Time Flies

Today we mark the three-year anniversary of the Challenger, Alinghi, winning the 31st America's Cup. At approx 1500 hours on 2 March 2003, a few seconds after Alinghi crossed the finish line to win race 5, the Protocol Governing the 32nd America's Cup was signed between representatives of the new Defender, Societe Nautique Geneve, and the new Challenger of Record, Golden Gate Yacht Club, aboard Ernesto Bertarelli's motoryacht Vava.

The Challenger has won four of the last seven AC Matches:

83 - Challenger (Royal Perth YC)
87 - Challenger (San Diego YC)
88 - Defender (San Diego YC)
92 - Defender (San Diego YC)
95 - Challenger (Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron)
00 - Defender (Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron)
03 - Challenger (Societe Nautique Geneve)

In 07, will the Defender even things up at 4-4? Or will the sheer strength and number of Challengers overwhelm the loan Defender and further tip the modern-day AC scales in favor of the Challengers?



Two days later -- Russell Coutts and Michel
Bonnefous explaining Alinghi's plans for
defending the Cup at a press conference in
Auckland on 4 March 03.



Three years later -- the Port America's Cup in Valencia nears completion. Photo
taken earlier this week, courtesy of BMW ORACLE Racing and Gilles Martin-Raget.