[Source: iShares Cup] Typically for the iShares Cup, Round 2 went to the wire, with double points up for grabs in the final race. Oman Sail’s Masirah needed to finish higher than seventh place to secure overall victory with both James Spithill’s BMW ORACLE Racing and Loick Peyron’s Oman Sail Renaissance both in contention. In the final race, James Spithill covered Loick Peyron at the start leaving them at the back of the fleet. Incredibly Spithill went on to helm an amazing final race to cross the finish line in first place. As for Loick Peyron on Oman Sail Renaissance, well they got back in the race but problems furling their gennaker ruined their chances. With those two teams covering each other, this allowed Oman Sail’s Masirah to escape – Pete Cumming and his crew kept their cool to cross the finish line in third place taking Round 2 of the iShares Cup Hyères-TPM in emphatic form. The nail-biting finish didn’t disappoint the hundreds of spectators who were enthralled right to the end. Next step for the iShares Cup Extreme 40 Sailing Series 2009 is the UK round to be held in Cowes over the 1-3 August at the start of Cowes Week.

Highlights from the final day of iShares Cup Hyères. Hyères, 5 July 2009. Video copyright iShares Cup

Before start of play on the final day of Round 2 of the iShares Cup Hyères-TPM, there was some expectation that the breeze had settled in direction early and would deliver more wind strength. Overnight leaders Oman Sail’s Masirah sent helm Chris Draper up the mast to adjust the rig tension. The atmosphere on the dock was intense – the five front-runners knew they could all be in contention for the Round 2 iShares Cup title. James Spithill and his crew onboard BMW ORACLE Racing were subdued and tense, the Oman Sail boats of Masirah and Renaissance seemed visibly more relaxed, and Franck Cammas (Groupama) wanted desperately to get back in the game. With only six races on the table and a double points final race – the teams knew they would need to be good right from the start.

The first two races saw the breeze change direction (south-west) and soften (6-8 knots) and it was Shirley Robertson, Team iShares, who led off the start line to score their first morale-boosting win of the regatta. BMW ORACLE Racing and Gitana Extreme – Groupe LCF Rothschild (Yann Guichard) took 2nd and 3rd but the Oman Sail teams only managed 5th (Renaissance) and 8th for (Masirah). Were the tables about to be turned?

Not yet: the next race saw order restored… Gitana Extreme – Groupe LCF Rothschild, 1st; Loick Peyron (Oman Sail Renaissance), who had to sit out yesterday’s racing due to a damaged rudder, 2nd; and Oman Sail Masirah 3rd. Briton Mike Golding scored his best result of the event so far with a fourth place for Ecover: “We know we are new and we don’t want to put ourselves deliberately into a difficult situation,” said Golding. “But on the other hand if you want to make any impression on this high calibre fleet eventually you have to make some tough decisions and go in some places that are inherently dangerous to be!”

Oman Sail’s Masirah, winner of the iShares Cup Hyères-TPM. Hyères, 5 July 2009. Photo copyright Thierry Martinez

By race 4, there had been a change on the leaderboard – a victory from Spithill’s crew put them ahead of Peyron by 2 points. Pete Cumming’s crew were not making things easy for themselves with a 7th place but still maintained the top slot overall. Heading into the penultimate race and, with a double-points finale, it was still an open game. Oman Sail Masirah won the penultimate race ahead of Groupama and LUNA. Guichard will have been furious with his last place in this penultimate race, which put him out of contention for the overall Round 2 win.

Going into the final ‘double points’ race Oman Sail Masirah needed to finish higher than 7th place to secure victory in Round 2 of the iShares Cup Hyères-TPM. No one was surprised to see James Spithill covering Loick Peyron at the start leaving them at the back of the fleet, but Spithill went on to helm a blinding final race to cross the finish line in first. For Loick Peyron on Oman Sail Renaissance – they got back in the race but problems furling their gennaker ruined their chances. With those two teams covering each other early, this allowed Oman Sail’s Masirah to escape, and Pete Cumming and his crew crossed the finish line in 3rd place taking Round 2 in emphatic form.

