Alinghi set for IAAC Worlds

by www.cupineurope.com on 19 May 2003 For Alinghi, the activity has been full on almost non-stop since the day they left New Zealand with the Cup. In Paris, Russell Coutts, Bernard Labro and Rolf Vrolijk (and the America’s Cup) met today the journalists during a press conference where they outlined the programmes of the Swiss Team.

There was no announcement regarding the venue for the 32nd America’s Cup but Alinghi representatives did shed a little light on the team’s plans for the next few years.

'With regard to the future, our first rule is to forget the past', underlined Russell Coutts. 'what we achieved in the last edition will not be enough to gain the next time. Alinghi must now climb a new level.'

'The objective is to gain next America's Cup and not to defend it', insisted Rolf Vrolijk. 'Our goal is to be accepted and respected like a world class sport team, whether the name of Alinghi is recognized like Ferrari or Real of Madrid'.

First on Alinghi’s agenda is the IACC Worlds, Oct. 11 to 19. The event, hosting by IACC-San Francisco group, may draw as many as 10 ACC Yachts - from the first buit to possibly the last - to San Francisco Bay for a week of fleet and match racing.

Alinghi and Oracle BMW Racing have already committed for a kind of a 're-enactment' of last February’s Louis Vuitton Final. Most of the Swiss syndicate’s sailing team has been retained and the sailing crew Alinghi brings to San Francisco will be nearly identical to the team that won the Cup in March.

In addition to Alinghi and Oracle, the French Le Défi and K-Challenge teams have signed up. Team NZ and Sweden's Victory Challenge are on the fence.

After that, the sailors will be able to pursue their own programmes (with match-racing, offshore races or Olympics series, explained Russell Coutts) before the team will reunite next summer to begin training anew.

A series of America’s Cup Class regattas leading up to the America’s Cup in 2007 will help to keep Alinghi sharp.

Alinghi is seriously eyeing a more open regatta in Newport, R.I., in the summer of 2004. Regattas in Europe will follow with a World Championship in 2006 and then a fleet race regatta just before the challenger eliminations in 2007.