¡Tomatina!

From today's Valencia Life....

One of the more unusual Fiestas of the Valencian Community will be staged today. The annual ‘Tomatina’ of Buñol this year will be expanded to allow 40,000 people to collectively participate in throwing 100,000 kilos of tomatoes at each other as well as any nearby onlookers. After some wine and sweet cakes, the participants will enter the ‘arena’ at 11 o’clock for two hours of ‘battle’ in the fiesta that was declared in the national interest four years ago.

This year, the town has spent 22,000 Euros on acquiring the tomatoes from a cooperative in Castellon. In addition to the security forces, five ambulances and various paramedics will be on hand to treat any participants that are injured, but the vast majority of these will in all probability be treated for irritated eyes due to the stinging sensation that being hit by flying tomatoes produces. Equally this year, some 23 media representatives have been accredited including representatives from the UK, Korea and Japan, and at least some journalists are expected to participate in the battle, the origins of which are allegedly based on a fruit battle between two youths that took place in 1945.

¡Party on!

Nice Ink -- Valencia

Good article on Valencia by Marlene Parrish in today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Well worth the read, even for those living here, and for passing on to family and friends who may be coming next year -- or thinking about coming.

Confirmation

Confirming our earlier post, this photo from last week's News Costa Levante, a local English-language newspaper. There is no truth to the rumor that the CC is trying to buy a Starbucks franchise for the Port America's Cup -- nor, LOL, that your CCB Ed. owns stock.

192 Years Ago Today

OK, while we are on a bit of a history jag (and then, as Tom Leweck says, this thread will be dead!)....

On 24 August 1814, the British invaded Washington, D.C. The British force burned several public buildings, including the White House, in retaliation for similar U.S. acts in Toronto (what was then called York), Canada.

The War of 1812 was, of course, largely naval warfare and about disputes over maritime practices.

Hard to believe that only 37 years after the Brits had burned the White House, the cousins had (sort of) kissed and made up and were racing yachts around the Isle of Wight...and all the more reason why the win by the yacht America came as a bit of a shock to people on both sides of the Atlantic.

Can you imagine the reaction, 30-odd years from now, to a yacht from the Al Qaeda Yacht Club being invited to race in the New York YC annual cruise -- let alone winning it?

Cayman Islands Reaches "America's Cup" Quarter-Finals

From a story on today's Cayman Net News Online....


The America's Cup saw the Cayman team's best ever performance as they reached the quarterfinals.

Matched against the world-rated players in the Canadian team they fought to the last dart before bowing out of the competition....

Eventual winners of the America's Cup, the USA, beat host country Barbados for the title.


Full story



Are other sports targeting the "real"
America's Cup?

The AC turns 155

Happy birthday to the America's Cup. Most Cup historians consider today, 22 August, as the founding day of this great adventure and pursuit that many of us here in Valencia, and elsewhere around the world, are on -- now 155 years later.

You may find interesting the "155 Years Ago Today" story we posted earlier today on the BMW ORACLE Racing blog. It also answers, one hopes, the question "The What Cup?" that we posed some months ago in a post here on the CC Blog.

In that post last November we promised to publish the related reply to our "The What Cup" question from Hamish Ross (NZL, Alinghi General Counsel). A Cup historian, Hamish also has a book on the AC in the works. Here is an excerpt from his take on the confusion around the Cup's name:

The answer in my opinion is the Cup had an advertised value of £100.00 in the RYS's programme for 1851. What the Cup in fact cost when it was purchased from Garrards is probably unknown. It was very common in the nineteenth century for yacht clubs, at least in Britain and the colonies, to hold yacht races to win a trophy of a nominated value....It is the "America's Cup." It had a value in 1851 of £100.00. Let's put to rest all the other inappropriate and unnecessary appellations.



The America's Cup, flanked by the Louis Vuitton Cup, in China earlier this year -- another first in the trophy's storied 155-year history. As usual, you can click on the image, above, to enlarge; it makes great wallpaper for your computer desktop.

Valencia Crónica #55

Bridget Baker's 3 August issue has been in my email box since, well, 3 August. Apologies for the delay in posting, but here it is. As always it is password protected to keep personal contact info private to AC team members and their families. For the fine print about obtaining the password, etc., please see earlier posts -- by now familiar to our regular readers -- here on the CCB.

