America's Cup

[Mid]

4-zip ,

thanks for comming LR ,

next .......................

[Donnyboy]

4-zip ,

thanks for comming LR ,

next .......................

TNZ cant be that lucky surely. Luna Rosa had a 2 boat length advantage on the first beat out on starboard, and was passed by the kiwis out on port tack to come back and tack straight on top and lead LR on the first turn and then it was all over rover.

TNZ must have a slightly faster boat as they seemed to sail higher than LR but still kept the same distance between the boats. Well thats my opinion anyways.

Matchpoint Wedsnday.

Wonder what Alinghi is thinking.

[Mid]

5 and zip .......................

see ya latter LR , have a nice day .

[Donnyboy]

5 and zip .......................

see ya latter LR , have a nice day .

Crickey, what a fantasic result. Who would have thought that 5-0 was going to be the result especially after the first race.

LR is a good team, well they must be to beat Oracle, but I get that feeling that TNZ is getting better with every race.

It isnt over yet, we have unfinished business with Alinghi. C'mon TNZ!!

[Mid]

C'mon TNZ!!

blood oath , mate

[cdnvic]

Time to take back our booty from the the thieving pirates who sold us out last time

Geez.... Imagine the the grudge I'd be holding against cooter and butterball if I were actually a Kiwi

[steveromagnino]

Mate

Coutts and Butterworth are like the chicks you find in NEP.

Team NZ, go you good things go.

[Donnyboy]

Back home the Herald is already reporting how we are going to defend the Americas Cup in 4 years!!

Better not jinx us Herald Item

[Donnyboy]

An interesting dilemma is about to happen on June 23 @ 8pm for us Sports nut Kiwis,

The Americas cup will be starting its first race off Valencia and The All Blacks play their first 2007 Tri-nations vs South Africa in Durban,

what does the kiwi supporter watch?

Hopefully both while drinking a few pints in a bar with both live feeds on TV

C'mon Kiwis!

[Mid]

there's a limit Donnyboy , and your approaching it ..........................

[Donnyboy]

there's a limit Donnyboy , and your approaching it ..........................

how about watching both live feeds with a few coyote girls serving cold beer

that would probably be my limit Mid

[Donnyboy]

Time to take back our booty from the the thieving pirates who sold us out last time

Geez.... Imagine the the grudge I'd be holding against cooter and butterball if I were actually a Kiwi

with comments like that, we will make you an honoury kiwi!

but leave our sheep alone!!

Edited June 10, 2007 by Donnyboy

[Donnyboy]

what the hel_l? I think Alinghi is sandbagging abit and holding back, which could be an old trick to try deceive TNZ. TNZ wont take anything for granted. And the fact that they havent raced their new boat suggests that they are holding something up their sleeves.

Yachting: Alinghi less than impressive in training runs

5:00AM Monday June 11, 2007

By Julie Ash

VALENCIA - While Team New Zealand were enjoying a couple of well-earned days off, their America's Cup rivals Alinghi were bashing it out against Luna Rossa on the Mediterranean.

Alinghi raced Luna Rossa yesterday for the second day in a row.

Again the pair ran through a couple of starting sequences before sailing two races. Starting maestro James Spithill was at the helm of Luna Rossa's ITA94 on the first day but yesterday the Italians had back-up Phillipe Presti steering.

With Ed Baird at the helm of what looked like SUI91, Alinghi won both races, which were sailed in very light conditions.

Practising starts was also on the agenda on the first day of racing between the pair, when it was Baird against Spithill. Both starts appeared to be quite aggressive.

The teams then sailed a near full course and Luna Rossa won.

Some noted the Alinghi crew work in that race was less than slick. The defenders also tore a spinnaker.

With the America's Cup now less than two weeks away, Alinghi are wanting to make sure their crew work is as polished as that of Emirates Team New Zealand - who have come through the Louis Vuitton challenger series battle-hardened.

In an interview with a German magazine, Alinghi syndicate head Ernesto Bertarelli said that if his team successfully defended the America's Cup, the gap between regattas might be shortened to two or three years.

"The shorter the better," Bertarelli said.

"We want to be sailing, not sitting on the sofa."

[Donnyboy]

Alinghi boss must be feeling the heat as he has some words about Dalts, all the more we do our talking on the water. Im glad theres no more of the protesting in the courtrooms ie back when the yanks had it, and we have the penalties on the water as it happens.

As a kiwi, I feel that if a yacht represents a country it should field a team consisting mainly from that nation, perhaps maybe 2-3 outsiders.

