Working Party would consult further with the Regatta Director and ACM officials on Sunday and report back to the CC. With wind forecasts Sunday through Wednesday not promising for getting the scheduled two races per day completed, and ACM's apparent unwillingness to cooperate with the CC, it was likely the CC would need to meet again Sunday evening or Monday to consider further options and initiatives to ensure a fair and proper regatta.

CC Meeting Tonight

UPDATE - 19:30 Friday: Today we have made good progress on a revised Notice of Race and schedule of racing for the balance of the rounds robin. Together with getting two flights completed today, it was decided to postpone the CC meeting scheduled for this evening to tomorrow (Saturday) evening. In the meantime, and as agreed and announced this morning with the Regatta Director, we are proceeding tomorrow with Flights 3 and 4 and the current pairing list. Now let's hope there is some wind again tomorrow.




Postscript to this morning's meeting: It was also agreed that the CC would meet again this evening, in the jury meeting room at the ACM offices, 90 minutes following the end of racing (or another "AP over A" postponement). Purpose, to discuss open points from this morning's meeting after delegates have a chance to consult their teams, and giving the Regatta Director and the Chair of the CC's Notice of Race working party time today to sort through various options.

MEDIA STATEMENT -- CC Meeting, 20 April 2007

The Challenger Commission for the 32nd America's Cup (“CC”) met at the call of the Chair, Alessandra Pandarese (ITA) of Mascalzone Latino Capitalia Team, at the ACM offices in Valencia at 0800 this morning, Friday 20 April. Representatives of all eleven Challengers were present.

Main decisions and points of discussion:

+ The Regatta Director's proposal to "re-boot" (our word, not his) Round Robin 1 was unanimously supported. This means Flights 1 and 2 previously re-scheduled for today, originally a reserve day, would be sailed (attempted!). Going forward, subsequent flights will be raced in sequence, two flights per day, i.e., Flights 3 and 4 tomorrow (Saturday), etc. If one or both of today's flights are postponed, they would be rescheduled for tomorrow, kept in sequence, and the balance of the RR1 schedule pushed back accordingly. RR1 will be completed before any races of RR2 are started. However, when some but not all matches of a given flight (of ten matches) are completed, the uncompleted matches will be rescheduled later in RR1 (on a race or reserve day) as the Regatta Director deems equitable and expedient.

+ The Regatta Director will work on the pairing list to equalize to the extent possible use among teams of the buoyed courses and the north inner course (the so-called "stadium course") which will be the primary racing area later in the LVC and for the Match, and to minimize if not eliminate the need for any team to have to swap course areas on a two-race day.

+ There will be no relaxation of the minimum 7kt wind limit or shortening of courses, nor more than two flights scheduled per day.

+ The CC kept their options open so far as how to proceed beyond the end of RR1 given the challenging forecasts for continued light air today, Saturday and Sunday. Open issues include whether or not an "off day" should be scheduled at the completion of RR1 regardless how late RR1 ends. Also under consideration is whether to delay the start of the LVC Semifinals by a day or two assuming RR2 runs long.

+ The CC affirmed its long-held view that a high priority for RR2 is to have no more than one race per day and over the longer (3.3nm) course that will be used in the LVC Semis, Finals and the AC Match.