Another New Sail Number

Update Fri 14 July -- Congrats to Areva Challenge, who announced today that they are constructing FRA 93.


This morning ACC Technical Director Ken McAlpine informed the teams via email that he has allocated sail number 93, meaning that another team has commenced construction of a new yacht.

What is auspicious about that number? Mr McAlpine will be pleased, for a change, to see a non-mathematical reference to a new sail number posted here: 93, as in Quatre-vingt-treize, was the novel about the French Revolution by Victor Hugo. But not being able to resist a bit of technical team teasing, we note that 93 is also the atomic number for neptunium -- the first of the transuranium elements that scientists must normally synthesize as they rarely if ever occur in nature.

With new sail numbers expected to be allocated regularly for the next weeks given the time it takes most teams to build and ship a new yacht to Valencia, we thought our readers might appreciate a quick review of the ACC sail numbers issued since the end of the 2003 Cup:

RSA 83 -- Shosholoza, launched early 2005.
NZL 84 -- Emirates Team NZ, launched late 2005.
ITA 85 -- Plus 39, in Valencia being fitted out, expected sailing shortly.
ITA 86 -- Luna Rossa, launched in Q2 of 2006, raced in Acts 10-12.
USA 87 -- BMW ORACLE Racing, launched in Q2 of 2006, raced in Acts 10-12.
ESP 88 -- Desafio Espanol, launched in Q2 of 2006, raced in Act 12.
GER 89 -- United Internet Team Germany, in Kiel being fitted out, expected sailing shortly.
ITA 90 -- Mascalzone Latino Capitalia Team, launched in Q2 and sailing in VLC, not raced.
SUI 91 -- Alinghi, launched in Q2 and sailing in VLC, not raced.
92 -- allocated 10 days ago.
93 -- allocated today.

The Technical Director only reports numbers allocated, not to which team. To our knowledge so far no team has announced having received 92 or 93.

Teams may build a maximum of two new yachts during AC 32. From media and other reports, additional new yachts expected before the end of AC 32:

CHN -- first new yacht.
ESP -- second new yacht.
FRA -- first.
ITA/LR -- second.
ITA/MLC -- second.
NZL -- second.
SUI -- second.
SWE -- first.
USA -- second.

Presumably two of the nine projected above are numbers 92 and 93, leaving seven more to come during AC 32 -- making for an even 100. Inasmuch as the Challengers have to be ready for the start of the LVC in the middle of April next year, whereas the Defender has until the start of the AC Match on 23 June, assuming we do get there will it be SUI 100?

If, however, Mascalzone does not build a second yacht (as some today have suggested will be the case), the last boat for AC 32 would appear to be 99. All this begs the question whether the ACC class will be used for the next Cup with numbers going above 100.

Anyone know the answer to this tricky Cup trivia question -- since he began doing so in 1990, which two numbers were not allocated by the Technical Director in sequence as required under the ACC Rule?