AlinghiNB
With more fanfare than secrecy, the America’s Cup syndicates have been delivering new boats to their bases in Valencia, Spain, over the last few weeks. On January 13, after a five-day transport via ferry and truck, Victory Challenge’s SWE 96 arrived from Goteborg, Sweden. Ten days later, Mascalzone Latino-Capitali’s Harry Dunning-designed ITA 99 landed in Valencia after a harrowing passage across a stormy English Channel. As Mascalzone’s navigator, Nacho Postigo, explained, the crew must now set to the monumental task of learning the new boat in the few short months that remain before Louis Vuitton Act 13 begins in April. “Well, the boat is now here after all the effort by the design team, the boat builders, and our hard working shore team,” said Postigo. “Now the load is on us, the sailing team, who will have to work at the same level those guys have already done to get the maximum out of the new ‘baby.'”For Cup defender Alinghi, 20,000 man hours of research and development have culminated in SUI100, which descended from the snowy mountains of Switzerland last week and is currently resting at the team base in Valencia. Said syndicate head Ernesto Bertarelli, “With this boat, we are taking another step towards fighting to win the Cup again.”United Internet Team Germany and China Team have also recently unveiled new boats, Germany 1 and CHN95, respectively.
