Our Story

A LOOK AT THE PRESENT

The 33rd America’s Cup will be a rare Deed of Gift Match brought about by BMW Oracle’s hostile challenge as opposed to the more common mutual consent events, such as the 32nd America’s Cup, which lasted three years with 13 Acts around Europe and a finale in Valencia, Spain, declared by pundits to be the greatest Cup Match of all time. The 33rd race for sport’s oldest trophy will be a best of three: the first a 20nm race to windward and back; the second a 39nm equilateral triangle and the third, if necessary, another 20nm sprint up and back.

Alinghi moved its operation from Europe to its chosen venue for the event (one of the rights of the Defender under the Deed of Gift is to chose the venue) and has been sailing out of Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates since the beginning of October 2009. The emirate was chosen for its ideal weather conditions for a match in February, for its infrastructure and for the wider country’s experience in hosting world-class sporting events.

The litigious aspect of the 33rd edition has been widely reported. On its eighth lawsuit the Challenger continues to pursue its legal campaign to win the Cup in the New York courts rather than on the water where it has failed at every attempt since the team’s inception in 2000. The Defender is currently fending off the Challenger’s attempt to remove the SNG’s fundamental right to select the venue which it has succeeded in forcing through the New York Supreme Court; a decision currently under appeal.

SNG’s position is clear: it has the right to choose the venue and to define the rules. Alinghi chose Ras Al Khaimah. Ras Al Khaimah in February 2010 is the literal reading of Justice Cahn’s court order of 12 May 2008 (upheld by the Court of Appeals in April 2009). If the Appellate Division now decides that Deed of Gift compliance supersedes everything else, then Alinghi has declared it would support Ras Al Khaimah for a May Match. If the Defender loses the appeal, then the Match will be in Valencia (the default venue) starting on the 8 February 2010.

The team meanwhile is focused on testing and training on its giant 90ft catamaran, Alinghi 5, trying different configurations for maximum optimisation. The catamaran has a beam equal to the width of two tennis courts set side by side and a canting mast that towers over 17 stories high withstanding the equivalent of 50 SUVs of compression on a foundation the size of a tennis ball. The gennaker is one of the three biggest in the world measuring a whopping 1,100m2.

Team president Ernesto Bertarelli is most often found at the helm and sport remains at the heart of day to day activities, “I am 100% committed to fighting for the 33rd America’s Cup on the water and to defending our title again,” says Bertarelli.

A ONE SECOND AMERICA’S CUP VICTORY: 3 JULY 2007

Alinghi won the 32nd America’s Cup 5-2 against old rivals Emirates Team New Zealand in Valencia on the 3 July 2007 after one of the most thrilling match races of all time. The final and deciding match was won by just one second! This put Switzerland and Alinghi firmly in the history books, along with the USA and New Zealand, as a multiple America’s Cup winner.

The 32nd America’s Cup, run as per the new model laid out by Ernesto Bertarelli, was widely acclaimed to be the greatest sailing spectacle ever. With four years of competition including preliminary Acts and 12 teams from five continents, plus more than 6.4 million spectators and over 4.2 billion TV viewers, the event ended up distributing substantial benefits to all the competing teams.

THE VERY EARLY DAYS

Alinghi, created in 2000, won the 31st America’s Cup in Auckland for the first time in a staggering 5-0 victory against Team New Zealand on 2 March 2003. The Cup was returned to Europe for the first time since the inaugural race in 1851.

FROM CHALLENGER TO TWO-TIME DEFENDER: THE STORY SO FAR