#55 has more graphics than usual, hence it is a larger .doc file (900k) and may take a bit more time to open or download.

With 12-week old Jack keeping her busy, Bridget reports that VC will now come out every other week, not weekly as in the past. With many taking vacaciones this month, the next issue of VC will be 31 August.

Good News, Bad News

Now for some really important and good news for the AC teams here in Valencia....

According to the Starbucks (Spain) website, the long-rumored Starbucks Coffee store in Valencia is now open. We cannot attest first hand to the store's opening. However, the CC Blog always tries to keep Challengers and our supporters up to date on important developments in and around VLC, so we will endeavor to do a Starbucks venue check ASAP.

The bad news? The AC teams are based in the Port America's Cup, and the new store is in the city center at calle San Vicente Mártir 44, just behind (west) of the Plaza del Ayuntamiento. That's a good 15 minutes drive from the PAC even when traffic is light; it rarely is in that part of town.

But with this first Starbucks opening in Valencia, how long can it be before there is one in every popular area of town, to say nothing of every other street corner? Many AC team members will be hoping the next Starbucks is located on lower Avenida del Puerto, or at least in "Cup Town" in the Avenida Alameda/Francia area -- only a five-minute bike ride or drive from the Port.

There is no truth to the rumor that CC Chair Alessandra Pandarese (Milano, ITA; Mascalzone Latino Capitalia Team) has already appointed a task force to lobby Starbucks for a store closer to the PAC. However, we understand that the McKee brothers (Seattle, USA; Luna Rossa Challenge) have persuaded their Challenge Rep, Bruno Finzi (Milano, ITA), to ask that the matter be placed on the agenda for the next CC meeting despite his personal antipathy. Signor Finzi said, "Americans make coffee about as well as they design clothes."

Alinghi's marketing director Margrethe Van der Stroom (Geneva, SUI) said, "Any attempt by the Challenger Commission to bring Starbucks closer to the America's Cup will be viewed suspiciously by Alinghi. One of our key sponsor-partners is Nespresso, and pushing for a Starbucks store closer to the PAC could be considered ambush marketing."

Alinghi's general counsel, Hamish Ross (Auckland, NZL) went further. The aging beachbum called from la playa in front of his "bach" (Kiwi for holiday cottage) between rides on his surfboard to say, "Such a move by the CC could be actionable under the Protocol's 'Neutral Management' clause, especially since I never drink coffee -- not even Nespresso."

This evening (Monday morning in NZL) we reached Emirates Team New Zealand's Challenge Rep James Farmer, QC (Auckland, NZL), who was breakfasting at Herne Bay's trendy Andiamo cafe. Over a double latte he thumbed out an email via his Blackberry: "I don't see what all the fuss is about. These days in Auckland we have a Starbucks on almost every corner, so why not Valencia? Our team, however, feels strongly that the stores' starting times should not be later than usual just because this is Spain. Anyone who feels otherwise needs a good cleansing ale -- preferably a Stella Damm -- to clear their heads."

Former CC Chairman George Clyde (San Francisco, USA) and the Challenge Rep for France's Areva Challenge said, "We need all the caffeine in this Cup we can get. I am not sure you can get one at Starbucks, but my wife and I strongly recommend a drink called an Espresso Martini. After a couple of those all around, we might even get agreement with Alinghi on a fifth member of the Jury."

The Chairman of Sweden's Victory Challenge, Hugo Stenbeck (Stockholm, SWE), will arrive in Valencia late this evening especially to check out the new Starbucks first thing tomorrow morning. "Even though Red Bull has signed up with us for the long haul, RB goes better with a little vodka in the evening. Some Starbucks-style caffeine in the morning is a good thing," Mr Stenbeck said, "especially after all the long days and late nights we put in trying to capture our sport's Holy Grail."

Wolf Dietz, United Internet Team Germany's Challenge Rep, welcomed the news. "Anything's better than German coffee, even Starbucks," Herr Dietz said after returning to Valencia from a week in Kiel (GER) at the German Sailing Grand Prix. "At least we know how to make good automobiles."

BMW Oracle's Challenge Rep, Russell Green (Auckland, NZL) was on holiday in Austria and, no surprise, could not be reached for comment. He did, however, email to say that with a post as frivolously apochryphal as this one, it is obvious the CC's Blog Editor has too much time on his hands and should be assigned some real work.

