The Calm Before the Storm

With two weeks until unveiling day, and 17 days to go before Race One of the America’s Cup on February 15th, things appear very quiet around the ViaductBasin. The Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Media Centre is closed for the week; the journalists taking advantage of the time to sample many of the attractions New Zealand has to offer. The Viaduct itself is quieter, the big crowds of weeks past now much thinner, and overall, one has a sense that this is the calm before the America’s Cup storm.

Looks can be deceiving
While there is certainly some truth to that, looks can be deceiving. Along syndicate row, right in the middle of all the America’s Cup bases, Team New Zealand and the Swiss Alinghi Team are neighbours, and they are most definitely not enjoying summer holidays. Alinghi, revelling in its Louis Vuitton Cup victory, have returned to work from a much deserved mini-vacation, and will now be in full training and testing mode, in preparation for next month. “It’s back to business from today onwards,” said Alinghi spokesman Bernard Schopfer on Tuesday. “The whole team has had five days off, but now we are back in action."

Last minute decisions
For Alinghi skipper Russell Coutts and his crew, there are momentous decisions to make. Will they try and retro-fit a Team New Zealand style ‘hula’ appendage? Or, as the winner of a very difficult Challenger series do they feel they’re competitive enough to beat Team New Zealand with only minor modifications?

Years of preparation draw to a close
The Defender of the America’s Cup, Team New Zealand, is also now in the home stretch after three difficult years of rebuilding a team and gearing up to keep the Cup in New Zealand. Team spokesman Murray Taylor says the weather is making it difficult for the team to plan this week. “At the moment our planning is a bit day by day. We wanted to sail today but the weather isn’t what we wanted so we’ve turned it into a maintenance day,” Taylor said. “We’re focused on developing a boat that can defend the America’s Cup.”

Just some final touches
Team New Zealand has had to rely solely on in-house competition to get match ready, as none of the eliminated Challengers have sailed against them, and there has been no Defender selection series. The sailing teams on both NZL-81 and NZL-82 have been very fluid, with sailors swapping boats, and roles regularly. Now it’s time to settle on a racing team, and make final adjustments ahead of Race One. “We’re just refining things and working on the different combinations of people at the back of the boat,” Taylor explained. “Dean (skipper Dean Barker) is looking through his options for the starting line-up, but that won’t be finalised much closer to the day. The priority now is to get out racing. That’s what we’re looking forward to.” Race One of the America’s Cup is scheduled for a 13:15 start on February 15th.

Source: Louis Vuitton Cup

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