Source: www.americascup.com

New Zealand and the America’s Cup: Kiwis claim the Cup New Zealand and the America’s Cup: Kiwis claim the Cup
Nobody will ever know if the Briton James Ashbury, the first to challenge for the America’s Cup in 1870 with Cambria, and who had later immigrated in the 1880s to New Zealand to raise sheep, would have been the one to pass along to his adopted countrymen a passion for the Cup.
Source: www.americascup.com

A day in the life The tactician A day in the life The tactician
One of the strangest roles on an America’s Cup boat - or any large racing boat for that matter - is that of tactician. The tactician doesn’t steer the boat, or navigate it. He doesn’t trim the sails, and he’s not in charge as the skipper is. But the tactician has an enormous influence on the outcome any America’s Cup race.
Source: www.americascup.com

Designed to win Designed to win
“People say the gains are going to be less in this cycle, but I don’t think that’s true. We’re making the same type of gains as in the last cycle. It’s just the way it is…”
Source: www.americascup.com

Red ships arrive Red ships arrive
Across the harbour from the +39 Challenge installation, the South bases now also have an Italian flavour: a dedicated but relaxed spirit that one could already feel in the air around ITA 66 and ITA 77.
Source: www.americascup.com

Team Capitalia is the third Italian team to challenge for the 32nd America’s Cup Team Capitalia is the third Italian team to challenge for the 32nd America’s Cup
Team Capitalia becomes the third Italian Challenger for the 32nd America’s Cup, presenting its team in a public ceremony in Naples today. Distinguished by an ‘all-Italian’ sailing team, and with the support of its main partner Capitalia, an Italian banking group, the team formerly known as Mascalzone Latino has high expectations for its campaign.
Source: www.americascup.com

Mascalzone Latino - Capitalia Team christen ITA 90 Mascalzone Latino - Capitalia Team christen ITA 90
The Italian Mascalzone Latino - Capitalia Team christened its first new boat on Wednesday in a ceremony that linked the team base in the Port America’s Cup with a press conference for Italian media in Milan.
Source: www.americascup.com

act12060701cb_1835 Valencia, 01 07 2006Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 12United Internet Team Germany.

Source: www.americascup.com

act12060624cb_7319w Valencia, 24 06 2006Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 12Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia Team vs United Internet Team Germany.

Source: www.americascup.com

The New York Yacht Club was home to the America’s Cup for 132-years. Now a form of Cup racing is back in New York, but on a smaller scale.

The race course is on a small lake in Central Park. The host of the racing wasn’t the NYYC but the Central Park Model Boat Club, where USA 87 (like BMW ORACLE Racing) and SUI 75 (like Alinghi), did battle. Thus the defender and the challenger of record tangled in International One Metre model boats.

The Model Club was founded in 1961 and has had a brush with the America’s Cup before. John Bertrand, the winning Australian skipper in 1983, showed up at the park to race against the members.

So, although it wasn’t quite on the same scale as the racing in Valencia, the American team will be hoping the model boats foreshadowed an eventual Cup match-up in 2007 on the Mediterranean Sea.
Source: www.americascup.com

700 swimmers take over the Port America’s Cup 700 swimmers take over the Port America’s Cup
For the first time, the Port America’s Cup has been the stage of one of the most unique competitions of the summer in Valencia, the XIV Traves a del Puerto.
Source: www.americascup.com

Emirates Team New Zealand - Leading on all counts Emirates Team New Zealand - Leading on all counts
Emirates Team New Zealand heads in to the ‘off season’ leading on all counts at the 32nd America’s Cup. The Kiwis won a ‘winner take all’ race over Alinghi on Sunday to claim Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 12, which in turn put the team on top of the 2006 Louis Vuitton ACC Championship. Also, the ranking points the team earned in Act 12 allowed it to stretch out a lead over BMW Oracle Racing on the challengers-only Louis Vuitton Ranking.
Source: www.americascup.com

Conquering the world Conquering the world
“We are yellow, we are blue, we are Swedish, who are you?” was the rallying cry from the men in yellow shirts.

“Come on England, come on England!” replied the men in white.