Loick Peyron, skipper of Oman Sail’s Renaissance, 3rd place overall in the iShares Cup Hyères-TPM. Hyères, 5 July 2009. Photo copyright Thierry Martinez

“Brilliant result – all last year we hoped we could do it but fell short. In the final race, we just kept our heads down, stayed focused and stayed out of trouble. We’ve got it right here and great to get this result,” said Pete Cumming, skipper Oman Sail Masirh. “Chris and Mark did a great job at the back of the boat, and Freddie and I just backed them up best we could. It really felt that for the first time it has come together after our winter training in Oman. Last year we suffered from not keeping out of trouble – we’ve grown up a bit and know when to keep out of trouble and when to push.”

There was some compensation for BMW ORACLE Racing though, after their result here in Round 2 they have now taken overall lead in the iShares Cup 2009 circuit. Oman Sail Masirah move into second place and Gitana Extreme – Groupe LCF Rothschild are in third overall after two rounds. Next stop Cowes in the UK from 1-3 August…

Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back

[Source: iShares Cup] Oman Sail’s Renaissance were forced to sit out racing today after damage to their rudder in race 1 sustained in a collision with Ecover – they have now been awarded average points based on the 7 races they completed so far at Round 2 of the iShares Cup Hyères-TPM. This has now put them back on the leaderboard in second place going into the final day. As a result, BMW ORACLE Racing and Gitana Extreme – Groupe LCF Rothschild who were both on top form, finishing in 2nd and 3rd behind Oman Sail’s Masirah before the redress was announced, have now dropped a place on the leaderboard. Mind you, James Spithill and his crew onboard BMW ORACLE Racing will be much happier with their performance today – taking victory in the penultimate and final race of day 2 at the iShares Cup Hyères-TPM. It was a spectacular finish to the second day – racing downwind under the massive gennaker in a big breeze is a precarious proposition – the bows dig in putting the 40-ft catamaran as risk of a pitch-pole. Today all the teams kept their Extreme 40s upright – if the breeze had been any stronger that might not have been the case…

Highlights from the 2nd day of iShares Cup Hyères. Hyères, 4 July 2009. Video copyright iShares Cup

In detail:
The weather scenario was a repeat of yesterday: starting weak, shifting right, then building to up to first 10 knots then 15 for the last two races. In these conditions, the Race Committee managed to stage seven races in total, setting the short, sharp race courses well within the view of the hundreds of spectators – the finish line itself was set almost within touching distance of the crowds who cheered on as the Extreme 40s fought closely for the finish line.

Day 2 of the iShares Cup Hyères-TPM has been a day of mixed fortunes… BMW ORACLE Racing and Gitana Extreme – Group LCF Rothschild piled on the pressure with two race wins for Spithill and three race wins for Guichard – moving both teams up the leaderboard that is still dominated by Oman Sail’s Masirah who had another convincing day.

James Spithill: “It was a bit like survival at times at the top mark, it’s very aggressive on the water. Masirah sailed very well again, Gitana is always good and I think it’s still very open for tomorrow. I think we have to look for consistency and try to always be in the top 5.”

James Spithill and BMW ORACLE Racing make the best improvement of the day by gaining 60 points. Hyères, 4 July 2009. Photo copyright Thierry Martinez

For Loick Peyron it was a day of frustration as Oman Sail’s Renaissance remained on the dock after the collision with Ecover in the first race – Mike Golding was on port so was at fault. With the port tiller arm almost detached from the rudder, Peyron had to ‘hand-steer’ the port rudder whilst moving the starboard rudder using the long tiller arm – of course, the super cool Peyron did it ‘standing up’! The Race Committee have yet to publish the results of this protest. Franck Cammas was mixing it up with the front-runners, scoring three third places, leaving Groupama in 5th place on today’s leaderboard after the redress ahead of BT.

The stage is now set for the final day of Round 2 of the iShares Cup – Oman Sail Masirah has a 110 points, a 10-point lead on Oman Sail’s Renaissance (100 points). BMW ORACLE Racing in 3rd place are on 97 points, a 10-point lead on Gitana Extreme – Groupe LCF Rothschild (87 points). Pete Cumming’s crew on Oman Sail Masirah is looking sharp and the front-runners will have a real fight on their hands tomorrow. But in the iShares Cup game anything is possible.

Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back

[Source: iShares Cup] Coming into Round 2 of the iShares Cup, one could be forgiven for expecting the French teams to excel on their ‘home’ waters but the pre-event form hasn’t gone quite as planned. It was Oman Sail’s Masirah that stole the thunder today on the open waters of Hyères, posting four bullets out of six races leaving them at the top of the Day 1 leaderboard with 55 points. It was Frenchman Loick Peyron who had the best day out of the French contingent, helming Oman Sail’s Renaissance into third overall, and Franck Cammas, back at the helm of Groupama, climbed into 4th place. The sea breeze built to a steady 13-14 knots by race 3, the action ratcheted up a notch or two and BT skipper, Nick Moloney, summed it up – “it was very aggressive out on the race course today”. BT filled the 2nd place on the leaderboard by consistently posting 3rd or 4th places, and a final win put a big smile on the face of Mitch Booth, co-creator of the Extreme 40 Class, who had to replace an injured Darren Bundock at the 11th hour.

Highlights from the opening day of iShares Cup Hyères-TPM. Hyères, 3 July 2009. Video copyright iShares Cup

In Detail:

The sailors knew that the Hyères event would present a different scenario to the light winds of Venice. For starters, there is open water, although the short courses were kept well within visibility of the public, then there is the ‘sea breeze’ that builds throughout the afternoon as the land mass heats up. So with the conditions very different from Round 1 in Venice, the game has taken on a different complexion. iShares Cup Event Director, Gilles Chiorri: “By race 3 we saw a big wind shift and a lot more pressure so lots of speed and action on the course with the hulls flying all the time. The game is quite open – Round 1 winners Gitana won some and lost some but it was the two Oman Sail boats that were the strongest today. The courses are short so half of the game is 1 minute before the start and 1 minute after, then you just rely on the difficulties of the others to get back in the game. There were quite a few penalties today – 6 or 7 – the racing is quite aggressive.”

Oman Sail Masirah, skippered by Pete Cumming (centre) and helmed by Olympic medallist Chris Draper (right) lead Round 2 of the iShares Cup after Day 1. Hyères, 3 July 2009. Photo copyright Thierry Martinez

After six races, Oman Sail’s Masirah had monopolised the finish line and now lead with 55 points, only 1 point ahead of BT (46 points) and Oman Sail Renaissance (45 points). Chris Draper helm of Oman Sail’s Masirah: “It was a good day – we had a nice rhythm going and we just kept it going. We made sure we had a back-up plan if we didn’t get a good start – that happened a couple of times and that served us well. Great effort from the team, really good teamwork and we had our Oman compatriot Khamis [Al-Anbouri] onboard – he seems to be our lucky charm!”

Loick Peyron: “It was a glorious day, with ideal conditions on the water… and the boys (editor’s note: the Masirah crew) have really played it well. They were very clever on the starts, and generally they sailed better than everyone else, no doubt about that, hats off! As far as we’re concerned, I was looking for consistency and put my brains to work quite intensely. There was plenty going on to keep us entertained, and I’m very pleased with our team spirit.”

Groupama raced more consistently and claimed 4th place (38 points) but only one point separates them from BMW ORACLE (37 points) as James Spithill and his crew – despite winning the first race – then posted an 8th and 10th which proved their undoing.

Oman Sail Masirah, skippered by Pete Cumming (centre) and helmed by Olympic medallist Chris Draper (right) lead Round 2 of the iShares Cup after Day 1. Hyères, 3 July 2009. Photo copyright Thierry Martinez

There have been a few crew changes for Round 2 due to the other commitments of some of the ‘regulars’ within four teams. Aboard Gitana Extreme, Dutch offshore specialist Simeon Tienpont has been momentarily ‘lent’ by BMW Oracle to replace Hervé Cunnigham. Extreme 40 class co-creator Mitch Booth stands in for an injured Darren Bundock as BT skipper Nick Moloney explained: “Darren has been very difficult to replace but we have managed to replace an 11-times World Champion with a 10-times World Champion – a stroke of luck on our part!” On Holmatro, Australian Anthony Nossiter steps in to replace Gerd Habermüller on the bow – Anthony lists ’rounding Cape Horn nude’ as one of his three major achievements! Finally, Gilberto Nobili steps aboard iShares in replacement of trimmer Jonathan MacBeth.

Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back

[Source: iShares Cup] Today’s practice races certainly delivered the goods ahead of the official start of the iShares Cup Hyères-TPM event tomorrow. The sea breeze built up to a steady 10-12 knots – more than enough to get the Extreme 40s hulls flying. The iShares Cup Raid – a 10-mile sprint to the island of Porquerolles – saw a French victory as Erik Maris skipper of LUNA snatched victory from James Spithill’s BMW ORACLE Racing after just 36 minutes of racing. Maris suffered a broken wrist playing football but his arm encased in a plaster cast does not seem to be an impediment! It was a tight finish to the line for the remainder of the 8 teams and iShares Cup inside reporter, Jocelyn Blériot, rode shotgun on BMW ORACLE Racing – see his report below. And English rugby stars, Tom May and Joe El-Abd, who now both play for Toulon, also came along for a ride…

The Extreme 40’s practice for tomorrow’s start of the iShares Cup Hyères-TPM. Hyères, 2 July 2009. Video copyright iShares Cup

In detail:
Round 2 of the iShares Cup Hyères-TPM is all set to go – official racing starts tomorrow (Friday, 3rd July) at 14h00 local time through to Sunday, 5th July. Today saw a series of practice races for the ten Extreme 40s including the iShares Cup Raid – a 10-mile sprint to the island of Porquerolles and back. The beauty of the iShares Cup is the adaptability of the Extreme 40 fleet to race on open sea or on inland waters; racing short courses close to shore, trying speed runs or stretching their legs in a ‘raid’ format as they did today.

Following the official opening iShares Cup press conference at which Jacques Politi, Mayor of Hyères and Vice-President of TPM (Toulon Provence Mediterranée) welcomed the skippers to the region, the skippers were keen to get going. Franck Cammas, skipper Groupama: “I am impatient to race! The Extreme 40s are great to sail and Hyères should be more windy than Venice hopefully. I hope we’re not going to race too close to shore if it’s really windy as it might be a bit more ‘extreme’ than we like!”

The Extreme 40’s practice for tomorrow’s start of the iShares Cup Hyères-TPM. Hyères, 2 July 2009. Photo copyright Thierry Martinez

Although the weather forecast predicted light conditions for the next few days, the temperatures in Hyères results in the land heating up through the morning to create a good and consistent sea breeze for the afternoon. Shirley Robertson, skipper Team iShares, remembers the conditions last year: “Last year we had some big wind – I ended up on a stretcher with stitches! Going downwind with the big gennaker up and both rudders out the water – there’s not much you can do at the back except hang on – this is Hyères! I think this weekend we could have a few surprises…”

Well, perhaps the first surprise of Round 2 has been the victory of Erik Maris and his crew onboard LUNA, in the iShares Cup Raid and the second practice race.

As Loick Peyron, skipper Oman Sail Renaissance commented: “This iShares Cup is a very exciting game… Sailing in open water can change many things.”

iShares Cup Raid results (non-scoring race):
1 LUNA (Erik Maris)
2 BMW ORACLE Racing (James Spithill)
3 Gitana (Yann Guichard)
4 Groupama (Franck Cammas)
5 Oman Sail Renaissance (Loick Peyron)
6 BT (Nick Moloney)
7 Holmatro (Carolijn Brouwer)
8 Oman Sail Masirah (Pete Cumming)
9 iShares (Shirley Robertson)
10 Ecover (Mike Golding)

Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back

Here’s an nice video the iShares people shot in Valencia, explaining the basics of the Extreme 40 catamarans. It would be very interesting to have Alinghi show us such a video in a couple of weeks when they unveil their monster multihull. According to an article that appeared in today’s Le Matin, the yacht is a catamaran and not a trimaran, 115 feet long with two masts, the second small one located at the stern of the yacht. In addition, the author claims that it’s a yacht for light winds, giving thus credibility to the rumor that Alinghi has chosen Dubai as the venue of the 33rd America’s Cup match. We will have to wait until early July to finally have a look at the yacht, according to the author.

Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back

[Source: iShares Cup] The award-winning iShares Cup continues to grow and the organiser OC Events is delighted to confirm a sixth and final event to the 2009 iShares Cup Sailing Series. The southern Spanish city of Almería in the region of Andalucia will play host to the final round of the 2009 Extreme 40 Sailing Series between 10 and 12 October.

