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Ras Al Khaimah to host prestigious America's Cup
posted on 06/08/2009
 The skipper of Alinghi has showered praise on Ras Al Khaimah as "the most ideal venue" to host next year's historic America's Cup race.
The race is the oldest and most prestigious event in the sport of sailing and predates even the modern Olympics by 45 years.
It will take place from February 8, 2010 at the luxury resort of Al Hamra Village in Ras Al Khaimah."We could not have asked for a better venue. It was a pretty easy decision to take," Brad Butterworth, Alinghi skipper, told Gulf News from the team's base in Geneva, Switzerland.
"When we visited a few weeks ago, Ras Al Khaimah came across to me as a venue that has a steady breeze all the time.
"There is a lot of infrastructure coming up solely to conduct the America's Cup and ... I was especially enamoured with the calm of the place," Butterworth added.
"Considering all this, I think it's the most ideal venue for sailing."
It will be the first time that the 158-year-old race will be held outside the US, Australasia or Europe.
The Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), as defending yacht club, had the right to choose the venue and they opted for a 22-hectare purpose-built island inside the Al Hamra Village lagoon, which will host the team bases and have all the necessary facilities for the media, the sponsors and the public.
The Alinghi team are being led by Swiss entrepreneur Ernesto Bertarelli and skippered by four-time America's Cup winner Butterworth.
They will defend the trophy against bitter foe BMW Oracle, representing San Francisco's Golden Gate Yacht Club, in this best-of-three series.
Dubai was also considered as venue given that Alinghi successfully defended their title after using the Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC) as its winter training base in December 2006.
"We even visited Abu Dhabi, but we found Ras Al Khaimah to be just perfect for us," Butterworth stated. "We somehow liked the whole environment surrounding Ras Al Khaimah and ultimately it was a pretty easy decision to make."
After months of wrangling in court over rules and regulations with BMW Oracle Racing, Alinghi shocked the sailing world last month with the launch of a giant catamaran.
Experts argue that the flat seas and calm light winds off Ras Al Khaimah will give the defending team an advantage over BMW Oracle Racing's trimaran.
Since the launch of its boat on July 8, Alinghi has been conducting trials on Lake Geneva and will travel to Genoa, Italy, to continue testing and training before shipping Alinghi 5 to Ras Al Khaimah to prepare for the America's Cup match in February 2010.
Al Hamra Village is a new luxury resort with more than 3,500 residences on the Ras Al Khaimah coast.
"We will be in a lagoon which is a lovely area around a resort that is surrounded by a golf course, which is going to be great for us. We can get in straight out to the sailing area and be able to sail the boat everywhere," Butterworth added. – Gulf News
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