But hey, if it starts to become F1 and they drop the nationality aspect to it its all going to be chequebook racing, and most people wont identify with a certain team cause unlike F1, most people dont have a name brand yacht.

Alinghi president fires shot at Team NZ

11:35AM Wednesday June 13, 2007

Alinghi's president, Ernesto Bertarelli, has fired a shot at Team New Zealand over plans for any future America's Cup in New Zealand.

In an interview with the influential International Herald Tribune newspaper, the Swiss billionaire, takes issue with Team New Zealand's Grant Dalton over whether a New Zealand syndicate would reinstate a form of nationality rule if the Cup returns to Auckland.

Alinghi and Emirates Team New Zealand line up for the best of nine race America's Cup in ten days' time.

The Herald-Tribune 's report by Christopher Clarey notes that Bertarelli believes he has modernized the Cup to make it more profitable, including scrapping a nationality clause, which allowed sailors from any nation to work for a syndicate without having to go through the process of getting citizenship or residency.

He told the International Herald Tribune: "If he (Dalton) was to win, that basically would put three-quarters of the people around this harbour out of work.

"And more surprisingly so, they are probably friends of his, since a lot of teams have Kiwis in their ranks. I don't know why he has turned like that, so it gives us an additional inspiration to make sure we win it and continue to bring forward the idea we have of the sport, which is yacht clubs trying to put together the best possible boat and the best possible team and bringing the sport to more people."

The Tribune also quoted Bertarelli as saying; "The nationality rule he's speaking about is obviously mainly directed to Alinghi, so I guess that's the thank you note for helping him get his team together."

He said that he had provided Team New Zealand an unsecured, multi-million dollar loan when it was unable to attract enough sponsorship for its campaign in 2004.

In previous interviews, Grant Dalton has said that a nationality rule would be a cornerstone of Team New Zealand policy if it won the Cup. In an interview on Television New Zealand last week he said it may be hard for Team New Zealand to work with Alinghi as Challenger of Record because "we wouldn't agree to the rules they would want."

- NZ HERALD STAFF

[cdnvic]

Not unusual for the Swiss to let other countries do the fighting for them.

Just think of all the fine Swiss sailors that lost their jobs when the nationality clause was scrapped...

Time to take the cup back from those strudel munching, nazi gold hoarding, cheese makers.

I love this sport

Edited June 13, 2007 by cdnvic

[Donnyboy]

Not unusual for the Swiss to let other countries do the fighting for them.

Just think of all the fine Swiss sailors that lost their jobs when the nationality clause was scrapped...

Time to take the cup back from those strudel munching, nazi gold hoarding, cheese makers.

I love this sport

hey cdnvic, dont hold back now

[Donnyboy]

Peter Lester comments on TNZ against Alinghi.

a fair and balanced view I rekon, or is he sitting on the fence?

Ignore the talking up of Alinghi

5:00AM Saturday June 16, 2007

By Peter Lester

I don't buy into the theory that Alinghi are going to go out and blow Team New Zealand out of the water. That has been conveniently placed by Alinghi - and by the European media - because they want the cup to stay in Europe. It is not what I have observed.

The New Zealanders will be competitive. How competitive? We'll just have to wait and see.

There has been a lot of discussion about whether Team New Zealand have saved some gear for the final.

I am not sure. You may see some new little things, like the winch pods we saw in the Louis Vuitton final, but they will be looking to refine things. And if they do bring some new stuff, it will be very subtle.

It looks to me that the big bits were probably locked in place before the team left Auckland.

Probably the biggest area for both teams will be sails. New sails are faster than old ones, so expect to see plenty of new ones in the match.

Team New Zealand could remode the boat - change the keel, rudder, winglets, fin and so on. They have a couple of different bulb shapes. So far they have stuck with the slightly shorter one with the New Zealand flag on it. They have switched the bulbs on the boats over the past few days.

Shorter, fatter ones tend to be better in lighter air. They do have a longer bulb, which has a lower centre of gravity. The downside to them is they have tendency to pitch a bit more.

Predicting what the weather is going to do will be crucial. Team New Zealand's weather man, Roger "clouds" Badham, is sure to go even greyer.

Working out where to pitch yourself against the opposition involves at lot of analysing your opponent across the water. Team New Zealand would have watched Alinghi race Luna Rossa. The Italians took a couple of races off Alinghi.

Some races were close, others weren't. In one race Alinghi cleaned them out but in another Luna Rossa cleaned out Alinghi.