The iShares Cup Almería official announcement took place in the Port of Almería on Friday, 6th March where OC Events CEO Mark Turner, together with Luciano Alonso, Minister of Tourism, Trade and Sports of the Andalusian government, spoke in front of an audience of 200 people, representing media and VIP guests. According to Luciano Alonso, this event is “very attractive” since it will be the first time an iShares Cup Extreme 40 event will take place in the Andalucia region, but also in Spain, and “will position Almeria as an international reference on the world map of sailing”.

The port of Almeria

The iShares Cup finale will take place right in the heart of the port in Almería, the most Eastern city in Andalucía, and will be a key focus in the sporting calendar for the Government of Andalucía who have agreed a five-year deal with OC Events to host a round of the iShares Cup. This is part of the Andalucian government’s long-term strategy to host major sporting events in their region. Large crowds are expected to descend on the port of Almeria as 12 October is a national holiday in Spain. OC Events is working closely with the City to finalise details not only for the spectacular racing, but also creating an inclusive public entertainment package for the general public.

The iShares Cup races are all between 12 and 20 minutes long on tight race courses that are designed to give the best possible viewing opportunities to the general public as well as providing challenging and testing conditions for the top skippers and crews taking part.

The 2009 iShares Cup will visit:

Event 1 – Venice, Italy, 15th to 17th May
Event 2 – France, 3rd to 5th July
Event 3 – United Kingdom, 1st to 3rd August
Event 4 – Kiel, Germany, 28th to 30th August
Event 5 – The Netherlands, 25th to 27th September
Event 6 – Almería, Andalucía, 10th to 12th October

Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back

[Source: Oman Sail] The guests on the beach at the Mina Seyahi in Dubai were given a fantastic show today as four Extreme 40s raced within metres of the shoreline on Day 1 of the Arabian Extreme 40 Challenge – Act 1 Dubai. The conditions were perfect for these spectacular 40-foot catamarans: flat waters and a 12-15 knot wind that saw the boats flying hulls and giving an exhilarating ride for the the VIPs and journalists onboard in the sixth-man position.

“What a brilliant day,” said Pete Cumming, Skipper of day 1 leaders Oman Sail. “We definitely have the advantage as we have been training as a squad for the past few months, but the other teams still pushed us hard today. It was a big learning curve for everyone, if you didn’t gybe in time, you’d end up on the beach!”

The Arabian Extreme 40 challenge has been brought to the GCC region by Ellen MacArthur’s company OC Events to showcase these awesome catamarans and look at the possibility of bringing the professional circuit to Dubai in the future.

Oman Air Extreme 40 Skippered by Shirley Robertson racing on day 1 of the Arabian Extreme 40 Challenge. Dubai, 27 November 2008. Photo copyright Mark Lloyd / Oman Sail

Two members from the Oman Sail core crew raced on each boat including Khamis al Anbouri on the second Oman Sail Extreme 40, Oman Air, newly sponsored by the airline. “What a brilliant day!”, he said through a beaming smile. “To race alongside the world’s top sailors as part of their team is an awesome experience.

“It was really hard work today; constantly thinking, listening and reacting to the wind shifts or the calls from the skipper. It was also hard learning new accents. We’ve got used to Pete and Chris’s English and now to hear a New Zealand accent from Fraser Brown or the soft voice of Shirley Robertson, it’s really hard to adjust! I’ve never raced in Arabian waters, nor in such fantastic wind conditions, so it is really exciting. I can’t wait for tomorrow.”

“I’m really proud of the Omanis who raced today,” Pete continued. “All the other skippers have told me what a fantastic job they’ve done today, gelled well with their teams and have worked extremely hard.”

Fleet racing on day 1 of the Arabian Extreme 40 Challenge. Dubai, 27 November 2008. Photo copyright Mark Lloyd / Oman Sail

Shirley Robertson agreed, “The Oman Sail core crew have been trained really well. They are physically fit, keen to learn and their dedication to sailing is evident. It was a a great fun day on the water. Dubai is one of the most perfect locations to go sailing, a fantastic amphitheatre, good wind and I’m really happy with the way our team performed. The whole team gave as much at the beginning as at the end and worked really hard. We’ll be looking to step up a gear tomorrow to put pressure on Oman Sail for the top spot.”

