Monday 8 October 2007

TEAMORIGIN Get Off To A Winning Start

TEAMORIGIN, Great Britain's entry for the 33rd America's Cup have signalled their intent by winning their first competitive challenge - The Grade 1 ISAF Trapani Cento Cup.

TEAMORIGIN Press Release (8-10-07):

TEAMORIGIN wins Trapani Cento Cup


TEAMORIGIN, Britain’s Challenge for the 33rd America’s Cup, competed at the Trapani Cento Cup, a Grade One ISAF Match Race Regatta in Trapani, Sicily, at the weekend and won.

Against a star-studded line-up of skippers from the last America’s Cup, including the two Danish helmsmen Jes Gram Hansen and Jesper Raddich, the Australian James Spithill and the Italian Paolo Cian, TEAMORIGIN’s Ben Ainslie, Iain Percy, Matt Cornwell and guest Gabriel Bruni competed in and won the 2007 Trapani Cento Cup. Trapani, on the extreme western tip of the Italian island of Sicily, was the site of Acts 8 & 9, a pair of build-up regattas for the last America’s Cup sailed in full size America’s Cup Class yachts in October 2005.

“This was our first international competition sailing together, our team worked well together and developed well as we went through the regatta. Sailing with Iain worked really well from a tactical point of view and this result is an important step forward for us” commented skipper Ben Ainslie.

“The conditions were pretty straight forward for the Round Robin series starting last Thursday, we sailed outside the harbour on open water. For the semis and finals at the weekend however we raced inside Trapani Harbour, which made it very shifty and really called for ‘heads-out-of-the-boat sailing’ to spot the wind,” Ainslie continued.

“Our team seemed to work well together and we won our semi final against Jes Gram Hansen (DEN) and the finals against Paolo Cian (ITA) who had beaten James Spithill (AUS) in their semi final, both 2-0.”


“I am particularly pleased with this regatta not only because the team won, which is great, but because Ben and Iain worked really well together tactically. This is an important signal for TEAMORIGIN’s future. We are a new team with experienced people coming from different backgrounds. This first test of getting this small but important part of the team working together has gone well,” concluded Team Director Mike Sanderson.

--ENDS--

Thursday 4 October 2007

The Afterguard - 33rd America's Cup In Disarray

The Afterguard turns its back for 5 minutes & the entire world seems to go stark raving mad...

Allegedly, Alinghi's Simon Daubney has tested positive for traces of cocaine, and if true, money's power to corrupt in sport is yet again proven... [Source: NZ Herald]

The billionaire's boys club stage a short-lived love-in (by phone), yet while both parties sound increasingly anxious to avoid the car crash they've both contributed to, they remain on course to inflict mortal wounds not on each other so much, but on the Auld Mug itself. [Source: The Telegraph/GGYC]

ACM survey the rising tide:

ACM to reassess the feasibility of the America’s Cup in Valencia in 2009 03-10-2007

As a consequence of the uncertainty and the delays arising from the Golden Gate Yacht Club Law suit in New York, AC Management (ACM) is concerned that the feasibility of organising the next America’s Cup in Valencia in 2009 has been effectively compromised.

ACM will in the coming days engage in consultations with the Defender, the Challenger of Record, the Competitors and the Spanish Authorities on this specific matter.

ACM is considering all options, including the possibility of postponing the event to a later date.
In the meantime, ACM understands that SNG continues to try to find a resolution of the dispute pending with Golden Gate Yacht Club in New York.
--Ends-- [Source: ACM]

Desafio Español throws itself onto the pyre:

Statement from Desafío Español

Regarding the press release issued today by ACM in which declares its concern about the “the possibility of postponing the event to a later date”, Desafío Español states its unconditional support to the Spanish and Valencian authorities, the Defender and the Organisation of the America’s Cup.

Desafío Español understands that the organisation of a sporting event of this magnitude must be done without haste and under the best consensus atmosphere between all the parties involved.

For this reason, Desafío Español shows its conformity with the proposed conversations between ACM, the Defender, the Challenger of Record, the competitors and the Spanish Authorities in which Desafío Español will participate actively.

Desafío Español also hopes that, as a result of these conversations, the 33rd America’s Cup can be celebrated in the initially proposed dates.

Meanwhile, Desafío Español continues working towards the next edition of the America’s Cup, configuring the structure of the team and developing its plans.
--Ends-- [Source: Desafio Español]

Meanwhile TEAMORIGIN trademark themselves, no doubt praying they get the opportunity to merchandise. [Source: UK Intellectual Property Office]

So with little hope for an America's Cup before 2011, we at The Afterguard are seriously considering crawling back under our stone and enjoying another vacation... of course what all this activity really means is that a resolution will likely be found before the end of the week. Nowt so strange...