Americas Cup Jubilee 2001

by Lou-Lou Rendell on 11 Aug 2001 With just over a week to go to the beginning of the America's Cup Jubilee on
England's Isle of Wight, Cowes' infrastructure is in dress rehearsal-mode
with the world famous Skandia Life Cowes Week in full swing. Just over a
1000 boats are racing this year and amongst the bigger Class One boats are
several yachts that are specifically here because of the Jubilee.

Australia II, the first non-American boat to win the America's Cup, has been
racing for the first time since the 1986 12-Metre World Championships under
handicap against the British 12-Metre Crusader and the ACC boat High Voltage
(formerly Il Moro III). Of the more modern boats IRM and IRC entries Wild
Thing, Spirit of Jethou and others have been churning up the Solent in the
blustery conditions experienced so far.


America's Cup Class preparations

The modern America's Cup Class yachts, due to race over America's Cup style
windward-leeward courses to the east of the Isle of Wight, are busy
preparing all over the Solent. John Caulcutt's High Voltage (ex-Il Moro III)
is racing in Cowes Week, whereas her younger sister Il Moro V, the Louis
Vuitton Cup winner from 1992 and unsuccessful challenger of that year, is
being readied at the Royal Clarence Yard in Portsmouth Harbour.

Il Moro V was recently bought by Bill Koch, winner of the 1992 America's
Cup, and he has had the old Italian Challenger completely restored to the
configuration she was in back in 1992, right down to the colour of the ropes
on the deck. Koch also has his 1992 winner, America3, present and is
bringing 40 of his America3 team to Cowes to race the two boats.

Team New Zealand's NZL-32, the 1995 Louis Vuitton and America's Cup winner
arrived at the same Royal Clarence Yard Marina in Portsmouth having made
perhaps the longest passage ever for an ACC boat on its own bottom.
Departing from Lorient in France on Thursday 1st August the 'Mighty 32'
arrived in the Solent two days later after a trip of nearly 300 miles, made
partly under sail and partly behind a tow boat. Syndicate head Tom
Schnackenberg and his crew have been spending the time since putting this
legendary boat back into race configuration, before skipper Dean Barker and
the race crew arrive next week.


Louis Vuitton Media Centre Accreditation Numbers

During the last America's Cup in 2000 more than 2200 media passed through
the Louis Vuitton Media Centre over the five months of the event in
Auckland, New Zealand. For the Jubilee more than 500 media have already
registered on-line for accreditation announcing that they will be present in
Cowes for the Jubilee. Of these 500 media more than 80 are photographers,
and more than 70 are broadcasters.

For a one-week event these numbers represent the already growing interest in
the next Louis Vuitton and America's Cups starting in October 2002 in
Auckland New Zealand.

The Louis Vuitton Media Centre staff at the Jubilee are in full preparation
mode getting everything ready for the variety of on and off the water events
that will take place during the week. If you haven't already registered on
line go to: http://www.americascupjubilee.com/main.asp?dir=media


UBS to partner the Jubilee Race Around the Island

As a silver sponsor of the America's Cup Jubilee UBS will partner the
sporting highlight of the week - the UBS Jubilee Race Around the Island. The
race will be held on the 21st August and will take a clockwise course around
the Isle of Wight in a re-enactment of the Royal Yacht Squadron's 100 Guinea
Cup that was raced 150 years ago.

UBS, no newcomer to sponsoring leading edge yacht racing, is also partnering
Team Alinghi, the Swiss America's Cup Challenge. This team will be racing
the 12-Metre 'South Australia' in the 12-Metre Class, it will be skippered
by Russell Coutts, a two time winner of the America's Cup. UBS hope this
will be a fitting warm up for its bid to help the Swiss Challenge bring back
the America's Cup to Europe in 2003.

For UBS, the partnership with such an auspicious America's Cup bid and the
UBS Jubilee Race Around the Island sponsorship, represent sound business
opportunities and a recognition of the natural synergies that exist between
sailing at this level and the world of global finance. UBS AG Chairman,
Marcel Ospel explains, 'sailing of this calibre calls for perfect interplay
between strategy, tactics, stamina, speed and mastery of state-of-the-art
technology. These key factors, implemented by a highly motivated team, are
what carry a racing yacht to success. In global finance business, they also
decide who can sail closest to the wind.'

There will be two major trophies to compete for in the UBS Jubilee Race
Around The Island. The first boat home after the 55-mile course will take
the Benzie UBS Trophy, a scale model of the yacht America crafted in silver
and the UBS Line Honours trophy. The first America's Cup veteran boat to
cross the finish line in the same race, be it a 12- metre, a J-class yacht
or a ACC modern America's Cup Class yacht will be awarded the UBS America's
Cup Jubilee Trophy.


Shipping arrivals in the Solent

Two ships, bringing the valuable deck cargo of America's Cup Jubilee entries
to the event, are currently at sea on their way to the Solent.

The first, Super Servant 3, is scheduled to arrive on time in UK over the
weekend. Having left Newport and the US East Coast on the 2nd August the
Dockwise Yacht Transporter should drop anchor in the Solent on Sunday 12th
August. The Super Servant 3 is transporting an assortment of NYYC members'
yachts, amongst them are several 12-Metres, including the America's Cup
winners Columbia (1958), Intrepid (1967 and 1970) and Freedom (1980). Super
Servant 3's arrival in the Solent and the subsequent unloading will be quite
a spectacle.

Unloading will take place on Tuesday 14th August when the139-metre long ship
will literally flood several of its compartments and sink extremely low in
the water. The aft deck, which is open to the sea at the stern, will fill
with water and the yachts, stored on cradles on this deck, will float off
and make their way to the shore under their own steam.

If you are interested in covering this event please contact Maria Ryan at
the Louis Vuitton Media Centre on +44 (0) 7711 857070 or email
media-info@cupmediacentre.com.

The second yacht transporter scheduled to arrive in UK waters is the MV
Alblasgracht, which belongs to the Dutch company Spliethoff. This 130-metre
long cargo ship will dock in Southampton on Monday 13th August. The total
compliment on board includes eleven yachts ranging from the 12-Metres Nyala
and Enterprise to the 15-Metres Lady Anne and Tuiga and finishing up with
the Louis Vuitton Cup winner Luna Rossa, the challenger from the last
America's Cup.

Photos of these boats appear on the official America's Cup Jubilee website
at: http://www.americascupjubilee.com/main.asp?dir=entries.


Edmiston Cowes Heliport

Edmiston, world leaders in the sale and charter of large yachts and a silver
sponsor of the America's Cup Jubilee, has recently opened the Edmiston Cowes
Heliport which will remain fully operational until the end of the America's
Cup Jubilee Week. The heliport can handle all helicopter sizes up to and
including the Sea King. The Heliport is located at Cowes High School,
Crossfield Avenue, West Cowes, Isle of Wight, and ground transportation is
also being provided to the Jubilee Parade in the Edmiston fleet of Range
Rovers.

Helicopter and Aviation Services Limited who are running the Heliport on
behalf of Edmiston are also running a series of charter flights not only to
and from the mainland, but also over the racing action for both spectators
and media. They can be contacted on +44 (0) 1279 850750 or +44 (0) 1983
280909.


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