It was a first for French multi-hull legend Karine Fauconnier as she raced an Extreme 40 for the first time. “Wow! Well that was a great first day. It is so much fun to race a brand new type of boat, but high pressure too. My crew and I had sailed together for the first time just yesterday and so we were having to learn not only about the boat, but each other. I’m not happy with our results today as I am very competitive and here to win, but I knew that these were top class sailors and I wouldn’t be able to just turn up and walk away with first prize. I’m determined that we are going to fight our way up the leaderboard tomorrow.

Oman Sail took five first places in the six-race day, with iShares, skippered by Hugh Styles in second place, followed by Shirley Robertson and Oman Air on 13 points and TEAM AQUA on 9. Each race lasted approximately 15 minutes in the short, sharp races that have epitomised the professional Extreme 40 European circuit this summer, the iShares Cup.

Racing on day 2, Friday 28 November, will take place from 2.30pm local time with up to six races and the final day of racing will be on Saturday 29 November. The boats will then be packed up and trailered to Muscat for Act 2 of the Arabian Extreme 40 Challenge for the Oman Air trophy.

Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back

[Source: Alinghi] With five European venues and 79 races behind them, Alinghi celebrates the iShares Cup season win in Amsterdam! “It’s fantastic to end up winning like this, it’s been a big year of learning…” says helmsman Ed Baird…

Ed Baird, Rodney Ardern, Lorenzo Mazza and Piet van Nieuwenhuijzen won the iShares Cup season trophy today as well as the Amsterdam event trophy, making this their fourth consecutive event win. The team sailed their first race on an eXtreme 40 in May in Lugano, Switzerland, with mixed results and a capsize, but with these early learning curve hiccoughs out of the way, the crew settled in to a steady winning streak that saw victory in Hyères, France; Cowes, UK; Kiel, Germany and today in Amsterdam.

Ed Baird, Alinghi helmsman, comments on the win today: “It’s fantastic to end up winning like this. It’s been a big year of learning for us and each day on the water is spent trying to figure out what works best and what makes the boat go fast. I give huge credit to my team, who has really supported me all year; the guys have got the boat around the course safely and fast over and over again.”

Alinghi, winners of the 2008 iShares Cup. From left, Peter Evans, Lorenzo Mazza, Rodney Ardern, Piet van Nieuwenhuijzen, Ed Baird, David Nichols (shore crew) and Cécile Duboeuf (PA). Amsterdam, 21 September 2008. Photo copyright Vincent Curutchet/DPPI/OC Events

This iShares Cup season is part of a much wider picture for the America’s Cup Defender, Alinghi, and is just one of several multihull learning platforms that the sailing team has been focusing on this summer. The Defender faces the possibility of a Deed of Gift (DoG) match, something currently being pursued by the American challenger BMW Oracle Racing in the New York Court of Appeals, and so the team is preparing for all eventualities. “Over the last six months, we have certainly gained a level of understanding about how boats like this work; however we have also learnt that we are not polished at sailing them and that there is still a lot more to learn and a huge amount more to learn about the great big multihull which is what the America’s Cup could potentially be sailed on if there is a Deed of Gift match,” says Baird. He adds: “We’re still thinking and asking a lot of questions, some are a bit elementary to people who have been in the sport for a long time on these kinds of boats, but we just want to make sure we cover all the bases and cut as many corners as we can towards learning how to do it!”

Alinghi is continuing to build the DoG boat in Switzerland and will continue to hone its multihull sailing skills with the Décision 35s on Lake Geneva (where the team is currently leading the Challenge Julius Baer with one event to go) and the 41footer ‘Alinghi Black’ in Valencia. In parallel the team cannot neglect its monohull training and continues to race on the Vrolijk IRC66 Numbers and the maxi yacht Alfa Romeo and with an eye on the team’s vision of a multi-challenge America’s Cup, Brad Butterworth, Alinghi team skipper, is organising challenger meetings this autumn to plan for the future.

