Sailing News

The rescheduled first clash of the 33rd America’s Cup between the giant multihulls of Alinghi and BMW ORACLE Racing which is now due for Wednesday off Valencia looks set to encounter brisk winds and more challenging seas. The stage could be set for a high speed first encounter.

The race between the hi-tech, multi-hull boats was reset for tomorrow Wednesday, the next scheduled sailing day in the best-of-three regatta off the Spanish port of Valencia.

Crew members aboard had a frustrating, cold and wet wait of almost four hours more than 25 km (16 miles) 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 (0900 GMT) the hopes started fading away with the rain and the wind died,” said Alinghi owner Ernesto Bertarelli.

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.

Reports suggest that the two teams were configuring their craft for the stronger northerly airs which are being drawn down to Valencia by a low pressure system towards the east.