-
Alinghi crew members - Source: Reuters -
Related
The first race of the 33rd America's Cup between Swiss holders
Alinghi and US challengers BMW Oracle was abandoned on Tuesday
because of unreliable wind, further delaying a bitterly fought
event.
The race between the hi-tech, multi-hull boats was reset for
Thursday, the next scheduled sailing day in the best-of-three
regatta off the Spanish port of Valencia.
Crew members aboard Alinghi and BMW Oracle had a frustrating, cold
and wet wait of almost four hours more than 25 km off shore
before heading back to port.
"We were convinced we were going to race. Yesterday looked good and
this morning when we left it looked good but then around 10
o'clock the hopes started fading away with the rain and the
wind died," said Alinghi owner Ernesto Bertarelli.
The unique boats finally took to the water to race after more than
two years of sometimes bitter legal battles between Swiss
biotechnology and banking billionaire Bertarelli's Alinghi and
Oracle software mogul Larry Ellison's team.
The regatta had been scheduled for 2009 but was delayed by legal
battles over hosting rights and technology which led to a
three-race series without the usual challengers
regatta.
On Sunday, Ellison, 65, refused to attend an owners' media
conference over a perceived slight, denied by by race organisers,
against his chief executive, New Zealander Russell
Coutts.
Bertarelli, 44, took another shot on Tuesday, pointing out to
reporters that Ellison was not on board the BMW Oracle boat
USA.
"He didn't come to the press conference and he doesn't want to be
on his boat," said Bertarelli, who helmed Alinghi. "It's
unfortunate I guess. Winning the America's Cup for a sailor means
being on board and any time I set foot on my boat I'm
happy."
Inconsistent
Wrangling over the rules resulted in two multi-hull boats sailing
against each other for the first time in the event's 159-year
history. In 1988, US catamaran Stars & Stripes beat New Zealand
monohull KZ-1 off San Diego.
Both boats are being raced for the first time and are capable of
extraordinary speeds more than twice as fast as the wind but are
more fragile than traditional craft in heavier
conditions.
On Tuesday, the problem was inconsistent wind strength and
direction rather than too much.
"It's the winter," Bertarelli said. "Ideal conditions in Valencia
would have been May. That's what we asked for initially but we were
forced into February so we're going to have to get used to the fact
that the weather is a bit unsettled."
The problem was exacerbated by the vast size of the race area,
measuring more than 600 sq km. The course for the first race is 40
km long, comprising an upwind and a downwind leg.
The course area was made necessary in part by the huge size of the
boats, each 90 feet long with technology aboard previously unseen
in yacht racing. Alinghi is a catamaran with a tilting mast
17 storeys high. BMW Oracle, a trimaran, has a unique wing-shaped
mast much bigger than the wing of a commercial
jetliner.
Strong winds are forecast on Wednesday, lingering into Thursday,
BMW Oracle meteorologist Chris Bedford said.