In the coming days, no doubt this important AC 32 development will receive the full coverage it deserves -- including an extensive photo spread about the new Starbucks store on the Valencia Sailing blogsite, which will lead to a feature story on the ACM website shortly thereafter.



The first Starbucks in VLC reportedly is now open at C/ San Vicente, 44. Graphic courtesy of Google Maps. Our thanks to Señor Sie for the tip.

Nice Ink -- German Sailing Grand Prix

Congrats to BMW ORACLE Racing, Team Shosholoza and United Internet Team Germany for the excellent exhibition event at Kiel last week. Before, during and since there has been plenty of nice ink for the three teams, and the Cup in general, all over the web -- and, in particular, in the German media.

Live, high quality TV was produced by Sam Usher and his team from Narrowstep. This very experienced crew also televise the World Match Racing Tour.

Check the teams' websites for details, and the BMW ORACLE Racing team blog (shameless plug!) for a bunch of photos and a behind-the-scenes-look into the GSGP.

Unfortunately on the final day (last Sunday), a key Shosholoza crewman, Charles Nankin (RSA), was injured in a freakish accident at the leeward gate in the first fleet race of the day. Shosho issued a statement Thursday with the happy news that Charles is recovering following surgery on Monday. Excerpt from the Shosho statement:


He underwent a three hour operation, led by director of the clinic, Dr A. Seekamp, on Monday in which titanium was used to stabilise his 2nd vertebra which was fractured in the incident. He was sitting up and walked briefly on crutches yesterday (Thursday) and has no other spinal, neck or cerebral injury. He is expected to remain in hospital until 20 August after when he will join the rest of Team Shosholoza at their base in Valencia, Spain. Doctors have advised that he will need physiotherapy for three months and should be able to resume normal sports activities after six months.


The Challenger Commission joins all the AC 32 family in wishing Charles a full and speedy recovery.



Charles Nankin with his family Phillip and Flavia. Photo courtesy of the
Team Shosholoza website.

Key Dates

Updated today from the original Key Dates post in March, in follow up to the revised 2007 Racing Schedule issued this week by Regatta Director Dyer Jones (preceding post, below).


In response to many requests, below is a consolidated calendar with key dates of interest to Challengers through the end of the AC 32. Please send any additions or corrections ASAP to blog[at]tfehman[dot]com.

This post will be updated from time to time. For future and quick reference, there is now a permanent link to this post called "Key Dates" under "Kiosk" near the top of the sidebar here on the CCB.

Latest updates are in red. The beginning of each racing period is shown in blue.


2006

Wed-Sat 6-9 Sep – Farr 40 Worlds, Newport (many AC sailors competing).

Mon 2 Oct – CC LVC Notice of Race Working Party meeting, Milano, 13:00.

Tue 3 Oct – Challenger Commission meeting, Milano, 09:00-18:00.

Wed 4 Oct – AC 33 Discussion Forum, Milano, 09:00-13:00.

Sun 29 Oct – Summer Time (Daylight Savings Time) ends in Europe and the USA.

Wed 6 Dec – Hamish Ross’s (NZL, Alinghi) birthday.

Wed 6 Dec – “Dia de la Constitucion” holiday in Spain.

Fri 8 Dec – “Immaculate Concepción” holiday in Spain (no doubt a more appropriate day to celebrate Hamish Ross’s birthday).


2007

Fri-Mon 16-19 Mar – Las Fallas

Thu 22 Mar – Alessandra Pandarese’s birthday.

Sun 25 Mar – Summer Time (Daylight Savings Time) begins in Europe.

Sat 31 Mar – “Declaration Day” (of the one or two ACC yachts a team will race in the LVC and, if successful, the Match).

Sun 1 Apr – “Unveiling Day” (after when shrouding of hulls is no longer permitted).

Sun 1 Apr – Daylight Savings Time begins in the USA.

Tue 3 Apr – Act 13 (Fleet Racing, all Challengers and Alinghi) begins.

Fri 6 Apr – Act 13 ends, with Sat as a reserve and prizegiving day.

Mon 16 Apr – LVC Round Robin 1 begins, each Challenger races 10 matches (once against each of the other eleven Challengers), two races per day.

