Posts Tagged ‘Ras al-Khaimah’

Alinghi arrives in Ras al Khaimah

Friday, October 2nd, 2009

Alinghi-genova

The Swiss Defender of the 33rd America’s Cup docked in the Emirate of Ras al Khaimah on Wednesday morning after a 12 day, 4,400nm voyage aboard Rickmers Singapore, a cargo ship.

The 193m ship left Genoa, Italy, on 18 September with the giant catamaran, Alinghi 5, two masts, seven support vessels and approximately 20 containers on board. It travelled across the Mediterranean, through the Suez Canal and Gulf, across the Red and then Arabian Sea before docking in Saqr Port, Ras al Khaimah in the Arabian Gulf at 06:30 CET on Wednesday 30 September.

“We are extremely happy that the shipment, including Alinghi 5, arrived safely in Ras al Khaimah,” said Grant Simmer, design team coordinator. “All the equipment that we used in Genoa was onboard so now we can set up our base and workshops and get going. We will be doing some modifications to the yacht over the coming days and the team members are arriving and getting settled so it’s going to be a busy few weeks, we hope to be sailing again as soon as possible. We greatly appreciate the support that we are getting from the local community and from the government of Ras al Khaimah,” he added.

Dr. Khater Massaad, CEO of RAK Investment Authority, added his pleasure at the team’s arrival: “We welcome the arrival of Alinghi to Ras al Khaimah for the preparation of the 33rd America’s Cup event and we also look forward to welcoming BMW Oracle.”

The Alinghi catamaran will travel to the America’s Cup Island of Al Hamra over the coming days along with its entourage and for the next four months the team will be focused on training for the Match for the America’s Cup which starts on 8 February 2010.

Other news:

Société Nautique de Genève (SNG) confirms that it has received the modern day equivalent of the Custom House Registry detailing BMW Oracle’s USA, challenger for the 33rd America’s Cup. SNG published the Measurement Procedures in August of this year. These procedures will be used by the measurers to confirm the dimensions of both the Defender and the Challenger’s yachts; checking that the dimensions of the yachts comply with the Deed of Gift and, in the case of the Challenger, with the dimensions of their Certificate of Vessel provided with their challenge. The Defender remains committed to a race for the America’s Cup on the water starting 8 February 2010 and looks forward to welcoming BMW Oracle at the venue in Ras al Khaimah.


Photos: Carlo Borlenghi/Alinghi

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Ras al-Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates selected as the venue for the America’s Cup

Wednesday, August 5th, 2009

The America’s Cup Defender, Alinghi, and its yacht club, the Société Nautique de Genève, today announced the venue for the 33rd America’s Cup in February 2010.

Emirate value 33 Americas Cup

“We are pleased to announce that Ras Al Khaimah, in the United Arab Emirates, will be the Host Country for the 33rd America’s Cup,” said Fred Meyer, Vice-Commodore of the Société Nautique de Genève (SNG). “This is a venue that offers perfect weather and great sailing conditions for a Match in February; the authorities have shown tremendous interest in, and support for, hosting the America’s Cup; and the country has experience in organising first-class sporting events such as ATP tennis, PGA golf and Formula One. They will make a purpose-built island available at the Al Hamra Village in Ras al-Khaimah to provide the America’s Cup teams, sponsors and fans with an outstanding venue.”

Having won the 32nd America’s Cup in 2007 in Valencia with its yacht racing team Alinghi, the SNG is granted the right to choose the venue for the next America’s Cup which is scheduled to start on 8 February 2010.

“Our absolute priorities in making this decision are the prevailing weather conditions and the resulting safety that they bring to both teams,” explains Alinghi skipper Brad Butterworth. “We looked everywhere for a venue that suited having good racing for the Match dates in February. We had trained in the UAE in the winter with Alinghi before and in the end we settled on Ras al-Khaimah in particular because of the infrastructure in Al Hamra Village and because it has a great building sea breeze during the day, similar to Mediterranean conditions in the summer, making it good for these boats and safe for all concerned.”

His Highness Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Crown Prince of Ras al-Khaimah, expresses his satisfaction: “It is a great moment for us to host the America’s Cup here. It is significant because it reflects how the Emirates have become a place for hosting international events. It is a reflection on what we have achieved in terms of becoming the destination for tourists and trade and industry and is a reflection of our integration in the world at large. This announcement reflects the nature of our country and its aim of becoming host to many nationalities who live side by side in peace. It is a hope and dream that this is the kind of space that we want to have on our globe. It is a great moment for us to host this prestigious event and to welcome all the sports people to the UAE and to Ras al-Khaimah to watch this great event; we are looking forward its success.”

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