This was the scene at the Victory Challenge base on Tuesday night when the team opened its doors to sailors, families and friends to watch the Swedes play England in the World Cup. It had the potential to be a divisive match for Victory Challenge where the majority of the sailors are Swedes but with a strong British contingent as well.

“It has been 38 years since England has won over Sweden in a football match,” said skipper Magnus Holmberg, trying to stir things up. “And if the Brits win tonight, they will have a very hard time on board the boat the rest of the week!”

In the best possible result for the future of Victory Challenge, the game ended in a 2-2 draw - an even result that you’ll never see in an America’s Cup Match. With the result both teams advance to the next stage of the competition.

Meanwhile, the scene in the Victory Challenge base will no doubt be repeated time and again amongst the 12 teams of the 32nd America’s Cup over the next few weeks as the World Cup grinds along.

Alessandro
Source: www.americascup.com

99 or 100 or maybe 101? 99 or 100 or maybe 101?
Over the past two weeks two new ACC sail numbers have been issued by class Technical Director Ken McAlpine. On Friday, Areva Challenge stated they are building FRA 93. The team assigned ACC 92 hasn’t come forward yet.
Source: www.americascup.com

act12060627cb_4019w Valencia, 27 06 2006Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 12Alinghi.

Source: www.americascup.com

BMW ORACLE Racing and Victory Challenge dominate in Portugal BMW ORACLE Racing and Victory Challenge dominate in Portugal
BMW ORACLE Racing skipper Chris Dickson and his squad narrowly beat Magnus Holmberg and his Victory Challenge team to claim the Portugal Match Cup over the weekend.
Source: www.americascup.com

A sad day in Valencia A sad day in Valencia
Valencia is in mourning today after a train derailed in the city’s metro system. Over 30 people have lost their lives and dozens more are injured.
Source: www.americascup.com

Areva Challenge makes changes Areva Challenge makes changes
Areva Challenge has made some changes to the afterguard of its race boat following Louis Vuitton Act 12.
Source: www.americascup.com

The Italian Mascalzone Latino - Capitalia Team christened its first new boat on Wednesday in a ceremony that linked the team base in the Port America’s Cup with a press conference for Italian media in Milan.
Source: www.americascup.com

Emirates Team New Zealand helmsman Dean Barker won the New Zealand Match Racing Championships over the weekend, beating America’s Cup sailors from BMW ORACLE Racing and K-Challenge among others.
Source: www.americascup.com

Riding ESP 88 to victory Riding ESP 88 to victory
Spain’s Desaf o Espa ol faced a difficult decision two weeks ago. It had its new boat, ESP 88, freshly christened and in measurement trim. But new America’s Cup boats can take a long time to work up to speed. Could it risk sailing the new boat in Louis Vuitton Act 12?
Source: www.americascup.com

Anna Kournikova in the Port America’s Cup Anna Kournikova in the Port America’s Cup
Cameramen, photographers and journalists were flocking around the Emirates Team New Zealand base on Tuesday morning. And what was all the excitement about?
Source: www.americascup.com

Challenging from home Challenging from home
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.
Source: www.americascup.com

The 12 America’s Cup teams may not race in another Cup event until Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 13 in April, 2007, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t racing at all. Apart from training and testing in Valencia and organising their own informal matches here, many teams have sent crews to different events all around Europe. Here’s a round-up of some of what’s happened over the past week or so.
Source: www.americascup.com

Hamish Pepper - From New Zealand to Italy Hamish Pepper - From New Zealand to Italy
Hamish Pepper knows all about being in a big team, having worked with Team New Zealand for the past two America’s Cups. This time he is strategist for one of the small, up-and-coming teams, Mascalzone Latino - Capitalia Team. But he is loving the change of pace, and the culture shock. “It’s more fun, a lot more enjoyable,” he says. “You’re spread out across more diverse areas in the campaign. I get to be involved in a lot of different aspects of the programme. So I get to learn more.”
Source: www.americascup.com

The Spanish Evolution - Carlo Castellano, Desaf o Espa ol 2007 The Spanish Evolution - Carlo Castellano, Desaf o Espa ol 2007
Carlo Castellano first competed in the America’s Cup in 1992, with Raul Gardini’s Il Moro di Venezia campaign.
Source: www.americascup.com

