America’s Cup Challenge 2010 – Valencia, Spain

The America’s Cup races are held every three years and 2010 brings the 33rd Challenge for the Cup - but who would recognise it!  The races were scheduled to begin yesterday off the coast of Valencia, Spain but abandoned due to unstable winds.  The race has been rescheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday 10 February.

The entry by the two-time Swiss defenders Société Nautique de Genève is a massive catamaran ‘Alinghi 5’.  The USA contender’s entry by the Golden Gate Yacht Club is a giant trimaran, the BMW Oracle’s ‘USA-17’. 

These multihull sailing monsters certainly do not resemble any former America’s Cup yachts or races.  The yachts are 90’ long with a 90’ beam and mast heights up to 180’.  They are capable of amazing speeds of more than 25 knots.

The America’s Cup has always been regarded as one of the most prestigious yacht races in the world.  The 32nd America’s Cup races were held in Valencia in 2007 – the first time they had been held in Europe for 150 years.  Valencia has excellent facilities for the races with its Port America’s Cup Marina. 

For those not familiar with the sport, the races are not named America’s Cup after the country, but after the schooner ‘America’ which was the first yacht to win the race in the mid-1800’s.  The cream of the crop of sailors and technicians traditionally unite to compete in the races.

The legal wranglings and goings-on surrounding the 2010 challenge are complicated.  In a nutshell, the absence of any other countries entering the challenge for the 2010 America’s Cup appears to be due to a complicated dispute between some billionaire heads.  After a long legal battle the result is a ‘Deed of Gift’ race between the (Swiss) defenders of the Cup and one USA challenger in a ‘best-of-three’ series of races.  In contrast, the 2007 challenge involved eleven entries from nine countries.

If you can’t be in Valencia for the races but would like to watch the spectacle of these ocean-going leviathans in action, there is no excuse to miss it.  For the first time ever in the history of the America’s Cup races the action will be broadcast live on the Internet at americascup.com.  Live streaming of the action resumes tomorrow, 10 February.

If you are heading out to Spain, why not visit out Travel Guide and follow the link for the Foreign Office (FCO) for the latest travel advice.   Don’t forget your EHIC but be aware that this should never be used as a substitute for Travel Insurance!