Alinghi and Team Origin race in the iShares Cup final. Amsterdam, 21 September 2008. Photo copyright Vincent Curutchet/DPPI/OC Events

Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back

[Source: BMW Oracle] Valencia, Spain, 1 July 2008: BMW ORACLE Racing’s sailing will continue a full program of training and competition in RC 44s and Extreme 40 catamarans through the European summer while it waits for delivery of its new America’s Cup multihull boat, skipper Russell Coutts (NZL), said today. As part of a stepped-up multihull program, the team also confirmed today that it will field two entries in the iShares Cup at Skandia Cowes Week 2-4 August, part of the highly-competitive iShares Cup Sailing Series.

Coutts and multihull consultant Franck Cammas (FRA) will share the afterguard duties for one entry in the Cowes regatta, with helmsman James Spithill (AUS) and tactician John Kostecki (USA) on the other. Final crew lists will be confirmed closer to the regatta.

“We are putting more time into racing the Extreme 40s now as well as match racing,” Coutts said. “Until the new boat arrives we will keep pushing our learning curve on multihulls and developing match racing techniques as much as we can.”

After a tough start in the Extreme 40s when one of the boats capsized in an exciting in-house match race in May, two BMW ORACLE Racing crews competed 20-22 June at the “Just the Best” regatta in Italy where Spithill and Coutts again faced off in the Extreme 40s with Spithill’s team earning the regatta victory.

The team’s 2008 season started in April in Italy with the RC 44 Cagliari Cup. The BMW ORACLE Racing entry, helmed by Larry Ellison with Coutts calling tactics, won the match racing event. In May, it was on to Austria, where BMW ORACLE Racing helmsman Spithill drove Team Ceeref to a win in both match racing and fleet racing in the RC 44 Austria Cup. The next stop on the RC 44 circuit will be 9-13 July on Lake Garda in Malcesine, Italy.

Ellison and Coutts teamed up again to win the City of Marseille Trophy in the TP 52 class June 7 in USA 17. Nine of the sailing team continue on the TP 52 circuit competing with owner Torbjorn Tornqvist on board Artemis. John Kostecki is calling tactics on this mostly-BMW ORACLE Racing crew.

June also provided plenty of multihull sailing for the team. Franck Cammas, with a team including sailing coordinator Julien di Biase (SUI) as pitman, won the prestigious Bol d’Or Mirabaud sailing the Decision 35 catamaran Zebra 7 Girard- Perregaux. Following a June training session on the 60-foot Groupama 2, sailing team member Alberto Barovier (ITA) joined Cammas and crew on the trimaran to win the ORMA class in the Trophy SNSM.

“So far it’s been a great year of sailing, and I think it will be even more exciting once we can start training in the new multihull,” Coutts said. “Cup racing in these big multis will be like nothing we have ever seen.”

BMW ORACLE Racing is the Challenger of Record for the 33rd America’s Cup, representing the USA’s Golden Gate Yacht Club of San Francisco. The team is preparing for one-on-one match in multihulls against Swiss Defender, Team Alinghi. A New York court is expected to confirm the date for the two-out-of-three match to take place soon with the venue still to be nominated by the defender.

BMW ORACLE Racing is based in Valencia, Spain. The team’s multihull race yacht for the 33rd America’s Cup is under construction in Anacortes, WA, USA.

Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back

The Alinghi White Extreme 40 catamaran capsized in the Lugano lake, where the opening event of the 2008 iShares Cup is taking place.

Alinghi White Extreme 40 capsizes in the opening event of the 2008 iShares Cup. Lugano, 30 May 2008. Photo copyright Vincent Curutchet/DPPI/OC Events

Alinghi White Extreme 40 capsizes in the opening event of the 2008 iShares Cup. Lugano, 30 May 2008. Photo copyright Vincent Curutchet/DPPI/OC Events

Alinghi White Extreme 40 capsizes in the opening event of the 2008 iShares Cup. Lugano, 30 May 2008. Photo copyright Vincent Curutchet/DPPI/OC Events

Alinghi White Extreme 40 capsizes in the opening event of the 2008 iShares Cup. Lugano, 30 May 2008. Photo copyright Vincent Curutchet/DPPI/OC Events

Alinghi White Extreme 40 capsizes in the opening event of the 2008 iShares Cup. Lugano, 30 May 2008. Photo copyright Vincent Curutchet/DPPI/OC Events

Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back