99 or 100 or maybe 101? 99 or 100 or maybe 101?
Over the past two weeks two new ACC sail numbers have been issued by class Technical Director Ken McAlpine. On Friday, Areva Challenge stated they are building FRA 93. The team assigned ACC 92 hasn’t come forward yet.
Source: www.americascup.com

Losing two races in a day doesn’t happen too often to the defender, Alinghi, so the final day’s racing in the round robin of Louis Vuitton Act 12 must have seemed like quite a slap in the face for the Swiss.
Source: www.americascup.com

France and the America’s Cup - 10 to win? France and the America’s Cup - 10 to win?
“Start early, to go far!” - This is the slogan of the French K-Challenge team, the first to openly begin its campaign for the 32nd America’s Cup, even before the 31st Cup had been decided in Auckland. But where K-Challenge is a new team, assembled for this 32nd edition of the Cup, it is carrying on a tradition that dates back to 1970. France, in fact, is the only country to continuously challenge for the Cup since that date.
Source: www.americascup.com

A day in the life The grinder A day in the life The grinder
An America’s Cup team can consist of anywhere between 45 or 50 people for the smaller squads, up to nearly 150 members for the bigger teams. There are a wide variety of roles involved in any successful team from the sailors, yacht designers and builders to lawyers, accountants, marketing experts and shore crew.
Source: www.americascup.com

Areva Challenge takes flight Areva Challenge takes flight
The French Areva Challenge is poised to take flight after a long winter that ended with the announcement that the team had the support of new sponsor, Areva, which would carry it through this America’s Cup cycle. On the water, the team has enjoyed success already. In Trapani, sailing as K-Challenge, the French knocked off their much bigger brothers in Emirates Team New Zealand and Alinghi, winning seven of their 11 match races.
Source: www.americascup.com

Five minutes with Harry Dunning Five minutes with Harry Dunning
Harry Dunning is the principal designer for the Mascalzone Latino - Capitalia Team. He has been a professional yacht designer for over 20 years, including long stints at Farr Yacht Design and the Reichel & Pugh design office.
Source: www.americascup.com

Team Shosholoza - ‘The best in the world!’ Team Shosholoza - ‘The best in the world!’
Andrew Mlangeni is a revered figure in South Africa. He spent 26 years in prison along Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and Govan Mbeki and other prominent members of the African National Congress beginning in June 1964. Since the first democratic elections in 1994 he has been a Member of the South African Parliament.
Source: www.americascup.com

Giovanni Ceccarelli - head of design, +39 Challenge Giovanni Ceccarelli - head of design, +39 Challenge
Soaking up 58 000 hours of research, involving 11 people for 24 months, ITA 85 is not only the pride and joy of the Italian +39 Challenge, but the product of a long and detailed research programme. Chief designer Giovanni Ceccarelli describes the new boat, which was christened at the team base in Port America’s Cup on Saturday night, as highly innovative.
Source: www.americascup.com

One of the strangest roles on an America’s Cup boat - or any large racing boat for that matter - is that of tactician. The tactician doesn’t steer the boat, or navigate it. He doesn’t trim the sails, and he’s not in charge as the skipper is. But the tactician has an enormous influence on the outcome any America’s Cup race.
Source: www.americascup.com

Red moon rising Red moon rising
Luna Rossa is billed as one of the ‘Big Four’. Along with Alinghi, BMW ORACLE Racing and Emirates Team New Zealand, this Italian team stands out as one of the slickest operations in the America’s Cup. It has maintained the momentum built up over the past two Prada campaigns, and skipper Francesco de Angelis has made some useful additions to the team, including young Aussie match racing star, James Spithill, along with a number of other key members from the OneWorld team of Auckland 2003.
Source: www.americascup.com

Is the third time the charm? Is the third time the charm?
Italy’s Luna Rossa Challenge is the eldest brother of the three Italian challenges at the 32nd America’s Cup, the third consecutive attempt at capturing the ‘Auld Mug’ by owner and project instigator Patrizio Bertelli and his skipper Francesco de Angelis.
Source: www.americascup.com

Designed to win Designed to win
“People say the gains are going to be less in this cycle, but I don’t think that’s true. We’re making the same type of gains as in the last cycle. It’s just the way it is…”
Source: www.americascup.com