Teams of the 32nd America's Cup

The teams of the 32nd America's Cup are composed of the best sailors, designers, sailmakers, nautical engineers and boat builders in the world. While it is the sailors who get the glory, ultimate success comes only through the efforts of the entire team; some 100 people all working with the same goal in mind - to win the fabled America's Cup.

DEFENDER

Alinghi
Alinghi was formed in the summer of 2000 and charged with the ambitious task of winning the America's Cup. On March 2nd 2003, this mission was accomplished with Alinghi sweeping Team New Zealand 5 - 0, to win the 31st America's Cup. With this victory, Alinghi brings the America's Cup to Europe for the first time in 152 years.

CHALLENGER

BMW ORACLE
The BMW ORACLE Racing Team is an international team comprised of 140 people from 16 different nations all focused on one goal: to win the 32nd America's Cup in 2007. Blending technology and team work, BMW ORACLE Racing is striving to close the gap on the America's Cup Defender.

Luna Rossa Challenge
This Luna Rossa Challenge is an evolution of a former Italian project that first entered the America's Cup arena in the1999 Louis Vuitton Cup. That first effort was very successful, and on the 6th of February, 2000, the swift, sleek and stylish Luna Rossa boat, skippered by Francesco de Angelis, crossed the finish line ahead of AmericaOne in the ninth and final race, to win the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger selection series and the right to race Team New Zealand for the America's Cup.


+39 Challenge
The Italian +39, (formerly the Clan Des Team), through the Circolo Vela Gargnano (CVG) was the first challenger to join the BMW ORACLE Racing team in challenging Alinghi for the 32nd America's Cup. The defending yacht club, the Société Nautique de Genève, accepted the challenge from the CVG on the 25th March, 2004.

Team Shosholoza
The South African Challenge was formed in Cape Town by Captain Salvatore Sarno, Chairman of the Durban-based branch of the Mediterranean Shipping Company, the first time an African America's Cup challenge has been accepted.

EMIRATES TEAM NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand has a relatively long history in the modern era of the America's Cup. While the country began competing for the Cup in 1986/1987, the current Emirates Team New Zealand can trace its roots back directly to the winning challenge in 1995.

Areva Challenge
Sailing as K-Challenge through the end of the 2005 season, this team was born before the 31st edition of the America's Cup had even started, when two businessmen, Ortwin Kandler and Stephan Kandler, started the project with sailor Dawn Riley.

Victory Challenge
This is the second consecutive America's Cup campaign by the Victory Challenge and Sweden's fifth attempt to claim the Auld Mug. The 2002 Victory Challenge was a strong effort, marked by resolute determination in the face of adversity. The team founder and syndicate head Jan Stenbeck passed away just days before the first race of the Louis Vuitton Cup. But the team sailed strongly through the Quarter-Finals before being eliminated in the Repechage.

Desafío Español
This is the fourth Spanish Challenge for the America's Cup, following entries in the 1992, 1995 and 1999 Louis Vuitton Cups. But this Desafío Español team is entirely new and represents a break from the past.



MASCALZONE LATINO - CAPITALIA TEAM
Distinguished by a primarily 'all-Italian' sailing team and with the support of its main partner Mascalzone Latino - Capitalia Team has high expectations for its campaign.



United Internet Team Germany
This is the first German challenge to sail for the America's Cup in its 154-year history. United Internet Team Germany, (formerly known as the 'Fresh 17' project) is led on the water by Danish skipper Jesper Bank, a two-time Olympic gold medallist and previous America's Cup skipper in 2002/2003 with the Swedish team.

China Team
China Team represents the Qingdao International Yacht Club, and is the first Chinese team in the long history of the America's Cup. The team is led by Chaoyong Wang, the chairman of a leading Chinese venture capital firm. He has formed a partnership with Le Défi, a French challenger in the last two editions of the America's Cup, to acquire their knowledge base and assets, including two America's Cup Class boats from the last event.




We'll provide in the next weeks detailed information on each team.


Italy Yacht Charters - Sailing in Italy

New Luna Rossa berthed in Valencia

Luna Rossa's ITA 94 berthed in Valencia

The comings and goings of boats centre the interest of the teams inside the Port America’s Cup. Whilst on Friday the two boats of Victory Challenge left for Dubai, this morning Luna Rossa’s new boat arrived in Valencia.
The ITA 94 - with which the Italians will compete during the 2007 season - has arrived at its destination without complications after more than 5 days of travelling. The Italian boat departed from the shipyard where it had been built in Nembro (Bergamo, Italy), on 13th December and has arrived this morning in Valencia by truck after a stop in Tarragona.
ITA 94 is Luna Rossa’s second boat for the 32nd America’s Cup. Until now, they have been competing with their previous boat ITA 86. Now after 3 years of investigation and hard work they will start the new season with a performing new boat, thanks to the effort of more than 20 people from their design team.
Claudius Maletto, designer of the ITA 94, has commented that the boat is "radically different from the previous one, with respect to the aesthetics one can definitely appreciate the evolution of the lines of the hull".
Luna Rossa has tentatively scheduled the launching of the boat in its base of the Port America’s Cup in Valencia this coming January.

Italy Yacht Charters - Sailing charter in Italy

32nd America's Cup schedule

For the first time in its history the 32nd America's Cup will be raced in Europe.

From the 23rd of June 2007 the Defender Alinghi will square off in the Final against the team which, at the end of a long selection process, will have emerged as the best of the eleven Challengers.This edition foresees a series of preparatory races leading to the Final; three years of racing divided in thirteen Acts which kicked off in July 2004 in Marseille, France.

In 2005 two Acts took place in Valencia (Spain), two in Malmø (Sweden) and two in Trapani (Italy). The contest between the teams unfolds through the traditional match race format (one versus one) and also through fleet races. All races are held on a four leg windward-leeward course (six legs in the Final). Starting from Act 4 all earned results are awarded an increasing importance based on a coefficient system. Depending on the cumulative points obtained at the end of the last Act, each Challenger will accrue a bonus (between 1 and 4 points).

The Challengers will begin the final phase of the selection with this bonus and the races are scheduled from the 18th to the 12th of June 2007.

Alinghi takes part in all Acts to facilitate the contest with all potential opponents and for show requirements, thereby competing for the annual title of World Champion.

Valencia Act 10 (11-18 May, match races), Valencia Act 11 (19-21 May, fleet races) and Valencia Act 12 (22 June – 3 July, match races) are scheduled for 2006.

The thirteenth and last Act will take place in Valencia from the 3rd to the 7th of April 2007 with the Fleet race formula.