Sun 22 Apr – RR1 ends, with Mon as a reserve day.

Wed 25 Apr – LVC Round Robin 2 begins, each Challenger races 10 matches (once against each of the other eleven Challengers), one race per day.

Sun 6 May – RR2 ends, with Mon as a reserve days.

Mon 14 May – LVC Semifinals begin (top four Challengers at the end of RR2), first to win five races in each "knock-out" semifinal, one race for each pair per day, with Thu 17 May as an "off day” and Mon 21 May and Fri 25 May as a reserve days.

Fri 25 May – Last possible LVC Semifinals race day.

Fri 1 Jun – LVC Finals begin, first to win five races, one race per day, with Mon 4 Jun as an "off day" and Thu 7 Jun and Tue 12 Jun as a reserve days.

Tue 12 Jun – Last possible LVC Finals race day.

Sat-Tue 16-19 Jun – Palma Superyacht Week.

Sat 23 Jun – America’s Cup Match begins, first to win five races, one race per day, with “off days” on Mon 25 Jun, Thu 28 Jun, and Mon 2 Jul if necessary. 5-7 Jul are reserve days.

Sat 7 Jul – Last scheduled AC Match reserve day.

Regatta Director: 2007 Schedule

Earlier this week Regatta Director Dyer Jones issued a memorandum to the "Competitors" (Challengers and the Defender) outlining next year's racing calendar. It mostly confirms dates and formats long-since agreed and published, however there are a few new wrinkles, notably:

+ The "Declaration Date" is confirmed as 31 March, at which time all Competitors must declare the one or two yachts (which must have been built in the country of the yacht club they represent) they may enter in the various phases of the LVC and, if successful, the AC Match.

+ The "Unveiling Date" will be 1 April. That morning teams will have an "open house" of sorts at their bases to allow the other teams, media and public to view the underbodies of their declared yachts. Thereafter, no yachts may be skirted through the end of the AC 32 Match. That unveiling will take place on April Fools' Day was schedule-driven and pure coincidence, but the irony is not lost on any of us.

+ The Round Robin phase of the Louis Vuitton Cup will begin on April 16th not April 18th as previously advertised. This to assure enough race days to complete two rounds robin for the 11 Challengers. Also two dates previously scheduled as "Off Days" are now "Reserve Days" -- given the vagaries of the wind and weather in April/May of 2005 and '06, it was felt more potential race days were needed to assure completion of the RRs.

The 2007 calendar issued by Dyer is below, and a larger .pdf version is available to download here.

Excellent TV: On the Money

[Update 11:00 Wednesday -- One of the links below to the three segments was not correct; it has now been fixed. Tip of the hat to Pierre Orphanidis of Valencia Sailing for letting us know.]


The three-part CNBC series on the America's Cup we drew your attention to last week has now aired in the USA and around the world as part of CNBC's "On the Money" program. All three were excellent shows and are available to watch online (below).

We are reliably informed that credit for the instigation of this CNBC reportage belongs with Kimberly Jones, wife of regatta director Dyer Jones (USA). After Kim opened the door and convinced CNBC's Dylan Ratigan and his producers to come to Valencia during Act 12, BMW ORACLE's Jane Eagleson met with them in New York during the Rockefeller Center exhibition to help pave the way. Our congrats and appreciation to them both.

Below are links to the three segments which include videos and a rough transcript of the audio tracks. Each of the three segments was about six minutes for a total of 18-minutes of prime-time AC coverage in the USA, to say nothing of the extensive reach CNBC now has around the word via satellite and cable....

July 26: Big boats, big money vie for the America's Cup

July 27: America's Cup backers seek wider following

July 28: America's Cup sailors are a special breed

The final segment was especially good ink for Shosholoza, but reflects well on all the teams as well as the Cup in general. Here's the lead from the final segment:

VALENCIA, Spain - This vibrant city is known for its Mediterranean beaches, quaint street cafes, and the famed festival of San Juan that draws 80,000 people. It’s also a city in transition.

The fish markets that once ringed the harbor have given way to America’s Cup clubhouses. Each with VIP hosting lounges, pressrooms and workout facilities, where the best in sailing ready themselves for fierce competition.

“Everyone determined to take up sailing professionally want to be in the America’s Cup. It’s the game in town," said Seahorse Magazine Editor, Andrew Hurst....