What can be taken from that? It is hard to tell. You have to look at what sails they were using, the crew sailing - all the factors. However, it did appear Alinghi were keen to work on prestarts.

Team New Zealand will have some ideas of where they want to be in relation to the Swiss boat. That might be a bit different from where they wanted to be in relation to Luna Rossa.

It is one thing to optimise your boat to what you want yourself, and another to optimise it in relation to your opposition. It comes down to trade-offs. The Kiwis look quick downwind, so they might trade off some of that.

They are not going to make any big breakthroughs now. They are what they are.

Edited June 16, 2007 by Donnyboy

[Donnyboy]

what the hel_l?

TNZ represents the RNZYS out of Auckland, so will be defended there should we will it.

Alinghi NZ lawyer doubts Auckland as Cup venue

5:00AM Saturday June 16, 2007

Alinghi's New Zealand lawyer has doubts about Auckland hosting the America's Cup if his syndicate are defeated. And he has floated the idea that Valencia might not be the host of the next event if Alinghi win.

Aucklander Hamish Ross, who has been with the Swiss team since 2000, spoke about planning for the next event yesterday, a week before Alinghi defend the Auld Mug against Team New Zealand.

He said while Team New Zealand would be keen to take the cup back to Auckland, that was bad for sponsors. "Europe is a market of 800 million, New Zealand is 4 million and very remote. The opportunities are more valued here," said Mr Ross.

The winners decide where, when and how to run the next event. Alinghi chose Valencia after defeating Team New Zealand in 2003.

However the rumour mill suggests Alinghi could move to Dubai or Lisbon if they win.

[Mid]

yawn ............

talkings done for now ,

let the sailing begin .

[cdnvic]

Mr Ross' opinion is bought and paid for by the Swiss. Bruce Farr had similar disparaging comments about TNZ on behalf of his American masters last time out too.

[Donnyboy]

yawn ............

talkings done for now ,

let the sailing begin .

hopefully, thats all the hot air Alinghis gonna get!

yep, I had withdrawl symptoms after the way TNZ quickly dispatched LR. So saturady cant come around fast enough, C'mon TNZ!

[Donnyboy]

all this pre-race talk is building, jees, hope they dont have the speed edge

Alinghi plays down boat speed

7:50AM Tuesday June 19, 2007

By Jane Barrett

MADRID - Alinghi, who were frighteningly fast in their last fleet races in April, do not expect to have any boat speed advantage against Team New Zealand in the America's Cup, their managing director said on Tuesday.

Alinghi take on New Zealand from June 23 in a rematch of the 2003 America's Cup, when the Swiss syndicate won sailing's most coveted prize and brought it to Europe for the first time since the original race in 1851.

Alinghi kept setting the pace in April when one of their new boats SUI91 shot past the America's Cup challengers in a fleet regatta. Team New Zealand came in second but they were still 14 points adrift.

Since then the Kiwis have steadily improved during the Louis Vuitton Cup, honing their boat as the winds and pressure changed over the past two months.

"(Team New Zealand) have done a lot of racing, they've kept their crew very stable -- so I would say they are match fit," Alinghi's Grant Simmer said in an emailed interview.

"Clearly their boat has come a long way ... they are fast and we're not expecting to have a speed edge on them," he added.

During the LV Cup, the Swiss have been practising to one side, racing between their two top-class teams and yachts.

Over the last couple of weeks, they have taken up offers to race LV Cup loser Luna Rossa and semi-finalist Desafio Espanol to put the finishing touches to their sailing skills and pump up the adrenaline for the pre-start battles.

"Despite the fact that we have recently sailed against Luna Rossa, we haven't been exposed to the same intensity of racing and that's a risk that we face," Simmer said, adding that he was happy with their races against the Italian and Spanish crews.

"There was high intensity and our performance looked very encouraging against them".

Alinghi now step up their in-house racing again until Friday when they will announce which boat they will use for the America's Cup match and which of their two main helmsmen, Ed Baird and Peter Holmberg, will sail her.

"There is anticipation and a bit of anxiety but all of that is good," Simmer said. "We wouldn't want to be going into an event being casual about it".

- REUTERS

[cdnvic]

Well, so far in Victoria Harbour I see only TNZ supporters. Not an Alinghi flag in sight.

