Racing All The Way To 2007

When Alinghi won the 31st America’s Cup in 2003, returning it to Europe after 152 years, the team set a few ‘firsts’. Among other things, it added a new dimension to the competition for the oldest sporting trophy in the world. Instead of the previous four-year regatta cycles, the Swiss team introduced regular racing throughout the cycle.

This competition came in the form of “Louis Vuitton Acts” organised by the newly formed ‘America’s Cup Management’ an independent organisation charged with running the event. The first LV Act was in Marseille, France from 5-11 September 2004. The format consisted of both match racing and for the first time since 1851, fleet racing was reintroduced. It was swiftly followed up with LV Acts 2, a match race from 4-10 October and 3, a fleet race from 14-17 October in Valencia, Spain, home to the 32nd America’s Cup.

The 2004 season provided a transition from the old to the new generation America’s Cup Class yachts and the teams converted their race yachts to Version 5 of the Class Rule for 2005. This meant taking a ton off the bulb, lengthening the draft and maintaining the waterline length, among other things.

2005 also saw the beginning of the Louis Vuitton Ranking Points. These points, allotted to each of the LV Acts, are weighted so that later regattas are worth more. The 2005 Ranking Points are multiplied by one, in 2006 by two, and for the final Louis Vuitton Act 13, the fleet race in 2007, the Ranking Points earned are multiplied by three. This scoring determines ‘bonus points’ awarded to the challengers ahead of the Louis Vuitton Cup; at the end of each LV Act, Alinghi is taken out of the rankings and the challengers are awarded points through a high-point system (1st place gets 11 points, 2nd place receives 10 points, etc).

Racing in 2005 kicked off with LV Acts 4 (16-22 June) & 5 (24-26 June), respectively a match race and a fleet race, both held in Valencia. Then the show went on the road, first stop Malmö-Skåne in Sweden for LV Acts 6 (match race 25 Aug-1 Sept) and 7 (fleet racing from 2-4 Sept). From there, all 12 teams were shipped to Trapani in Sicily for LV Acts 8 & 9 respectively a match race (29 Sept-6 Oct) and a fleet race (7-9 Oct).

2006 brought more racing with LV Acts 10 (11-18 May), 11 (19-21 May) and 12 (22 June-2 July) played out in Valencia, the latter in a more regular match racing format.

2007 brings a final LV Act 13, a fleet race (3-7 April), before the Louis Vuitton Cup begins on the 16-23 April with the first Round Robin.

• Louis Vuitton Cup Round Robin 1: 16-23 April
• Louis Vuitton Cup Round Robin 2: 25 April-7 May
• Louis Vuitton Cup Semi Finals: 14-25 May
• Louis Vuitton Cup Final: 1-12 June
• 32nd America’s Cup Match by Louis Vuitton: 23 June-7 July