img_0975w_ Valencia, 16 05 2006Valencia Louis Vuitton Acts 10 &11Areva Challenge vs China Team.
Source: www.americascup.com
The Chinese dragon takes to the water The Chinese dragon takes to the water
China Team became the 12th America’s Cup team to sail off Valencia on Friday afternoon, joining the crowd on a busy body of water off Valencia.
Source: www.americascup.com
The world’s premiere motor racing circuit comes to the America’s Cup The world’s premiere motor racing circuit comes to the America’s Cup
Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone paid a visit to the Port America’s Cup on Friday visiting the home team Desaf o Espa ol 2007 and the defender of the Cup, Alinghi.
Source: www.americascup.com
Desaf o Espa ol 2007 partners up for ‘first shift’ information Desaf o Espa ol 2007 partners up for ‘first shift’ information
The Spanish Challenge, Desaf o Espa ol, has teamed up with the Spanish Foundation Innovamar to help create a system of for wind prediction using the data generated by the America’s Cup’s own MDS (meteorological data service).
Source: www.americascup.com
Cameramen, photographers and journalists were flocking around the Emirates Team New Zealand base on Tuesday morning. And what was all the excitement about? 
Sweden’s Victory Challenge suffered a setback on Friday morning when it broke its mast in an accident at the team base compound during preparations for the Trapani Louis Vuitton Acts 8 & 9. 
The ‘China Sails into the America’s Cup’ promotional evening in Beijing was a roaring success on Saturday night. The show at the Tian Qiao Theatre, produced by the organisers of the 32nd America’s Cup and Louis Vuitton, was attended by over 1,000 guests, including celebrities, VIPs and diplomats. 
The Swedish Victory Challenge has signed a new bowman. He is Pepe Ribes local to Valencia who was on the wish list of several Cup teams. 
Last week, China Team put the finishing touches on a dramatic paint job on CHN 79. The boat reflects the colours of the challenge - there’s a red dragon snaking up the boat - and is all yellow and red. 
One of the real changes to the 32nd America’s Cup is the chance for the smaller teams to line up against the big guns in the Louis Vuitton Acts. The match racing and fleet racing Acts are bringing a sense of realism and immediacy that they would never be able to reproduce during in-house training sessions, according to Jim Turner of K-Challenge. 
Although the big four teams dominated Louis Vuitton Act 11, no one was left with any doubt as to the level of competition further down the rankings. To finish fifth was an impressive result and the Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia Team knew it. With its new boat waiting in the wings, the team had the best launch pad for the next phase in their campaign. 
SUI 91 as been out sailing on the waters off Valencia this week, as Alinghi work up their first of two new boats. 
The Spanish Desaf o Espa ol 2007 team holds a unique position in the long history of the America’s Cup. It is the first team to race as a challenger on home waters, traditionally an advantage reserved for the Defender. While that gives the team certain advantages, it also comes with weighty expectations. A defending team sailing at home has already proved its mettle. For the Spanish, this is a new challenge after sitting out the 2003 Cup in Auckland, so the expectations are perhaps unfair. 
“I have always regarded the model of Cambria as one of the finest in the very fine collection in the model room of the New York Yacht Club. I was on board her during several of her races and I think her failure to win was due to clumsiness of rig rather than to a defect in the model.” 
Born in Cadiz in 1975, Rafael Trujillo started sailing in the Optimist at just eight years old. He progressed rapidly through the dinghy classes and went on to win the Finn Olympic silver medal in Athens 2004. Now he is a key member of the Italian team +39. 
On September 5th, 1901, the new Herreshoff boat Constitution supposed to beat the ‘old’ Columbia (also a Herreshoff model) and go on to defend the America’s Cup against Sir Thomas Lipton’s second challenger Shamrock II. But Constitution had just been pushed aside by the selection committee of the NYYC. It would be Columbia that was given the honour of defending the 1901 Cup, for the second consecutive time, following its successful run in 1899. This had never happened before. Indeed, after its first victory in the Cup, one would have been forgiven for thinking that the story of Columbia would end there, as had been the case for each of its predecessors since 1870. Logically, it would have been used as a as a trial horse for its successor, and then be broken up for scrap. But skipper Charlie Barr had other ideas 
“Is it a sculpture? Is it a boat?” It is the question most often asked by visitors to the Storm King Art Centre at Mountainville, 75 kilometres outside New York. At the museum, the hull of Young America USA-36, the unsuccessful defender of the 1995 America’s Cup, is literally planted in the middle of an island in a small pond. It has been there since 2002. 
On Saturday, June 18th, 1983, Italy made a spectacular entrance to the America’s Cup arena in Newport. Azzurra I 4, the elegant 12-metre from the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS) skippered by Cino Ricci and helmed by Mauro Pelaschier, won its first race by beating the French champion France 3 F 3 sailed by Bruno Troubl by 1 minute and 34 seconds in the opening race of the Louis Vuitton Cup. 
The Defenders of the America’s Cup, Alinghi, rebounded from their worst Louis Vuitton Act finish - a fourth in Act 10 - to dominate the fleet of challengers in winning Louis Vuitton Act 11. The Swiss followed up their success on the water by marking an important milestone in their defence, christening SUI 91 in a small ceremony on the team base. 
The Defenders of the 32nd America’s Cup, Alinghi, have christened the first of two planned new boats for their campaign. 
The Swedish Victory Challenge sailed from their base in the Port America’s Cup on Friday for the first time in 2006 aboard Orm (SWE 73). The team towed out shortly after noon for a four hour training session. 
You have to search long and hard to find women among America’s Cup sailing teams. Dawn Riley’s all female Mighty Mary campaign in 1995 was, without doubt, the most famous female team to buck the trend. But the physical demands of America’s Cup Class yachts means that there are few positions aboard these powerful machines where women can compete with men. None of this deterred Alicia Ageno, Spain’s first female America’s Cup crew member. 
They say that America’s Cup racing is a dangerous sport, but perhaps not from the perspective of two new recruits to the Victory Challenge. Just a few weeks ago, bowman Pepe Ribes was being rescued from the Atlantic after the Volvo Open 70 yacht that he was racing started to sink beneath his feet. 
“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t enjoy it. I have a regular job as head of information for Viasat broadcasting which has programming in 21 countries and yet I’m here.”