[Donnyboy]

Well, so far in Victoria Harbour I see only TNZ supporters. Not an Alinghi flag in sight.

do they know that the AC is about to start up there? probably doesnt even cause a ripple

c'mon TNZ

Edited June 20, 2007 by Donnyboy

[cdnvic]

In a maritime city like this it's quite big, as it is on the east coast as well. Further inland it's not such a big deal but if you go into many pubs in Victoria during the cup that's what's on the big screens.

[Donnyboy]

interesting

Alinghi names its race boat

6:57AM Thursday June 21, 2007

By Julie Ash

America's Cup defenders Alinghi have announced they will race SUI100 against Team New Zealand's NZL92 in the America's Cup match.

The Swiss boat was measured yesterday in Valencia.

SUI100 is the latest of the four America's Cup class yachts that Alinghi has built since the team was created in 2000 and it is the last cup yacht built for this edition of the America's Cup.

Alinghi design co-ordinator Grant Simmer said they are pleased with the performance of SUI100 since its launch on March 17 this year.

"It embodies all the work that we have done in this Class since 2000 and we have chosen it because we are very confident with the performance of this boat," he said.

"SUI100 has never competed officially and the team is looking forward to the first race of the America's Cup Match on 23 June. "

Meanwhile, Alinghi have claimed a first-round victory in the murky depths of America's Cup rules.

Alinghi went to the America's Cup jury protesting an interpretation from the measurement committee.

Alinghi had asked the committee a series of questions relating to use of backstays or cables, which support their mast.

Alinghi have a slightly different setup on their boat to Team New Zealand.

They have a separate top mast backstay, which is a cable that runs from the top of the mast to the deck, plus the normal running backstay and checkstay which are cables attached to the lower mast.

It is a relatively new setup and one Alinghi did not sail with in the fleet racing regatta.

The backstays are only used downwind in moderate to heavy winds. Teams have to decide whether they are going to use them before the race.

If not they are stored by attaching them to the mast.

One of Alinghi's questions related to the storing of their topmast backstay.

Because their topmast backstay is independent, Alinghi are perhaps looking to use it when they choose, maybe down the first run and not the second.

But on receiving the measurement committee's interpretation, Alinghi felt the committed had exceeded its jurisdiction and in their interpreting had created a new rule.

Alinghi then protested to the America's Cup jury who decided 3 votes to 2 that the measurement committee had exceeded its jurisdiction and upheld Alinghi's application.

But for Alinghi it is only a round one victory.

The measurement committee just has to give another interpretation.

The committee is under no obligation to do it before race one on Sunday but it is hard to see why it wouldn't.

The timing of the protest is strange. Alinghi may have left it late so as not to alert their rivals to their setup or they may be sure that what they are doing is legal and are just running it by the measurer.

If the Swiss do not receive another interpretation by Sunday then it could open them up to a protest by the measurers or Team New Zealand in race one if the top mast backstays come into play.

America's Cup teams have to get their boats checked by the measurer to ensure they comply with the America's Cup class rules before they race.

While most of the rules relate to classic measurements such as length, weight and material, there is a rule that focuses on how certain items are used during racing.

A boat could have a valid measurement certificate but because of the way it was sailed during the race, the team could be in violation of the cup rule.

Team New Zealand sat in on the hearing but had no comment.

* The Commodore of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, John Crawford, received the Sir Thomas Lipton Memorial Cup on behalf of Team New Zealand in Valencia yesterday. The cup is awarded to the winner of the challenger series.

[cdnvic]

Apparently people who sell out their country are no problem for TVNZ:

Coutts returns for Cup

ONE Sport has assembled an array of stars for its production of the America's Cup match between Alinghi and Emirates Team New Zealand starting on June 23

Hosted by John McBeth, who filled the same role when the Cup was won by Team New Zealand in 1995, defended in 2000 and lost in 2003 the extensive commentary lineup features some of the most famous names in yachting.

Peter Montgomery, who has been synonymous with sailing for over 30 years, will be on the America's Cup course and will be joined during the Match Race series by two of the best helmsmen of recent times:

*Russell Coutts - skippered Team New Zealand to victories in 1995 and 2000 and steered Alinghi to the Cup success of 2003.

http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/536641/1195691

[Donnyboy]

actually, it will be interesting to see what turnCoutts needs to say about his former teams, especially Alinghi and any insights on how they will try to beat TNZ.

He will have a better understanding than most other sailors not on-board this final series.

c'mon TNZ

[Mid]

it's on,

karnnnnnn the K1W1's .............

http://www.ultimate24.org/acaudio.htm

[Mid]

and the rubgy doesn't look any better ..............................